Recognizing this, police departments throughout the country are implementing employee assistance programs to deal specifically with stress. A National Institute of Justice report can help. Developing a Law Enforcement Stress Program for Officers and Their Families , by Peter Finn and Julie Esselman Tomz, examines the nature of law enforcement stress and offers guidance for agencies interested in implementing programs. The comprehensive report includes advice for planning, structuring, funding, and evaluating programs, selecting staff, establishing referral networks, and maintaining confidentiality, as well as tips for reducing the causes of stress within an organization. In addition to the extensive resources used in researching the report, a separate chapter details additional sources of information and referral.
Several appendices provide sample documents from programs in place in other departments.
Whether they seek to link a suspect to a crime, determine criminal behavior patterns, or compile statistics for Uniform Crime Reports, police departments analyze crime data for a variety of reasons. Without an appropriate information management system, however, making sense of the data would prove impossible. The right system also can help investigators manage complex cases, give officers on the street direct access to vital information, allow intelligence-sharing between departments, and keep citizens informed. Bulletin Reports, a collection of criminal justice studies, reports, and project findings, is compiled by Kim Waggoner.