U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

www.cops.usdoj.gov

Using Offender

Interviews to Inform 

Police Problem

Solving

by Scott H. Decker

Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 

Problem-Solving Tools Series No. 3
www.PopCenter.org

Got a Problem? We’ve got answers!

Log on to the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing website

at www.popcenter.org for a wealth of information to help

you deal more effectively with crime and disorder in your

community, including:

• Web-enhanced versions of all currently available Guides

• Interactive training exercises

• Online access to research and police practices

• Online problem analysis module

Designed for police and those who work with them to

address community problems, www.popcenter.org is a great

resource in problem-oriented policing.

Center for Problem-Oriented Policing
Using Offender

Interviews to Inform 

Police Problem Solving

Scott H. Decker

This project was supported by cooperative agreement 

#2003CKWXK087 by the Office of Community Oriented Policing

Services, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions contained herein

are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the

official position of the U.S. Department of Justice. References to

specific companies, products, or services should not be considered an

endorsement of the product by the author or the U.S. Department of

Justice. Rather, the references are illustrations to supplement

discussion of the issues.

ISBN: 1-932582-49-5

April 2005

Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 

Problem-Solving Tools Series

Guide No. 3

About the Problem-Solving Tools Series i

About the Problem-Solving Tools Series

The problem-solving tool guides are one of three series of

the Problem-Oriented Guides for Police. The other two are the

problem-specific guides and response guides.

The Problem-Oriented Guides for Police summarize knowledge

about how police can reduce the harm caused by specific

crime and disorder problems. They are guides to

preventing problems and improving overall incident

response, not to investigating offenses or handling specific

incidents. The guides are written for police–of whatever

rank or assignment–who must address the specific

problems the guides cover. The guides will be most useful

to officers who

• understand basic problem-oriented policing principles

and methods,

• can look at problems in depth,

• are willing to consider new ways of doing police

business,

• understand the value and the limits of research

knowledge, and

• are willing to work with other community agencies to

find effective solutions to problems.
ii Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem Solving 

The tool guides summarize knowledge about information

gathering and analysis techniques that might assist police

at any of the four main stages of a problem-oriented

project: scanning, analysis, response and assessment. Each

guide

• describes the kind of information produced by each

technique,

• discusses how this information could be useful in

problem solving,

• gives examples of the previous use of the technique,

• provides practical guidance about adapting the

technique to the specific problem being addressed,

• provides templates of data collection instruments

(where this is appropriate),

• suggests how to analyze data gathered by using the

technique,

• shows how to interpret the information correctly and

present it effectively,

• warns about any ethical problems in using the

technique,

• discusses the limitations of the technique when used

by police in a problem-oriented project,

• provides reference sources of more detailed

information about the technique, and

• indicates when expert help in using the technique

should be sought.
About the Problem-Solving Tools Series iii

Extensive technical and scientific literatures cover each of

the techniques dealt with in the tool guides. The tool

guides aim to provide only enough information about each

technique to enable police and others to use it in the

course of problem-solving. In most cases, the information

gathered in the course of a problem-solving project does

not have to withstand rigorous scientific scrutiny. Where

greater confidence is needed in the data, police might need

expert help in using the technique. This can often be

found in local university departments of sociology,

psychology and criminal justice.

The information needs for any single project can be quite

diverse and it will often be necessary to employ a variety

of data collection techniques in meeting these needs.

Similarly, a variety of different analytic techniques may be

needed to analyze the data. Some of the techniques may

be unfamiliar to police and crime analysts, but the effort

invested in learning to use them can make all the

difference to the success of a project.
iv Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem Solving 

For more information about problem-oriented policing,

visit the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing online at

www.popcenter.org or via the COPS website at

www.cops.usdoj.gov. This website offers free online access to:

• the Problem-Specific Guides series,

• the companion Response Guides and Problem-Solving Tools

series,

• instructional information about problem-oriented policing

and related topics,

• an interactive training exercise,

• an online access to important police research and

practices, and

• an online problem analysis module.
Acknowledgments v

Acknowledgments

The Problem-Oriented Guides for Police series is very much a

collaborative effort. While each guide has a primary

author, other project team members, COPS Office staff

and anonymous peer reviewers contributed to each guide

by proposing text, recommending research and offering

suggestions on matters of format and style.

The principal project team developing the guide series

comprised Herman Goldstein, professor emeritus,

University of Wisconsin Law School; Ronald V. Clarke,

professor of criminal justice, Rutgers University; John E.

Eck, professor of criminal justice, University of

Cincinnati; Michael S. Scott, clinical assistant professor,

University of Wisconsin Law School; Rana Sampson,

police consultant, San Diego; and Deborah Lamm Weisel,

director of police research, North Carolina State

University.

Nancy Leach and Cynthia Pappas oversaw the project for

the COPS Office. Rebecca Kanable edited the guide.

Research for the guides was conducted at the Criminal

Justice Library at Rutgers University under the direction of

Phyllis Schultze.

The project team also wishes to acknowledge the members

of the San Diego, National City and Savannah police

departments who provided feedback on the guides' format

and style in the early stages of the project, as well as the

line police officers, police executives and researchers who

peer reviewed each guide.

Contents

About the Problem-Solving Tools Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i

Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

What Offender Interviews Have Found . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Drug Dealers and Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

Residential Burglars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Armed Robbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Gang Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Gun Offenders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Concrete Advice on Conducting Offender Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 

The Goals of Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Who to Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 

Who Should Conduct the Interview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

How to Find Appropriate Subjects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 

Convincing Subjects to Participate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Informed Consent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Maintaining Field Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 

Conducting Interviews. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 

Sorting Out the Truth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

Analyzing the Interview Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 

Presenting the Findings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 

Endnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 

Contents vii
viii Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem Solving 

About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Recommended Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Introduction 1

Introduction

There is a long tradition in criminal justice research of

interviewing active offenders, but very little of this

research has focused specifically on police problem

solving. This is unfortunate because active offenders

provide substantial amounts of information about each of

the elements of the crime triangle: victims, offenders, and

places. Such information should prove useful for strategic

problem-solving interventions, because it yields

information about crime patterns in general that may not

be obvious when examining one case at a time. The

information from such interviews may enhance existing

problem-solving projects or generate new ones. The

information can also improve officer safety.

The distinction between offenses and offenders is

important because it highlights the two different kinds of

knowledge–strategic and tactical–that can be gleaned from

interviews of active offenders. You can learn about one

important leg of the crime triangle by studying offenders.

Information from such interviews provides important

tactical information for responding to one specific

individual or specific patterns of behavior. Such

information is useful in responding to that individual and

others who may behave like this person. Studying offenses

provides information of strategic value for responding to

patterns and trends in general. This guide attempts to

bridge the gap between police and researchers by

underscoring the common purposes both groups have, and

pointing out the problem-solving value to be gained from

interviewing active offenders.

Information from active offenders is particularly

important because in some cases, it comes from offenders

who have not been caught. In other cases, information
2 Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem Solving 

from active offenders can inform you about offenses other

than those for which the offender was arrested. Robbery

provides an excellent example. Interviews with active

armed robbers revealed that these offenders experienced a

large number of victimizations that they did not report to

the police.1 Often these victimizations were retaliation for

earlier robberies and sometimes produced an escalating

series of crime sprees. However, these victimizations have

implications for the broader community because these

offenders often "take matters into their own hands" and

retaliate for their victimization, harming innocent

members of the community, making the community less

safe in general, and greatly increasing fear of crime. This

is a key element of the SARA model as it more fully

elaborates on the nature of crime problems and their

genesis.

