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POLICE EVALUATION RESEARCH: AN EXPERIMENTAL AND COST‐BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF A HELICOPTER PATROL IN A HIGH CRIME AREA 1
Author(s) -
Schnelle John F.,
Kirchner Robert E.,
Macrae John W.,
McNees M. Patrick,
Eck Richard H.,
Snodgrass Stana,
Casey Joe D.,
Uselton Paul H.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
journal of applied behavior analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1938-3703
pISSN - 0021-8855
DOI - 10.1901/jaba.1978.11-11
Subject(s) - cash , cost–benefit analysis , baseline (sea) , intervention (counseling) , psychology , marginal cost , operations management , business , engineering , economics , finance , psychiatry , fishery , political science , law , microeconomics , biology
The significance of a helicopter patrol procedure directed toward prevention of home burglaries was evaluated from experimental and cost‐benefit perspectives. The helicopter patrolled one city zone from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for two 12‐day periods. Each 12‐day period was separated by a baseline period in which only normal patrol‐car levels were maintained. Significantly reduced burglary levels during the intervention periods, compared to baseline periods, documented the experimental significance of the helicopter procedure. The cash costs of implementing the patrol procedure were compared to two estimates of the resulting cash benefits. This latter cost‐benefit analysis was supplemented by a discussion of the intangible costs and benefits of the helicopter procedure. Taken together, these analyses documented that the marginal costs of the helicopter intervention were exceeded by all estimates of benefits.