In terms of levels of measurement, the lowest level of data is known as nominal level. This data is qualitative in nature, the variables are word oriented. This is opposite of qualitative data which is number oriented (Walker, 2009). Some of the most common variables include; race, hair color, and occupation. An example of this could be used when researching data on animals. If you were breeding rabbits and keeping up with data, you could say Rabbit A was bred with Rabbit B. This would be a way organize and track the animals. Ordinal level data is similar to nominal level data, it must be distinct, mutually exclusive and completely exhaustive (Walker, 2009). Just because an ordinal level variable is not distinct, does not make it …show more content…
The main difference between the two is that ordinal level data can be ordered (Walker, 2009). An example of this data could be used when ranking sports teams according to their records. Baseball team A is ranked in first place with 0 loses in the season, Team B lost two games and they are ranked 3rd for the season.
Interval level data represents a move from qualitive to a truly quantitative scale. It builds on ordinal data that may be ranked but there are also equal intervals between categories (Walker, 2009). With ordinal level data you might not possible to know exactly what the interval is between, like with shirt sizes; small, medium, and large. With interval level data, it is easier to figure out because there are equal intervals between like finding miles per gallon for fuel economy (Walker, 2009). I have
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Measurement is important for scientific inquiries and is also a critical component of statistical analysis (Walker, 2009). At its most simple level, a variable is a social phenomenon, characteristic, or a behavior someone researches to learn about. Because they vary between cases they are called variables (Walker, 2009). I believe this is all important for law enforcement for at least two reasons, reducing crime rates and money. Law enforcement agencies rely on this collection of data when they are looking at ways to reduce the crime rates in their jurisdictions. Those who figure budgets also rely on this data to figure the budget for the following year. Like I mentioned in question four, the grants available for traffic enforcement require us to collect and report data. For the variable arrest, I believe the unit of measurement would be ordinal. An arrest is something that can be ordered. Getting arrested is a process that takes steps. A police officer must first have a reason to be in contact with an offender. This is usually because a crime has been committed. If the officer has enough probable cause, the offender will be taken into custody. In most cases, the officer will place handcuffs on the offender and then transport them to jail. The offender will be fingerprinted and photographed during the booking process. These steps are required for an officer
The effective reduction of crime and quality of life abatement is of prime importance in the COMPSTAT model is and is one of the four core principles in the COMPSTAT paradigm. This essay will examine the impact that the implementation of COMPSTAT has had, specifically the process of Data-Driven Problem Identification and Assessment, and model it against the Newark Police Dept., New Jersey, USA. In doing so it will determine what changes in strategy, structure and operations have taken place as a result of the implementation process.
This information comes from the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR). The Uniform Crime Reporting technique was established in 1930, by the FBI. Crime was something that was very hard to keep track of. The FBI started this technique to keep track of crimes that are happening in our nation. Police use uniform crime reporting for their data. Some police departments or officers are required to focus on one specific area and crime. The most popular crimes all deal with drugs. CompSTAT help to map these crimes so that police officers know what geographical location to pay the most attention to. CompSTAT is the most popular technique for police departments to use. When they collect the data of crimes, they take this information and they start to evaluate and create techniques on how to stop or prevent this crime from happening again. According to Police Executive Research forum, “Compstat changed how police view crime problems. Instead of merely responding to crimes after they are committed, police fundamentally expanded their mission to include preventing crimes from happening in the first place” (Compstat: Its Origins, Evolution, and Future In Law Enforcement Agencies, 9). After collecting data for crime mapping the next step is for them to analyze the
Such sources involved inquiries from the community including victimization surveys, departmental data, questionnaires from neighborhood residents and business owners, police encounter evaluations, surveys regarding police response times, participant observer surveys, and questionnaires regarding victimization. Pre-experimental data were also obtained for comparison purposes such as crime data, traffic data, arrest data, and response time data (Kelling et al.,
The two systems are a good representation of crime through statistics of race and the actual crime. Through NCVS, the FBI crime system NIBRS can conduct a trend analysis for the crimes and the victims that are affected by the crimes. This can also serve as a tool to higher more police to the areas that are affected more with crime. The article; The Relationship Between Crime Reporting and Police: Implications for the Use of Uniform Crime Reports, Steven Levit, discusses the problem with police reporting and how there is no standard for the reporting across the nation. Therefore people believe that the reports are not accurate due to how different police organizations conduct their investigations. In this article, the author discusses estimates for crime versus city. The author is working with Craig who introduced this way of thought and idea in 1987.