Active offenders can provide a wealth of information

about crimes, motives, and techniques. This information

extends well beyond the crimes for which offenders are

arrested or under investigation. Such information can be

valuable to the police in problem-solving approaches to

crime.

This guide falls into two parts. The first part provides a

summary of the most important findings from offender

interviews, while the second provides concrete

recommendations on how to set about conducting

offender interviews for problem-oriented policing projects.
What Offender Interviews Have Found 3

What Offender Interviews Have Found

Much is known from offender interviews conducted in

prison. There is some evidence that active offenders have

different patterns of offending and different perceptions;

they may be more forthright and provide more valid

information than offenders in prison or jail.2 There is a

large and growing body of evidence regarding how active

offenders perceive their tactics, motives, targets, and

offense patterns.

Research with active offenders has focused on five

categories of offenders:

1. drug dealers and users,

2. residential burglars,

3. armed robbers,

4. gang members, and 

5. gun offenders.

This guide highlights key findings from these interviews

that apply directly to problem-solving. The central finding

from this work is that the context of offenders' lives–their

lifestyles–are important to understand their offending.

Interviews with active offenders consistently underscore

the role that their values, relationships, and activities play

in their involvement in crime. These key findings provide a

foundation for implementing strategies to interview active

offenders.
4 Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem Solving 

Drug Dealers and Users

There is a large body of research with drug users and drug

dealers. One study focused on serious heroin drug users in

New York City.3 The researchers interviewed and observed

heroin users in flophouses, street corners, cars, and

treatment centers in an effort to put the users and their

lifestyles into a broader context. They examined the

reasons for drug use, the search for drugs, and the

experience of being "high." Many of the heavy heroin

users held jobs, kept relationships together, and met a

variety of social obligations. This broader context of

lifestyles and values can yield clues about behavior and

associations that can help you better understand how

offenders structure their lives and mix offending with

more conventional lifestyles. Such understanding can lead

to more effective policing, through Crime Prevention

Through Environmental Design (CPTED) as well as

problem-solving.

Two examples illustrate this important point:

• First, even the most serious drug users have significant

involvement in other activities, many of which are lawabiding. Interviews with heavy (powder) cocaine users

in San Francisco found significant involvement in

legitimate activities including careers, families, and

neighborhood activities.4 Even among the most serious

of drug users, patterns of "normal" life could be

found. You can use information such as this to look

beyond apparently law-abiding lifestyles, as well as to

leverage relationships and reduce drug use by paying

more attention to middle and upper-middle class drug

use. Most "down and out" drug users retain some
What Offender Interviews Have Found 5

commitments to family, neighborhood, or employment.

These are important links for problem-solving.

• Even serious drug users go through periods of

abstinence. Drug markets that have dried up, or

become too expensive or too uncertain because of

violence or police presence often impose these periods

of abstinence externally. Nearly as often, however,

serious drug users impose abstinence upon themselves,

refraining from drug use because they know that they

have "hit bottom" or are close to the edge.5 These

periods of abstinence–regardless of the source–are

opportunities for you to link offenders to services, as

well as to use additional problem-solving techniques

such as the involvement of probation and parole, drug

treatment, and community services. These findings also

point to the positive results from drug crackdowns that

produce temporary reductions in drug availability.

During these periods you–and others–must be willing

to link offenders to services.

A researcher working in Harlem interviewed hundreds of

Puerto Rican drug dealers.6 He identified extreme poverty,

rapid social change, and political and cultural isolation as

key forces that lead to drug selling. Many of the drug

users and sellers he interviewed shared values consistent

with the American Dream: they were highly motivated,

ambitious, and enterprising. Officers committed to

problem-solving can find ways to involve nongovernmental organizations (including faith-based groups),

families, and other groups such as drug treatment

organizations, job placement services, and community

resources to address these issues. These interviews

underscore the extremely high levels of victimization

experienced by individuals involved in drug dealing, and
6 Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem Solving 

how that victimization further isolates them from lawabiding roles and relationships. This is the sort of

information that you can employ to good advantage.

An important question to emerge from this research is

how can police officers engage community services or

involve other agencies in the effort to solve these

community problems. Here are four suggestions:

• Work through existing coalitions and task forces.

Weed and Seed,7 the Juvenile Accountability Incentive

Block Grant (JAIBG) program,8 and Project Safe

Neighborhoods (PSN)9 are three initiatives that exist in

most communities. These initiatives provide both

resources and contacts that police committed to

problem-solving can employ. Other coalitions may

include faith-based and non-governmental

organizations currently partnering with police.

• Engage city, state, and county offices. The use of

additional public services (trash, nuisance abatement,

code enforcement, social services, child welfare, EMS,

fire protection) is an obvious choice here.

• Involve the family. Decades of research have

documented that the family is the single most

important institution in preventing and responding to

crime. The extent to which you engage families in

problem-solving is a measure of the extent to which

you have engaged their most important allies in solving

problems.
What Offender Interviews Have Found 7

• Involve the juvenile court. It is well understood that

the conditions that create involvement in crime among

one family member are likely to be replicated among

other family members. By engaging in problem-solving

activities with older male siblings in families you may

find that such activities pay dividends with younger

brothers and sisters.

Interviews with active offenders have been supported by

the U.S. Justice Department since the mid-1980s. The

National Institute of Justice implemented the Arrestee

Drug Abuse Monitoring system10 in the jails and pre-trial

detention facilities of the largest cities in America. In this

program, recent arrestees provided urine samples for drug

analysis, and were interviewed and asked about their drug

use, drug treatment, and participation in gangs and drug

sales. These data reveal a variety of important findings.

First, the interviews offer insights into the diversity of

offenses and risky behaviors–including unprotected sex

and shared needle use–that arrestees engage in. Second,

arrestees are generally truthful about their drug use,

particularly when self-reports are compared to urinalysis.

Third, these interviews dispel the myths that offenders use

a single drug and that drug abuse is confined to a specific

category of offenders. In many cities, more than half of

all arrestees–regardless of charge–test positive for drugs.

Finally, these data reveal that arrestees have a large volume

of contacts with the criminal justice system, few of which

result in more formal processing. These are lost

opportunities for problem-solving and intervention.
8 Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem Solving 

Residential Burglars

Research with active residential burglars may offer the

most provocative lessons for policing. Three key projects,

funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, were conducted

in Odessa (Texas),11 Delaware,12 and St. Louis13 using active

residential burglars for their source of information. These

studies document that residential burglars have a variety of

motivations, most of which are linked to their desires to

engage in a lifestyle focused on partying and keeping up

appearances. These offenders maintain a focus on shortterm goals and engage in behaviors that entrap them in

more offending.

