Automated ballistic imaging technology is a potentially effective tool for improving the investigation and prosecution of violent crime involving guns. This technology enables crime laboratories and law enforcement agencies to link crimes committed with the same gun. Yet, in many localities, structural and procedural constraints hamper the potential effectiveness of ballistic imaging as an investigative tool. This study examines the impact of new personnel, processes, and technology on ballistic evidence processing productivity in the Stockton Police Department’s Firearms Unit. Using interrupted time series analysis, we examine the impact of several organizational changes on ballistic evidence processing productivity. Our findings demonstrate that the Stockton Police Department achieved rapid improvements in its ballistic evidence processing capacity. The study shows how introducing key organizational changes in a police department or a crime laboratory can generate disproportionate impacts on ballistic evidence processing productivity.
Beggs-Cassin, M. (2014). Using technology and social network analysis to investigate gun crime in Stockton (CA) (Unpublished master’s thesis). National University, La Jolla, CA.
2.
Bour, S., & Papachristos, A. (2013, November). The distribution of crime guns in a co-offending network in Chicago. Paper presented at the American Society of Criminology: 69th Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA.
3.
BoxG. E. P.JenkinsG. M. (1976) Time-series analysis: Forecasting and control, San Francisco, CA: Holden Hay.
4.
BragaA. A.KennedyD. M.WaringE. J.PiehlA. M. (2001) Problem-oriented policing, deterrence, and youth violence: An evaluation of Boston’s operation ceasefire. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency38(3): 195–225.
5.
BragaA. A.PierceG. L. (2004) Linking crime guns: The impact of ballistics imaging technology on the productivity of the Boston police department’s ballistics unit. Journal of Forensic Science49(4): 1–6.
6.
BragaA. A.PierceG. L. (2011) Reconsidering the ballistic imaging of crime bullets in gun law enforcement operations. Forensic Science Policy & Management: An International Journal2(3): 105–117.
7.
ChenI. J.PopovichK. (2003) Understanding customer relationship management (CRM): People, process, and technology. Business Process Management Journal9(5): 672–688.
Cork, D. L., Rolph, J. E., Meieran, E. S., & Petrie, C. V. (Eds). (2008). Ballistic imaging. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
10.
Desouza, K. C., & Paquette, S. (Eds). (2011). Knowledge management: An introduction. New York, NY: Neal-Schuman Publishing.
11.
EckJ. E. (1983) Solving crimes: The investigation of burglary and robbery, Washington, DC: Police Executive Research Forum.
12.
GagliardiP. (2010) The 13 critical tasks: An inside-out approach to solving more gun crime, Quebec, Canada: Forensic Technology WAI, Inc.
13.
GlassG. V.WillsonV. L.GottmanJ. M. (1975) Design and analysis of time series experiments, Boulder, CO: Colorado Associate University Press.
14.
GlomsethR.GottschalkP.Solli-SaetherH. (2007) Occupational culture as determinant of knowledge sharing and performance in police investigations. International Journal of the Sociology of Law35: 96–107.
15.
GuptillJ. (2005) Knowledge management in health care. Journal of Health Care Finance31(3): 10–14.
16.
HorvathF.MeesigR. (1996) The criminal investigation process and the role of forensic evidence: A review of empirical findings. Journal of Forensic Science41: 963–969.
KahaneL. H. (2013) Understanding the interstate export of crime guns: A gravity model approach. Contemporary Economic Policy31(3): 618–634.
19.
KatsouyanniK.SchwartzJ.SpixC.TouloumiG.ZmirouD.ZanobettiA.AndersonH. R. (1996) Short-term effects of air pollution on health: A European approach using epidemiological time series data. The APHEA protocol. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health50(Suppl 1): S12–S18.
20.
KingW. R.MaguireE. R. (2009) Assessing the performance of systems designed to process criminal forensic evidence. Forensic Science Policy and Management1(3): 159–170.
21.
KingW. R.WellsW.KatzC.MaguireE. R.FrankJ. (2013) Opening the black box of NIBIN: A descriptive process and outcome evaluation of the use of NIBIN and its effects on criminal investigations, Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.
22.
KoperC. S.WoodsD. J.KubuB. E. (2013) Gun violence prevention practices among local police in the United States. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management36(3): 577–603.
23.
Krug, E. G., Dahlberg, L. L., Mercy, J. A., Zwi, A. B., & Lozano, R. (Eds). (2002). World report on violence and health. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.
24.
LjungG. M.BoxG. E. P. (1978) On a measure of lack of fit in time series models. Biometrika65(2): 297–303.
25.
MaguireE. R. (2003) Organizational structure in American police agencies: Context, complexity and control, Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
26.
MaguireE. R.KingW. R. (2013) Transferring criminal investigation methods from developed to developing nations. Policing & Society23(3): 346–361.
27.
MuggahR.BatchelorP. (2002) Development held hostage: Assessing the effects of small arms on human development, New York, NY: United Nations Development Program.
28.
PetersonJ.MihajlovicS.GillilandM. (1984) Forensic evidence and the police: The effects of scientific evidence on criminal investigations, Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.
29.
PetersonJ. L.RyanJ. P.HouldenP. J.MihajlovicS. (1987) The uses and effects of forensic science in the adjudication of felony cases. Journal of Forensic Sciences32: 1730–1753.
30.
RidgewayG.BragaA. A.TitaG.PierceG. L. (2011) Intervening in gun markets: An experiment to assess the impact of targeted gun-law messaging. Journal of Experimental Criminology7(1): 103–109.
31.
SchroederD. A.WhiteM. D. (2009) Exploring the use of DNA evidence in homicide investigations: Implications for detective work and case clearance. Police Quarterly12: 319–342.
32.
SchwartzJ.SpixC.TouloumiG.BachárováL.BarumamdzadehT.le TertreA.SchoutenJ. P. (1996) Methodological issues in studies of air pollution and daily counts of deaths or hospital admissions. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health50(Suppl 1): S3–S11.
33.
SmithE. L.CooperA. (2013) Homicide in the US known to law enforcement, 2011, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
34.
SmithW. C. (1976) Overview of crime laboratory management. In: FoxR. H.WynbrandtF. H. (eds) Crime laboratory management forum 1976, Rockville, MD: The Forensic Sciences Foundation Press, pp. 5–21.
35.
StinchcombeA. L. (1990) Information and organizations, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (2011) ATF fact sheet, Washington, DC: Author.
38.
U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (2013) Crime in the United States: Offenses known to law enforcement, Washington, DC: Author.
39.
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General. (2005). The Bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives’ National integrated ballistic information network program (Audit Division, Audit Report #05-30). Washington, DC: Author.
40.
WebsterD. W.VernickJ. S.BulzacchelliM. T.VittesK. A. (2012) Temporal association between federal gun laws and the diversion of guns to criminals in Milwaukee. Journal of Urban Health89(1): 87–97.
