Collaborative Crime Analysis Project

The Collaborative Crime Analysis Project (CCAP) provides analytical support for strategic crime-reduction in selected cities in New York State. CCAP operates in conjunction with a New York State initiative known as Operation IMPACT (Integrated Municipal Police Anti-Crime Teams), which provides funding for strategic crime-reduction interventions by multi-agency task forces in each of seventeen jurisdictions across New York State. Through CCAP, the Institute serves as the research partner to five of those: Albany, Poughkeepsie (Dutchess County), Schenectady, Syracuse (Onondaga County), and Troy (Rensselaer County). As the research partner, we assist with crime analysis and the formulation (and refinement) of data-driven strategies for crime reduction, evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, and also assist with the development of systems for crime and intelligence analysis, performance measurement systems, and related programming.

Juvenile Delinquency Reduction

In 2006, the City of Troy, N.Y., with support from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), enlisted the assistance of Institute staff in the development of a Juvenile Delinquency Reduction Strategy. Working with the City’s Juvenile Crime Enforcement Coalition (JCEC), a multi-agency group, we conducted a strength and needs assessment, which culminated in a series of strategic recommendations, spanning prevention to intervention.

Stemming from the strategic recommendations, the City of Troy, under the direction of the JCEC, sought and received funds from DCJS to support the creation of a Truancy Reduction Program. The Finn Institute is continuing to work with the JCEC, providing input into program development and conducting a process and outcome evaluation.

Continuous, Collegiate In-Service Police Training

The Institute is working with the Albany Police Department Training Unit in its efforts to develop an innovative, comprehensive in-service training model: Continuous, Collegiate In-Service Training. This model of in-service training provides for extensive, multi-modality training for all officers in core subject matter, with additional, more specialized training in a set of “tracks” designed for officers’ professional development. The Finn Institute is evaluating the impact of this training model on the retention of training content, officer job satisfaction, and dimensions of police performance, including citizens’ subjective experience in their interactions with officers.