Residential burglars are both victims and offenders. Their

victimization is related to their involvement in offending

and is more generally related to their lifestyle. Lifestyle

issues have proven important in a number of different

cultural and comparative contexts.14 As a consequence,

these victimizations should be of interest to you. Few

offenders report their victimization to the police. Fear of

reprisal, fear of detection, or fear of not being taken

seriously all lead to under-reporting of victimization

among active offenders. Such under-reporting is often

treated with a "wink and a nod" by police, because

offenders "got what they deserved." Yet in the case of

residential burglars (and other offenders), these

victimizations create the motives for new offenses. Some

of these crimes are the obvious result of their own

offending, as their victims (many of whom are offenders

themselves) seek redress outside the legal system to right

the wrong that was done to them. By engaging in such

behavior, offenders circumvent the criminal justice system

and invoke punishment themselves.
What Offender Interviews Have Found 9

Why should anyone care about the victimization of one

offender by another offender? One answer to this question

would be that such victimizations and the mayhem they

create add considerably to community disorder. These

studies underscore the diversity of offending that burglars

engage in. While each of these studies was focused on

burglars, they all found that their subjects were not strictly

burglars. These "burglars" also engaged in robbery, drug

sales, car theft, and a variety of other offenses. If you see

arrested burglars strictly as burglars, you may miss key

features of the broader context of offending and lifestyle

that may lead you to find the burglar in a drug

investigation or a gun case.

Armed Robbers

The findings from research with armed robbers

underscore the versatility of offending patterns among

robbers, the high levels of victimization among armed

robbers, and the role of lifestyle pressures among this

group of offenders.

In one study conducted in St. Louis, individuals who

robbed drug dealers were interviewed.15 It was found that

while robbery is the "purest" of offenses with regard to

motive and intent (cash), robbers engage in a variety of

other offenses. The robbers interviewed engaged in a

number of activities–legal and otherwise–that enmeshed

them in a lifestyle that they have difficulty leaving. These

individuals also had very high rates of victimization, a

pattern similar to that for residential burglars and drug

sellers.
10 Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem Solving 

In another St. Louis study, it was found that armed

robbers also engaged in a number of other offenses

including burglary, drug sales, auto theft, and assault.16 A

pattern was observed whereby offenders would engage in

a minor form of offending, be victimized, and retaliate by

engaging in a robbery. This pattern increased their level of

offending, both in terms of frequency and seriousness.

Few of these offenders chose to report their victimization

to the authorities. The failure to report victimizations

clearly was linked to involvement in offending. The

conclusions indicate that encouraging offenders to report

their victimization is a key to preventing future offending.

Lacking legal recourse, many offenders take the law into

their own hands, circumventing legal means, and thereby

increasing the odds of engaging in additional crime.

Gang Members

Interviews with active gang members have been conducted

since the start of the 20th century. Federal funding resulted

in a number of studies looking at the impact of policies,

the motivations for joining and offending, and potential

solutions to the gang problem. These interviews provide a

picture of gang members that reinforces that of the drug

users and dealers, burglars, and armed robbers.

Gang members engage in a variety of offenses-a

phenomenon that researchers call "cafeteria-style

offending."17 Cafeteria-style offenders pick and choose

from the wide variety of offending options. One week,

these offenders may be burglars, the next day they may be

robbers, and that afternoon they may steal a car. It is a
What Offender Interviews Have Found 11

mistake to regard such individuals as specialists, yet such

perceptions are understandable as you typically see these

individuals only with regard to the offense for which they

were arrested. It is also clear from this research that gang

members experience a large volume of victimizations.

Gang membership is also transient. Most youth who join a

gang tend to do so for relatively short periods of time.

During the periods of time that they are active gang

members, their levels of offending and victimization were

elevated compared to both their time before joining the

gang as well as after leaving the gang.

One of the notable features of gang membership is the

level of bragging about gang membership. As stories are

told over and over again, they attain "mythic" status.

Sorting through the talk and bluster about gang activity

becomes an important issue because so much of it is

simply that, talk. One way to do this is to bring multiple

sources of data to bear on the same issue. In this regard,

you would bring as much information to bear on an

investigation involving a gang member as possible. This

would include school records, parental interviews, juvenile

court information, field interrogation cards, division of

youth service records, and interviews with family and

associates.

Gun Offenders

There have been a number of interviews with offenders

involved in firearm use. These studies reinforce what was

learned in earlier studies including the versatility of

offenders, high levels of victimization, and easy access to

firearms.
12 Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem Solving 

In one study, nearly 1,900 prisoners were interviewed in 10

state prison facilities.18 Fifty percent of the prisoners were

classified as gun criminals. Three-quarters of the people

interviewed owned at least one gun, and of that group,

three-quarters owned handguns. Not surprisingly, a

majority of the prisoners had used a gun in the

commission of a crime. Most inmates reported that they

owned a gun for protection, owned small, inexpensive

weapons, and had a preference for large caliber, high

quality firearms. It is important to note that informal and

illegal means dominated the methods by which inmates

obtained guns, and most reported that a gun could be

obtained within a matter of hours. This picture of the

illegal firearms market is consistent with a view of the

street gun scene as very informal, word-of-mouth, and

easy to access for offenders. It also reinforces the view

that offenders are not easily deterred by the chance of

arrest and penalties for illegal possession of firearms.

Interviews of incarcerated male juveniles and inner city

males showed that gun possession was common among

these groups.19 Not surprisingly, involvement in drug sales

had important effects in increasing gun carrying. Selfreports of gun carrying were also high among those not

involved in drug sales. Taken together, these reports

suggest the importance of monitoring gun acquisition by

those at risk for involvement in gun violence either as

victims or offenders, even at a young age. Other research

supports the conclusion that there are strong relationships

between being involved in drug sales, gang membership,

and gun ownership and use.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (now the

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives)

initiated a 17-city program several years ago. This program

was designed to comprehensively trace all crime guns, and
What Offender Interviews Have Found 13

provide the results of those traces to local law

enforcement officials for better prosecution and

enforcement activities. A major part of the initiative was

to conduct interviews with all offenders illegally

possessing a firearm, as well as their associates. This

information was to serve both as background for future

investigations, as well as to form a backbone of

knowledge for police problem-solving efforts. Interviews

revealed that females made many straw purchases for

felons who could not purchase a gun, and ATF now

includes multiple purchases of firearms made by females

as a category of concern.

The Strategic Approaches to Community Safety Initiative

(SACSI) was a problem-solving initiative funded by the

National Institute of Justice in 10 cities to address a local

problem of their choice. Based loosely on the approach in

the Boston Gun Project, these cities formed task forces,

identified gun problems, and formulated strategies to

address problems. The majority of cities did choose gun

crime as their problem. In Detroit, simple gun possession

became a focus for the intervention as problem-solving

research demonstrated that individuals charged with

carrying a concealed weapon or unlawful use (typically

charged as city ordinance violations) often were arrested in

more serious assaults as well. Rochester, N.Y. focus group

interviews documented the easy availability of guns

coupled with the knowledge that gun prosecutions were

increasing. Despite this, few offenders reported a

willingness to give up their guns, owing to the danger on

the streets. Detention interviews conducted in Indianapolis

demonstrated that arrestees were familiar with several of

the initiatives that had been put in place and were in some

ways amenable to the messages about reducing gun

carrying. St. Louis detention interviews documented a high
14 Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem Solving 

level of knowledge regarding gun penalties, particularly the

higher penalties imposed by federal prosecution compared

to the state of Missouri. When asked whether they feared

punishment from the criminal justice system or being

caught without their guns on the street, arrestees were

evenly split. This finding indicates the need to increase the

credibility of the threat of arrest, prosecution, and

imprisonment among offenders.

