Using Incident-Based Crime Data to Understand Local Law Enforcement’s Response to Crime: A Multilevel Analysis of Clearance and Arrest in Violent Crimes Reported in NIBRS

• In Event: National Crime Statistics Exchange (NCS-X): Increasing Use of Incident-Based Data to Strengthen Law Enforcement Decision-Making

Abstract

Community oriented policing aims to improve relationships between the public and law enforcement community as a means of increasing residents’ willingness to report crime and increase cooperation with police efforts in investigating criminal cases. Each year a portion of violent crimes reported to police does not result in an arrest due to victims’ refusal to cooperate with police after they identify a suspect and establish probable cause to support an arrest. In such instances, the case is considered solved for administrative purposes, but the suspect is not arrested and charged. This process, known as exceptional clearance, has received scant attention in the literature on policing. In the current study, we link data on violent incidents from the National Incident-Based Reporting System to the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics and the American Community Survey to explore whether police departments’ commitment to community policing, the quality of police-citizen relations, and the social context of the communities agencies serve influence the likelihood that victims of violent crime prevent police from making an arrest by refusing to cooperate. We discuss the implications of the findings for understanding the role of police legitimacy and victims in shaping police performance and the deterrence of crime.

Authors

• Bradley T. Brick, Westat

• Michele Stacey, East Carolina University