Scanning, Analysis, Response, and Assessment
Scanning, Analysis, Response, and Assessment (SARA) is a problem-solving process used in problem-oriented policing. It is one of the most popular methods in problem-oriented policing. History. SARA was first proposed in 1987 by John E. Eck and William Spelman of the Police Executive Research Forum. Police interventions based on SARA increased as a result of the broken windows theory of crime first proposed in the 1980s. Method. SARA consists of four stages: Eck and Spelman identified the "Analysis" stage as the most important of the four stages. The "Assessment" stage was noted  as "often the most ignored part of the SARA model" by the Evidence-Based Policing App. Variations. Transport for London created a revised approach to policing based on SARA, which they called SPATIAL. Scan, Prioritize, Analyse, Task, Intervene, Assess and Learn. Adding the step "Prioritize" was judged necessary, as limits to funding mean not all problems can be addressed.