Summary of Findings From Interviewing Offenders

What are the key findings learned from this approach?

• Offenders are versatile. There are few specialists out

there. Most offenders employ a cafeteria-style approach

to offending, that is, offenders engage in a variety of

offenses and are opportunists. This is particularly

important for narcotics investigations where interviews

with active offenders have demonstrated that drug

offenders are involved in multiple offenses. Indeed,

there may be no group that is more versatile than druginvolved offenders.

• Offending has peaks and valleys. Even the most

active offender takes periods of time away from

offending. In addition, there are cycles in the offending

careers of individual offenders as well as in the overall

patterns of offending. These patterns vary by day of

week, time of day, nature of companionship, age,

gender, and economic conditions.

• There are several keys to understanding the

motives of active offenders. These include partying,

keeping up outward appearances, group processes, selfprotection and retaliation. Few crimes are committed to

meet pressing economic needs such as rent or car
What Offender Interviews Have Found 15

payments. Co-offending is a constant to most

offending, particularly among youth whose crimes are

overwhelmingly committed in a group context.

• Lifestyle plays an important role in offending.

Interviews and observations with active offenders hold

the promise of uncovering more of that lifestyle than

simply interviewing offenders in prison. In particular,

the "code of the street,"20 a set of values about being

tough, not backing down, and protecting one's

reputation; is much more evident in interviews with

active offenders than it is in interviews conducted in

prison, or in reviewing police and court records.

• Victimization among offenders is very high and

motivates much offending. There is little loyalty

among offenders, many of whom victimize each other

or don't partner well with each other for the long term.

• Offenders do respond to sanctions or the threat of

sanctions, but only in a limited way and under

certain circumstances. The viability of threats is

linked to lifestyle issues and limited rationality.

Traditional methods of deterrence rarely work among

committed offenders, and innovative techniques such as

those used in the Boston Gun Project or the

Indianapolis VIPER initiative are necessary.

• Offender careers have a beginning and an end.

Hastening the end, postponing the beginning, and

reducing the peaks each require different strategies but

each will pay dividends. The age-crime curve comes in

to play here, and understanding the lifecycle of

offenders is important.

Concrete Advice on Conducting Offender Interviews 17

Concrete Advice on Conducting

Offender Interviews

The tradition of interviewing offenders has a long history

in research and potentially strong application in policing.

Really, police use interviews every day in investigations,

custody, and on the street. What this guide provides is a

set of procedures for you to utilize. We have identified 11

specific areas of concern:

1. Establishing the goals of interviews.

2. Choosing offenders to interview.

3. Determining who should conduct the interview.

4. Finding appropriate subjects.

5. Convincing subjects to participate.

6. Maintaining field relations.

7. Conducting interviews.

8. Sorting out the truth.

9. Analyzing the interview results.

10. Presenting the findings.

11. Applying the interview results to tactical and strategic

problem-solving.

The Goals of Interviews

The goal of interviewing active offenders seems obvious:

gain information that can help solve or prevent crimes.

Things are not always as straightforward as they seem. The

first decision to make is whether the goal of the

interviews is to provide either tactical or strategic

information. In tactical situations, information is gathered

to meet short-term needs or ongoing investigations or
18 Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem Solving 

activities. For strategic purposes, information from active

offenders can be most useful in understanding motives,

target selection, co-offending, or disposing of stolen

goods. Using the knowledge gained through interviews

with active offenders can function much like strategic

intelligence in military settings. In addition, such

information can play a useful role in planning and training.

Identifying what to ask can be the most important part of

the process. The first place to start is with questionnaires

that may have been used for a similar purpose. Most

researchers are willing to share their questionnaires. It is

important to consult someone experienced in making up

such a questionnaire for advice on ordering of questions,

how to ask questions, how to use "probes," and follow-up

questions. It is also important to pre-test the questionnaire

with several subjects before it is used for real.

Who to Interview

Determining who to interview is important as well. Not

every suspect, person of interest, or arrestee can be

interviewed; there simply isn't enough time or personnel

available. High-rate offenders, particularly when they are

not in a custody situation, can be among the most useful

sources of information for strategic purposes. The field is

an excellent site to conduct such interviews. Some custody

situations, particularly shortly before release on bond or

on municipal warrants, can also be productive. Just as the

military debriefs captured enemy soldiers, you need to

gather information from active offenders when they are in

vulnerable situations and likely to talk, such as while

recovering in the hospital, and facing sentencing or trial.
Concrete Advice on Conducting Offender Interviews 19

Many offenders may offer more information postconviction, perhaps under conditions of community

supervision, regarding other offenses than prior to

conviction. It is important that interviews not focus

simply on the characteristics of the current offense. Many

burglars know a good deal about drug markets, the fencing

of goods, and other forms of street crime. It is important

to glean this information from them before they are

released. In many cases, offenders are more willing to talk

about offenses other than those that they are in custody

for.

Interviewing active offenders provides a much closer look

at offending than prison interviews. The offenders who

end up in prison are a selective group, in a sense they are

the "failures," the criminals who get caught. Interviewing

active offenders makes it much more likely that the

information about motives, techniques, and associations

will be closer to the offense, and therefore more valid.

Research has documented that active residential burglars

who have not been caught go about the business of

burglary differently than individuals who have been

arrested and convicted. Having a routine and sticking to it

was seen in interviews as the key to being successful. Such

interviews and observations are important because they

paint a different picture of offending than emerges from

solely relying on police sources. Police respond to the

most serious of offenses and offenders, often missing

individuals at the earlier stages of their involvement in

crime and with the criminal justice system.
20 Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem Solving 

Who Should Conduct the Interview

Much of the research that has been conducted with active

offenders has shown that the choice of interviewers is

very important. The two primary choices are to have

police conduct the interviews in-house and contract with

another group to conduct the interviews. There are

advantages to both. For example, the police may be skilled

at interviewing and have knowledge of details that could

lead them to probe offenders in more detail.† On the other

hand, skilled outsiders may present less of a threat to

offenders and gain more information. If you contract the

interviews to a research firm or university-based team,

clear and specific instructions regarding what is expected

should be provided, and a questionnaire should be

negotiated between the parties. The advantages of

partnering with researchers to learn more should not be

ignored. There are a lot of programs that operate in this

manner such as the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring

system (ADAM) and Project Safe Neighborhoods. If you

do commission the interviews to another group, be sure to

specify the kinds of information that you are most

interested in. This can be accomplished by reviewing

questionnaires prior to starting the research process.

Ethical concerns may dictate that non-sworn personnel

conduct the interviews in cases where officers are involved

in active cases that include potential interview subjects.

The choice of interviewer is as important as the choice of

the subject to be interviewed. Clearly, the value of subject

knowledge is critical on the part of the interviewer.

Equally important is the commitment to and ability to

think strategically, searching for the appropriate

† As a general proposition, in the

United States police may interview

offenders about their general

offending patterns and habits

without triggering the requirements

to notify suspects of their

constitutional privileges against selfincrimination and access to legal

counsel. You should seek local legal

advice if you have questions about

the legality of your interview plan.
Concrete Advice on Conducting Offender Interviews 21

applications of the information gleaned in the interview.

