Evaluation of Police Patrol Patterns

Testing the Validity of a Queueing Model of Police Patrol*

This paper describes efforts to validate a multiple car dispatch queueing (MCD) model of police patrol operations using New York City data. The MCD model was designed for use in a computer system that has been disseminated to many police departments in the U.S. to help planners allocate patrol cars among precincts. It has also been used to evaluate specific changes in patrol policy in New York....

A Multiple Dispatch Queueing Model of Police Patrol Operations*

One of the primary concerns of urban police departments is the effective use of patrol cars. In large cities, police assigned to patrol cars typically account for more than 50% of total police manpower and their allocation has become particularly crucial in light of recent fiscal cutbacks. The police patrol system is a complex multi-server queueing system, and recently many urban police departm...

The Feasibility of One-officer Patrol in New York City*

How many patrol cars staffed with a single police officer are needed to provide equivalent police service to an existing system with n two-officer patrol cars? This question is explored for New York City using a multiple patrol car per call priority queueing model. It is shown that a one-officer patrol program is feasible, yet pitfalls exist which could adversely affect its performance. The pap...

Felonious Killings of State Police and Highway Patrol Officers: a Descriptive and Comparative Evaluation

Effectiveness of the Data-Driven Approach to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS): A Cross-National Study

Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS) integrate crash and crime data to design more efficient patrol routes for high visibility traffic enforcement. These new policies allow police to more effectively allocate their limited resources. Although the DDACTS model seems to work well in the United States, it is necessary to thoroughly study its effects before applying it in oth...