I developed the Ten Commandments of Crime Analysis for a presentation to the International Association of Crime Analysts in the Fall of 1999. The presentation was also given to the Massachusetts Association of Crime Analysts at the 11.12.99 meeting. The purpose of the Ten Commandments is to identify the fundamental principles of crime analysis and to thus help define the profession. I don't mind if anyone copies or otherwise reproduces this list, but since I intend to eventually use the Ten Commandments in a publication, please attribute them to me somewhere in your document, e-mail, or presentation.
Task is Crime Analysis.
Thou Shalt Have No Other Tasks Before It. Crime analysts tend to become technological wizards in a relatively short time, given the number of computer applications vital to modern crime analysis. On the other hand, maybe your unit has simply developed an overall reputation for competency, so that when anything important needs doing, the command staff tends to give it to crime analysis. Whatever the case, you must develop techniques to put your primary task crime analysis at the top of your list every day. Every Day .