The ability to probe for in-depth information, challenge a

subject on inconsistencies or apparent falsehoods, and link

across different kinds of crime are important qualities in

an interviewer. Typically, these qualities are found in a

veteran detective, though not always. Matching the race

and gender of interviewer and subject is not critical,

though it is desirable.

How to Find Appropriate Subjects

The police typically have no shortage of appropriate

subjects: offenders with long histories of offending or

subjects who associate with such offenders. However, you

may want to expand the area where you search for

appropriate subjects. Bodegas, convenience stores, car

washes, fast food restaurants, vacant lots, street corners,

areas in and around emergency room waiting areas,

probation offices, alleys, and basketball courts may be

appropriate "catchment" areas for you to seek out such

potential subjects. In a sense, this advice represents an

exhortation to meet offenders "on their own turf," where

they are likely to feel more comfortable, and more

importantly, be more likely to cooperate.21 Interviewing

offenders while in custody can provide useful information,

but even greater gains can come when the circle in which

interviews are completed is widened to include their

haunts.
22 Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem Solving 

Convincing Subjects to Participate

This is the key issue, a make or break proposition in the

process of gaining useful information. Most of the

successful research with active offenders has offered them

incentives to participate, either in the form of cash (which

seems to work best) or vouchers. In the research

community, the principles of informed consent and

Human Subjects Protection† must guide such activities.

Typically, the police are not in a position to offer such

incentives. Many researchers have found that offenders

often are anxious to talk about their own feats and those

of others. After all, many offenders have a tendency to

brag about their exploits or things they know of, but find

few vehicles they can use to do so. The tradition of

offering some compensation for information has a long

history in policing in the use of confidential informants,

but there can be other avenues in which enticements to

discuss offending can be offered. You should consult with

local legal counsel to ensure that any inducements offered

to offenders do not violate laws, policies, or professional

ethics.

Informed Consent

Offenders interviewed should understand the purposes of

the questions being put to them; the likely consequences

to them for answering, refusing to answer, or answering

falsely the questions; what, if anything, they will receive

for their cooperation; their right to refuse to participate;

and any other information that will enable them to

provide informed consent to participate.††

† For U.S. federal guidelines on

Human Subjects Protection, see the

Code of Federal Regulations

(28CFR46.101-124).

†† The U.S. Code of Federal

Regulations (28CFR46.116) offers

guidance on the requirements for

informed consent.
Concrete Advice on Conducting Offender Interviews 23

Maintaining Field Relations

Once offenders have agreed to talk and provide

information about crime patterns and techniques, it is

important that communication be kept open. Some

researchers reported that offenders would show up at their

university after hearing from a friend that a study of

burglary, robbery, or gang members was ongoing. Keeping

subjects involved in an ongoing basis can pay particular

dividends when the need for tactical information regarding

a specific offense arises, and such subjects can play helpful

roles in such operations.

Conducting Interviews

It is important that as much information be recorded in an

interview as possible. Most researchers tape record their

conversations with offenders and have them transcribed

for analysis at a later time. This may prove to be

impossible for many interactions between police and

offenders, however taking good notes with appropriate

detail is important. It is also important that the location in

which the full interview is conducted does not place

offenders at undue risk. Conducting interviews in

plainclothes may allay some offenders' fears, and it

certainly will not tip off the offender to others as an

informer. Most researchers have found that doing

interviews in public places was counterproductive, and

some degree of privacy provided a safer and more useful

set of information. It is important to note that these are

interviews rather than interrogations.
24 Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem Solving 

Interviews can be conducted in groups, following a focus

group methodology, or individually. There are some who

argue that when offenders are interviewed in a group

setting that there is less bragging and exaggeration,

because others in the group will contradict someone who

exaggerates. In addition, group interviews, particularly in a

custody setting, can dispel fears about being labeled a

"snitch" or a "stool pigeon." Others have found that

interviewing one individual at a time is more likely to

provide in-depth information and allows for a more

"orderly" interview. There is no correct answer to this

dilemma, however some advice can be offered. First, if the

nature of questions is about group offending, such as

gang activity or burglary, group interviews may make more

sense. If the activity is more likely to be committed by one

individual, then individual interviews may suffice.

Sorting Out the Truth

Researchers are sensitive to the claims that offenders may

not always be truthful, by either bragging about offenses

they did not commit or concealing offenses they did

commit. Researchers generally have been careful to try and

find means by which they can validate what they are told.

This has been done several ways:

• Sometimes this is done through repeated interviews

and observations with the same research subject to

look for the consistency of what the subject has said.

• On other occasions, interviews with different

individuals regarding the same event are compared to

determine the extent to which they are telling the same

"story." 
Concrete Advice on Conducting Offender Interviews 25

• A third method of validating responses is to compare

offender responses to what is known from other

groups regarding their behavior. Other groups can

include police (using arrest records or field interview

cards), schools, juvenile court workers, and other adults

in the community.

• Observations can be combined with interview

techniques to determine whether a set of responses

corresponds to other things that the researcher learns

through observation.

• In some instances, researchers have used official

records, lie detectors, or urinalysis to assess the extent

to which their subjects were telling them the truth.

What has generally been found from such validation

efforts is that like most people, offenders are not

always truthful in reporting their behavior. In some

instances offenders reported more crime and more

arrests than official records checks revealed.22

The ability of researchers to obtain valid information is

enhanced by a number of factors. The first factor is the

ability to enter the interview or observation setting with

some knowledge of the behavior or community that they

are trying to study. A second factor that enhances the

reliability of such information is the use of multiple

measures of the same concept. For example, an offender

may be asked about gun ownership in a number of ways

and on a number of occasions. The combined information

will likely yield the most valid picture of gun ownership.

Researchers can also rely on what is known from other

sources of information about the specific behavior of

interest. In this manner, crime reports, previous research,

and a broader set of interviews with associates of the

individual of interest may prove fruitful.
26 Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem Solving 

Analyzing the Interview Results

Interview results from a single offender are often quite

useful. The real benefit from such interviews comes when

several of them can be pieced together to form a larger

picture of an offense. For example, the work by Wright

and Decker (1994) with active residential burglars

established patterns by which burglars got rid of the

proceeds of their crimes, demonstrating the main

categories of action as well as the variation within those

disposal types. There are a number of software packages

that can be used quite easily to sort through interview

results, determine patterns, and create classifications. Such

software can be used to analyze the text of police reports,

where such reports exist in computerized text format.

Here is an area where assistance from crime analysts can

greatly enhance the utility of the analysis. These tools can

help you to wring the greatest utility from information

that can be costly to collect.

Presenting the Findings

One of the important things to do with information

collected from active offenders is to transmit it to others

within the police department, as well as other police

departments and agencies of the justice system. Probation,

parole, and prosecution may all find some utility in such

information in the monitoring of offenders or preparation

of cases. It is likely that police agencies face, to a large

degree, some common issues. The goal of collecting such

information is to end up with a product that is useful and

can be applied in a wide variety of circumstances. Nothing

detracts from the utility of information like having it

presented in an unintelligible or overly complicated
Concrete Advice on Conducting Offender Interviews 27

manner. Summaries with key points in bulleted form, a

simple graph or two, and suggestions about action steps

are the surest way to ensure that information becomes

action.

