By studying and tracking crime, a crime analyst can predict when and where the next offense could happen. These tools can be used in crime prevention. Crime Analysis supports a number of department functions including Patrol, Special Operations and Tactical Units, Investigations, Planning and Research, Crime Prevention, and Administrative Services (budgeting and program planning).
A Crime Analyst
- Studies crime and profiles suspects
- Analyzes crime data to forecast the day, time, and place a crime is likely to occur and to keep it from happening
- Shares crime patterns with detectives and patrol officers
The three types of Crime Analysis are:
- Tactical
- Strategic
- Administrative
A Crime Analyst studies the crime data daily through police reports. After pulling the data, the Analyst tracks that criminal activity in a database or by computer mapping software.
Tactical crime analysis is used to:
- Concentrate on crimes that are an immediate threat to the community such as rape, burglary, robbery, and serial murders
- Detect a pattern from crimes by studying and linking common factors such as method, description of suspect, and the type of weapon used
- Share information to patrol officers and to detectives to provide leads and prevent crime
Strategic crime analysis is used to:
- Decide where police presence needs to be increased or decreased
Administrative crime analysis is used to:
- Provide special reports to the Police Chief that interpret crime statistics categorized by geographical and/or economic conditions
- Inform officers of crime statistics and patterns
- Justify the number of officers at an agency or request more officers