The study provided justification for increased screening and grading of calls for service, allowing police to concentrate on answering the most important calls first. The study also revealed that citizens could accept a delay in police response if informed by dispatchers that police responded in order of the severity of calls. Chapter Four examines the investigation of crime. Two studies indicate that police investigation techniques and methods have relatively little effect on case clearance rates. The more important factors are the amount of information provided to police by witnesses, and the quality of the initial report made by a patrol officer.
Detectives spend much of their time filling out paperwork and chasing down leads that go nowhere.
These findings did not surprise police agencies, who have long been aware of the limits on investigation, but did shock the public, conditioned by police shows in which the cops always get their man. These findings led to calls for greater citizen involvement with the police, as a means of increasing the likelihood of solving crimes. Chapter Five examines community policing, a current trend in policing. One article examines the implementation of community policing in Australia, while a second article examines community policing in Madison, Wisconsin. The Madison experiment is an excellent example of a well-implemented program.