Like any analysis, findings should be presented around key

concepts and themes. These concepts and themes should

be drawn from the focus of the problem-solving initiative.

Summaries of what an individual subject said are generally

less helpful than summaries of what all the subjects said

about a particular subject. Many researchers have found

that discussing their findings and conclusion among

themselves, and then with their research subjects has been

very productive.

Applying the Interview Results to Tactical and

Strategic Problem Solving

The products of interviews with active offenders can be

quite useful. As noted above, one of the key issues that

has been learned from these interviews is the role that

lifestyle plays in offending. Interviews and observations

hold the promise of uncovering more of that lifestyle than

simply interviewing offenders in prison. Such interviews

and observations are important because they paint a

different picture of offending than emerges from solely

relying on law enforcement sources. In addition,

interviews have shown that offenders do not always

perceive the cues in ways that we expect. Determining

their perceptions can be the key to successful

interventions.
28 Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem Solving 

There are numerous examples of differences between the

picture of offending and offenders that police and field

research have revealed. Paying attention to interviewing

and more thorough debriefing of offenders can help

counterbalance such biases, and provide information that

would lay the groundwork for better problem-solving.

The work of the Plano, Texas police department is a good

example of the application of these principles.23 Having

determined that underage drinking was a problem in

Plano, an officer assigned to problem-solving conducted

interviews with clerks in package stores. These interviews

revealed a lack of fear of being caught for underage

drinking, coupled with limited knowledge of the laws

governing sale of alcohol to underage minors. This

information was used to pilot an informational campaign

to raise awareness of the law and penalties attached to the

laws against the sale of alcohol to minors. Sales to minors

decreased significantly. In Lancashire, Great Britain, police

officers observed a serious problem with cocaine and

crack use. Interviews were conducted with the 10

individuals most involved in such drug use and offending

such as robbery, burglary, and auto crimes. These

interviews determined that there was a lack of

connections between offenders and treatment. As a

consequence, police worked to fix the gaps in the system

of linking offenders to treatment services, as well as hold

these individuals accountable for their behavior. A 30

percent reduction in crime was recorded.24
Concrete Advice on Conducting Offender Interviews 29

The successful Boston Operation Ceasefire used

interviews with active gang members to determine

preferences for guns and assess the role of drug dealing in

gangs.25 The results from these interviews changed the

focus in gun interdiction strategies and led to the use of

directed patrol against gang drug sales when shootings

erupted.

Numerous other examples of the successful use of

interviewing active offenders by police agencies can be

found. These examples include many POP projects that

have received recognition for their impact. They include

the use of interviews with prostitutes in the Lancashire

Constabulary26, with "johns" and prostitutes in Buffalo27,

and with burglars in Chula Vista, California.28 In each case,

these projects illustrate the feasibility as well as the impact

of such an approach. Interviewing active offenders can

enhance existing POP projects or generate new ones. In

either case, the information gleaned from active offenders

can provide important strategic information to change

interventions or generate new responses.

Endnotes 31

Endnotes

1 Wright and Decker (1997); Jacobs (2000). 2 Wright and Decker (1994, 1997); Jacobs (1999, 2000). 3 Johnson et al. (1985). 4 Waldorf, Reinarman, and Murphy (1991). 5 Johnson et al. (1985); Waldorf, Reinarman, and Murphy

(1991). 6 Bourgois (1995). 7 www.ojp.usdoj.gov/eows/ 8 http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/jaibg/ 9 www.psn.gov/ 10 www.adam-nij.net/ This program was suspended in

early 2004. 11 Cromwell, Olson, and Avery (1991). 12 Rengert and Wasilchick (2000). 13 Wright and Decker (1994). 14 Wiles and Costello (2000). 15 Jacobs (2000). 16 Wright and Decker (1997). 17 Klein (1995). 18 Wright and Rossi (1986). 19 Sheley and Wright (1995). 20 Anderson (1999). 21 Wright and Decker (1997), Wright and Decker (1994),

Decker and Van Winkle (1996), Jacobs (1999),

Cromwell, Olson and Avery (1991). 22 Wright and Decker (1994). 23 Plano Police Department (2003). 24 Lancashire Constabulary (2003a). 25 Boston Police Department (1998). 26 Lancashire Constabulary (2003b). 27 Buffalo Police Department (2001). 28 Chula Vista Police Department (2001).

References 33

References

Anderson, E. (1999). Code of the Street: Decency, Violence, and

the Moral Life of the Inner City. New York: Norton and

Company.

Boston Police Department (1998). "Operation Ceasefire.

Deterring Youth Firearm Violence." Submission to the

Herman Goldstein Award for Excellence in ProblemOriented Policing. Accessible at

www.popcenter.org/Library/Goldstein/1998/98-

08(W).pdf

Bourgois, P. (1995). In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El

Barrio. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Buffalo Police Department (2001). "Workable Solutions to

the Problem of Street Prostitution in Buffalo, N.Y."

Submission to the Herman Goldstein Award for

Excellence in Problem-Oriented Policing. Accessible at

www.popcenter.org/Library/Goldstein/2001/2001.pdf

Chula Vista Police Department (2001). "The Chula Vista

Residential Burglary Reduction Project." Submission to

the Herman Goldstein Award for Excellence in

Problem-Oriented Policing. Accessible at

www.popcenter.org/Library/Goldstein/2001/2001.pdf

Cromwell, P., J. Olson, and D. Avery (1991). Breaking and

Entering: An Ethnographic Analysis of Burglary. Newbury

Park, California: Sage.

Decker, S., and B. Van Winkle (1996). Life in the Gang:

Family, Friends and Violence. New York: Cambridge

University Press.
34 Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem Solving 

Jacobs, B. (1999). Dealing Crack: The Social World of

Streetcorner Selling. Boston: Northeastern University

Press.

(2000). Robbing Drug Dealers. Boston: Northeastern

University Press.

Johnson, B., P. Goldstein, E. Preble, J. Schmeidler, D.

Lipton, B. Spunt, and T. Miller (1985). Taking Care of

Business: The Economics of Crime by Heroin Abusers.

Lexington, Massachusetts: Lexington Books.

Klein, M. (1995). The American Street Gang. New York:

Oxford.

Lancashire Constabulary (2003a). "The Tower Project.

Blackpool Community Safety Project." Submission to

the Herman Goldstein Award for Excellence in

Problem-Oriented Policing. Accessible at

www.popcenter.org/Library/Goldstein/2003/03-

59%20(F).pdf

(2003b). "Operation Kerb: Multi-Agency Problem

Solving Approach to Street Prostitution in Preston."

Submission to the Herman Goldstein Award for

Excellence in Problem-Oriented Policing. Accessible at

www.popcenter.org/Library/Goldstein/2003/03-

56%20(F).pdf

Miller, J. (2001). One of the Guys: Girls, Gangs, and Gender.

New York: Oxford University Press.
Appendix 35

Plano Police Department (2003). "Underage Drinking:

More Than a Minor Issue." Submission to the Herman

Goldstein Award for Excellence in Problem-Oriented

Policing. Accessible at

www.popcenter.org/Library/Goldstein/2003/03-

27%20(F).pdf

Rengert, G., and J. Wasilchick (2000). Suburban Burglary: A

Tale of Two Suburbs. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C.

Thomas.

Sheley, J., and J. Wright. (1995). In the Line of Fire. New

York: Aldine.

