Data Analytics in Criminal Justice Education: Results from a Qualitative Study of Police Departments.

• In Event: Policing and Technology

Abstract

Data analytics is quickly becoming an increasingly important part of policing as the amount of data collected increases, transparency becomes more important, and public reporting of larger amounts of data places increased demands on police departments. This study involved qualitative surveys of various policing professionals in mid-sized cities and counties to determine what types of education regarding data analytics was desirable for police officers. Findings include that several subjects, which could be incorporated into undergraduate and graduate programs were highly desirable. These skills include basic mapping skills including but not limited to hot spot mapping, risk-terrain analysis, predictive analytics related to patrol allocation, risk-reduction activities such as identification of problematic behaviors, and especially the ability to work with relatively large datasets in an efficient manner. These findings have implications for criminal justice programs that can improve the effectiveness of their educational programs and provide graduates with particularly marketable skills for police departments. Additional findings show that many departments do not have specialized personnel dedicated to these positions, so it often falls on sworn officers to perform these duties. Implications of this are discussed as well as how criminal justice programs can incorporate these skills into project-based learning objectives.

Authors

• Michael Alan Hollingsworth, Black Hills State University

• Ganga Prasad Basyal, Black Hills State University