Criminology Mindtap Chp 2

In what way does Superintendent McCarthy's plan suggest the use of predictive policing?

He intends to target specific neighborhoods that have high crime rates.

What is data mining?

Police use advanced software to identify crime patterns and link them to suspects based on behavior patterns.

In this video, CNN's Ted Rowlands rode along with two Chicago police officers in early 2012 to get a firsthand look at what it's like on the streets of Chicago. By late December of that year, Chicago had hit its 500th homicide of the year. This video looks at the issue of crime in Chicago from the perspective of police officers. What do the early 2012 crime statistics cited in the video suggest?

High homicide rates are concentrated in the city.

Why do the police officers suggest that parents take greater responsibility over their children?

to prevent children from being harmed by limiting exposure to dangerous situations

In investigating the situation, you make some startling discoveries. Apparently the police have had the technology to conduct crime mapping and data mining for years, but they have failed to use it. Once you apply these technologies, you discover that the majority of violent crime is confined to a few small neighborhoods in the city. Police have always been deployed across the city without regard for varying crime rates. The crime-ridden neighborhoods received the same attention as areas that suffered little crime, so police resources were poorly allocated. Furthermore, little effort was made to analyze crime to discover patterns and linkages, and predictive policing was all but dismissed. Additionally, the police layoff was due to city budgetary problems. In light of this, it is apparent that the police cannot simply deploy the remaining officers on longer patrols, as there is little money to compensate for overtime. Based on this new information, do you still argue that technology cannot fully compensate for such a large staff reduction and, because of this, remaining police officers should conduct longer patrols?

A cautious yes. Though technology allows the police to target high-crime neighborhoods more efficiently, public knowledge of the layoff might encourage criminals to offend, knowing that there are fewer officers on the street.

In a typical city, what is often true of crime?

High rates of crime are concentrated in specific areas.

How can crime mapping primarily serve to benefit the Chicago Police Department in dealing with gang violence and homicides?

It can allow the police to better address specific problem neighborhoods with more resources.

The 20 percent cut in the staffing of the police force mainly comprised regular patrol officers. The city now does not have as many patrol officers to place on the street at any one time, and police officials are concerned by this situation. As a criminologist just recently hired by the city police force, you have been tasked by the chief of police to develop a strategy that makes maximum use of the reduced police force. Specifically, the chief wants to know if technology can be used to assist in better policing. What is your response?

You argue that while technology can serve to benefit the police, it cannot fully compensate for such a large staff reduction. Because of this, remaining police officers should conduct longer patrols.

Police Superintendent McCarthy hopes to combat and decrease gang retribution killings. What type of violence do these killings constitute?

expressive

The layoff of police officers could not have come at a worse time, as reports show that index crime rates have been slowly increasing over the past few months. This has caused concern among the public, local government, and police. Several older police captains are not convinced that technology can alleviate the situation, and they argue that police strength in numbers is what deters crime. Although it is true that the sight of a police officer can deter crime, this idea has been met with opposition by several criminologists. They point to other cities that have been through similar situations in the past, which have used technology to help offset staff shortages. Let's review a few more concepts before you make another decision about this scene. In which of the following scenarios can crime mapping benefit police?

to provide police with information so that they can proactively deploy resources