Waldorf, D., C. Reinarman, and S. Murphy (1991). Cocaine

Changes: The Experience of Using and Quitting.

Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Wellford, C., J. MacDonald, and J. Weiss (1997). Multistate

Study of Convenience Store Robberies: Summary of Findings.

Washington, D.C.: Justice Research and Statistics

Association.

Wiles, P., and A. Costello (2000). The Road to Nowhere: The

Evidence for Traveling Criminals. U.K. Research Study

207. U.K. Home Office Briefing Note. April.

Wright, R., and S. Decker (1994). Burglars on the Job:

Streetlife Culture and Residential Break-ins. Boston:

Northeastern University Press.

(1997). Armed Robbers in Action: Stickups and

Streetlife Culture. Boston: Northeastern University

Press.

Wright, J., and P. Rossi (1986). Armed and Considered

Dangerous. New York: Aldine.

Appendix 37

About the Author

Scott H. Decker

Scott H. Decker is Curator's Professor of Criminology

and Criminal Justice and Fellow, Center for International

Studies at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. His main

research interests are in the areas of gangs, juvenile justice,

criminal justice policy, and the offender's perspective. He

is the research partner for Project Safe Neighborhoods in

the Eastern District of Missouri and the Southern District

of Illinois. He is completing an evaluation of the Juvenile

Accountability Incentives Block Grant and SafeFutures

programs in St. Louis. His most recent books include Life

in the Gang (Cambridge), Confronting Gangs (Roxbury),

Policing Gangs and Youth Violence (Wadsworth), Responding to

Gangs (National Institute of Justice), and European Street

Gangs and Troublesome Youth Groups (Alta Mira Press).

Decker received a bachelor's degree in social justice from

DePauw University, and a master's and doctorate in

criminology from Florida State University.

Recommended Readings 39

Recommended Readings

• A Police Guide to Surveying Citizens and Their

Environments, Bureau of Justice Assistance, 1993. This

guide offers a practical introduction for police practitioners

to two types of surveys that police find useful: surveying

public opinion and surveying the physical environment. It

provides guidance on whether and how to conduct costeffective surveys.

• Assessing Responses to Problems: An

Introductory Guide for Police Problem-Solvers, by

John E. Eck (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of

Community Oriented Policing Services, 2001). This guide is

a companion to the Problem-Oriented Guides for Police series. It

provides basic guidance to measuring and assessing

problem-oriented policing efforts.

• Conducting Community Surveys, by Deborah Weisel

(Bureau of Justice Statistics and Office of Community

Oriented Policing Services, 1999). This guide, along with

accompanying computer software, provides practical, basic

pointers for police in conducting community surveys. The

document is also available at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs.

• Crime Prevention Studies, edited by Ronald V. Clarke

(Criminal Justice Press, 1993, et seq.). This is a series of

volumes of applied and theoretical research on reducing

opportunities for crime. Many chapters are evaluations of

initiatives to reduce specific crime and disorder problems.
40 Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem Solving 

• Excellence in Problem-Oriented Policing:The 1999

Herman Goldstein Award Winners. This document

produced by the National Institute of Justice in collaboration

with the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services and

the Police Executive Research Forum provides detailed

reports of the best submissions to the annual award program

that recognizes exemplary problem-oriented responses to

various community problems. A similar publication is available

for the award winners from subsequent years. The documents

are also available at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij.

• Not Rocket Science? Problem-Solving and Crime

Reduction, by Tim Read and Nick Tilley (Home Office

Crime Reduction Research Series, 2000). Identifies and

describes the factors that make problem-solving effective or

ineffective as it is being practiced in police forces in

England and Wales.

• Opportunity Makes the Thief: Practical Theory for

Crime Prevention, by Marcus Felson and Ronald V.

Clarke (Home Office Police Research Series, Paper No. 98,

1998). Explains how crime theories such as routine activity

theory, rational choice theory and crime pattern theory have

practical implications for the police in their efforts to

prevent crime.

• Problem Analysis in Policing, by Rachel Boba (Police

Foundation, 2003). Introduces and defines problem

analysis and provides guidance on how problem analysis

can be integrated and institutionalized into modern

policing practices.

• Problem-Oriented Policing, by Herman Goldstein
Recommended Readings 41

(McGraw-Hill, 1990, and Temple University Press, 1990).

Explains the principles and methods of problem-oriented

policing, provides examples of it in practice, and discusses

how a police agency can implement the concept.

• Problem-Oriented Policing and Crime

Prevention, by Anthony A. Braga (Criminal Justice

Press, 2003). Provides a thorough review of significant

policing research about problem places, high-activity

offenders, and repeat victims, with a focus on the

applicability of those findings to problem-oriented

policing. Explains how police departments can facilitate

problem-oriented policing by improving crime analysis,

measuring performance, and securing productive

partnerships.

• Problem-Oriented Policing: Reflections on the

First 20 Years, by Michael S. Scott (U.S. Department of

Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services,

2000). Describes how the most critical elements of

Herman Goldstein's problem-oriented policing model have

developed in practice over its 20-year history, and proposes

future directions for problem-oriented policing. The report

is also available at www.cops.usdoj.gov.

• Problem-Solving: Problem-Oriented Policing in

Newport News, by John E. Eck and William Spelman

(Police Executive Research Forum, 1987). Explains the

rationale behind problem-oriented policing and the

problem-solving process, and provides examples of

effective problem-solving in one agency.

• Problem-Solving Tips: A Guide to Reducing Crime
42 Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem Solving 

and Disorder Through Problem-Solving

Partnerships by Karin Schmerler, Matt Perkins, Scott

Phillips, Tammy Rinehart and Meg Townsend. (U.S.

Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented

Policing Services, 1998) (also available at

www.cops.usdoj.gov). Provides a brief introduction to

problem-solving, basic information on the SARA model

and detailed suggestions about the problem-solving process.

• Situational Crime Prevention: Successful Case

Studies, Second Edition, edited by Ronald V. Clarke

(Harrow and Heston, 1997). Explains the principles and

methods of situational crime prevention, and presents over

20 case studies of effective crime prevention initiatives.

• Tackling Crime and Other Public-Safety Problems:

Case Studies in Problem-Solving, by Rana Sampson

and Michael S. Scott (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of

Community Oriented Policing Services, 2000) (also available

at www.cops.usdoj.gov). Presents case studies of effective

police problem-solving on 18 types of crime and disorder

problems.

• Using Analysis for Problem-Solving: A Guidebook

for Law Enforcement, by Timothy S. Bynum (U.S.

Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented

Policing Services, 2001). Provides an introduction for

police to analyzing problems within the context of

problem-oriented policing.

• Using Research: A Primer for Law Enforcement

Managers, Second Edition, by John E. Eck and Nancy G.