12). These are the most common methods that are being used. The difference between qualitative and quantitative methods concerns how the data are collected, where basically qualitative data focus on words while quantitative focus on numbers (Denscombe, 1998, p. 173-174).
Bureau of Justice Assistance, Police Executive Research Forum. (2012). Compstat: Its Origins, Evolution, and Future in Law Enforcement Agencies. Retrieved from http://policeforum.org/library/compstat/Compstat.pdf
arresting criminals, the accused going to court and ending up the criminal goes to prison. There are many other extending factors connected with the process. There are many different officials involved each putting input into different areas of the process. As mentioned it is not just the police courts involved in the process but other types of people are influential in making the system work. Psychologists are an integral part on many different levels throughout the criminal process.
Risk assessments are important for the police, courts, corrections, and the public when determining if an offender is a high or low risk. In the correctional aspect of the justice system, risk assessments are extremely important. This is because they aid in understanding which correctional institution being either minimum, medium, or maximum security. Risk assessments also help to understand the recidivism rates, if they are going to commit new offences, and lastly, if anything can help reduce the likelihood for the offenders. There are many risk assessments correctional staff use. When evaluating an offender, a qualified worker will combine their own discretion, as well as, research and data to back up their choices.
An interval scale includes characteristic of an ordinal scale and nominal scale that is, category of individuals or responses belonging to sub categories have a common characteristic; sub categories are arranged in descending or ascending order, in addition, an interval scale places the individual or responses at equally spaced interval in relation to the spread of variables.
Compstat tries to reduce crime and improve community 's quality of life effectively. Departments use computer software to locate places where crimes are increasing and are able to use GIS(geographic information systems) to locate crime hot spots. This has been used throughout the United States and abroad and has been featured in the media such as on The Wire, (2005). Compstat is able to bring accountability to departments, certain beats, specific officers, and to policies. With the calculation of crime, police departments are able to verify when and where crime is happening and can investigate the cause of this if it 's the management or poor officers attributing to any crime
The use of technology in the policing domain has been rapidly adopted over the past few years. However, it should be noted that the process of adopting and effectively using technology in law enforcement, begun more than 50 years ago. For instance, it become apparent in the 1950’s that computer would enable easier storage and retrieval of large amounts of data. More recently, advancement in technology has incorporated more sophisticated ways of transmitting and analyzing information, therefore aiding the law enforcement process (Button, Sharples & Harper, 2007). The police have found various aspect of technology useful; predominantly, computer crime mapping has been widely adopted and consequently received a lot of attention (Goldstein & McEwen, 2009).
Crime Analysis has many benefits to the community. Community engagement, targeted initiatives, strategic use of resources, and data-driven decision-making contribute to decreasing crime. Crime prevention and community satisfaction with police services, while linked to the number of officers on the streets, does not depend entirely on the visibility of patrol officers. Community engagement, targeted initiatives, strategic use of resources, and data-driven decision-making contribute to decreasing crime. So in closing I believe that departments that take the positive elements of foot patrols and combine their efforts with crime analysis that focuses on the time, location, and type of crime, may use the findings to develop strategies to decrease crime and enhance the quality of life in their communities.
Quantitative research uses a deductive reasoning also known as top to bottom or (top down approach) starting with a theory, then the hypothesis, followed by observation and finally confirmation , going from the general to the more specific. Quantitative methods use numbers and statistics to show the results of the research exercise and mainly are concerned with mathematics and statistics. In quantitative research there are levels of measurement being firstly nominal which are names of things followed by ordinal sequence of things, interval where the sequence has equal distance between each item, and ratio where there is a true zero (Alston & Bowles, 2003, p. 7-9).
Quantitative studies are primarily numbers based. They deal with large cohort groups as well as analyze large amounts of data. “A quantitative researcher typically tries to measure variables in some way, perhaps by using commonly accepted measures of the physical world (e.g., rulers, thermometers, oscilloscopes) or carefully designed measures of psychological characteristics or behaviors (e.g., tests, questionnaires, rating scales)” (Leedy & Ormrod, 2010, p. 94).
The second dimension is that of the nature of data used in the study. Data used in empirical studies can be numeric, textual or a combination of both. When the basic data used in an empirical study consist of words, the research is classified as qualitative, whereas if the data used are numeric, the research is classified as quantitative. A research design may also combine quantitative and qualitat...