LaVigne (Police Executive Research Forum, 1994). Explains

many of the basics of research as it applies to police

management and problem-solving.
Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 43

Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police

Problem-Specific Guides series:

1. Assaults in and Around Bars. Michael S. Scott. 2001.

ISBN: 1-932582-00-2

2. Street Prostitution. Michael S. Scott. 2001. ISBN: 1-932582-01-0

3. Speeding in Residential Areas. Michael S. Scott. 2001.

ISBN: 1-932582-02-9

4. Drug Dealing in Privately Owned Apartment Complexes.

Rana Sampson. 2001. ISBN: 1-932582-03-7

5. False Burglar Alarms. Rana Sampson. 2001. ISBN: 1-932582-04-5

6. Disorderly Youth in Public Places. Michael S. Scott. 2001.

ISBN: 1-932582-05-3

7. Loud Car Stereos. Michael S. Scott. 2001. ISBN: 1-932582-06-1

8. Robbery at Automated Teller Machines. Michael S. Scott. 2001.

ISBN: 1-932582-07-X

9. Graffiti. Deborah Lamm Weisel. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-08-8

10. Thefts Of and From Cars in Parking Facilities. Ronald V.

Clarke. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-09-6

11. Shoplifting. Ronald V. Clarke. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-10-X

12. Bullying in Schools. Rana Sampson. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-11-8

13. Panhandling. Michael S. Scott. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-12-6

14. Rave Parties. Michael S. Scott. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-13-4

15. Burglary of Retail Establishments. Ronald V. Clarke. 2002.

ISBN: 1-932582-14-2

16. Clandestine Drug Labs. Michael S. Scott. 2002.

ISBN: 1-932582-15-0

17. Acquaintance Rape of College Students. Rana Sampson. 2002.

ISBN: 1-932582-16-9

18. Burglary of Single-Family Houses. Deborah Lamm Weisel.

2002. ISBN: 1-932582-17-7

19. Misuse and Abuse of 911. Rana Sampson. 2002.

ISBN: 1-932582-18-5
44 Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem Solving 

20. Financial Crimes Against the Elderly.

Kelly Dedel Johnson. 2003. ISBN: 1-932582-22-3

21. Check and Card Fraud. Graeme R. Newman. 2003.

ISBN: 1-932582-27-4

22. Stalking. The National Center for Victims of Crime. 2004.

ISBN: 1-932582-30-4

23. Gun Violence Among Serious Young Offenders. Anthony A.

Braga. 2004. ISBN: 1-932582-31-2

24. Prescription Fraud. Julie Wartell and Nancy G. La Vigne. 2004.

ISBN: 1-932582-33-9

25. Identity Theft. Graeme R. Newman. 2004. ISBN: 1-932582-35-3

26. Crimes Against Tourists. Ronald W. Glensor and Kenneth J. Peak.

2004. ISBN: 1-932582-36-3

27. Underage Drinking. Kelly Dedel Johnson. 2004. ISBN: 1-932582-39-8

28. Street Racing. Kenneth J. Peak and Ronald W. Glensor. 2004.

ISBN: 1-932582-42-8

29. Cruising. Kenneth J. Peak and Ronald W. Glensor. 2004.

ISBN: 1-932582-43-6

30. Disorder at Budget Motels. Karin Schmerler. 2005.

ISBN: 1-932582-41-X

31. Drug Dealing in Open-Air Markets. Alex Harocopos and Mike

Hough. 2005. ISBN: 1-932582-45-2

32. Bomb Threats in Schools. Graeme R. Newman. 2005.

ISBN: 1-932582-46-0

33. Illicit Sexual Activity in Public Places. Kelly Dedel Johnson. 2005.

ISBN: 1-932582-47-9

34. Robbery of Taxi Drivers. Martha J. Smith. 2005.

ISBN: 1-932582-50-9

Response Guides series:

• The Benefits and Consequences of Police Crackdowns.

Michael S. Scott. 2003. ISBN: 1-932582-24-X

• Closing Streets and Alleys to Reduce Crime: Should You Go

Down This Road? Ronald V. Clarke. 2004. ISBN: 1-932582-41-X
Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 45

Problem-Solving Tools series:

• Assessing Responses to Problems: An Introductory

Guide for Police Problem-Solvers. John E. Eck. 2002.

ISBN: 1-932582-19-3

• Researching a Problem. Ronald V. Clarke and Phyllis A.

Schultze. 2005. ISBN: 1-932582-48-7

• Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem

Solving. Scott H. Decker. 2005. ISBN: 1-932582-49-5

Upcoming Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 

Problem-Specific Guides

Domestic Violence

Mentally Ill Persons

Student Party Disturbances on College Campuses

Vandalism and Break-Ins at Schools

Drunk Driving

Bank Robbery

Witness Intimidation

Drive-by Shootings

Runaway Juveniles

Exploitation of Trafficked Women

Disorderly Day Laborers in Public Places

Child Pornography

Crowd Control at Stadiums and Other Entertainment Venues

Traffic Congestion Around Schools

Problem-Solving Tools

Analyzing Repeat Victimization

Forming and Sustaining Problem-Solving Partnerships with

Businesses

Risky Facilities
46 Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem Solving 

Response Guides

Crime Prevention Publicity Campaigns

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design

Shifting and Sharing Responsibility for Public Safety Problems

Video Surveillance of Public Places

Other Related COPS Office Publications

• Using Analysis for Problem-Solving: A Guidebook

for Law Enforcement. Timothy S. Bynum.

• Problem-Oriented Policing: Reflections on the First

20 Years. Michael S. Scott. 2001.

• Tackling Crime and Other Public-Safety Problems:

Case Studies in Problem-Solving. Rana Sampson and

Michael S. Scott. 2000.

• Community Policing, Community Justice, and

Restorative Justice: Exploring the Links for the

Delivery of a Balanced Approach to Public Safety.

Caroline G. Nicholl. 1999.

• Toolbox for Implementing Restorative Justice and

Advancing Community Policing. Caroline G. Nicholl.

2000.

• Problem-Solving Tips: A Guide to Reducing

Crime and Disorder Through Problem-Solving

Partnerships. Karin Schmerler, Matt Perkins, Scott

Phillips, Tammy Rinehart and Meg Townsend. 1998.

• Bringing Victims into Community Policing. The

National Center for Victims of Crime and the Police

Foundation. 2002.

• Call Management and Community Policing. Tom

McEwen, Deborah Spence, Russell Wolff, Julie Wartell

and Barbara Webster. 2003.
Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 47

• Crime Analysis in America. Timothy C. O’Shea and

Keith Nicholls. 2003.

• Problem Analysis in Policing. Rachel Boba. 2003.

• Reducing Theft at Construction Sites: Lessons

From a Problem-Oriented Project. Ronald V. Clarke

and Herman Goldstein. 2003.

• The COPS Collaboration Toolkit: How to Build,

Fix, and Sustain Productive Partnerships. Gwen O.

Briscoe, Anna T. Laszlo and Tammy A. Rinehart. 2001.

• The Law Enforcement Tech Guide: How to

plan, purchase and manage technology

(successfully!). Kelly J. Harris and William H.

Romesburg. 2002.

• Theft From Cars in Center City Parking 

Facilities - A Case Study. Ronald V. Clarke and Herman

Goldstein. 2003.

For more information about the Problem-Oriented Guides for

Police series and other COPS Office publications, please call

the COPS Office Response Center at 800.421.6770 or visit

COPS Online at www.cops.usdoj.gov.


FOR MORE INFORMATION:

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

1100 Vermont Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20530

To obtain details on COPS programs, call the

COPS Office Response Center at 800.421.6770

Visit COPS Online at the address listed below.

e03052767 Created Date: April 12, 2005

ISBN: 1-932582-49-5 

www.cops.usdoj.gov