Documenting a project is part of the method, not an afterthought. A written record lets your agency pick the project up when its lead transfers, gives the next analyst a baseline, and — if you submit it to the POP Center — becomes part of the literature other agencies search when they face the same problem.
Match the depth to the project: short and simple for a small problem, expansive for a large one. Every question below need not be answered — but a report that answers most of them will clear the bar most field assessments fail: a defined problem, a baseline, and an assessment with actual data.
Section 1
Define the problem precisely and say how you found it.
- What was the nature of the problem?
- How was the problem identified — which data pattern or observation surfaced it?
- Who identified it (community, officers, analysts, managers, elected officials, press)?
- Why was this problem selected over the others competing for attention?
- What was the unit of analysis — a crime type, a neighborhood, specific premises, an offender group?
- What baseline figures describe the problem before any response?
Section 2
Show why the problem persists — not just that it exists.
- What methods, data, and information sources did the analysis use (crime analysis, surveys, interviews, observation)?
- What is the history of the problem — how often, and for how long?
- Who was involved — offenders, victims, place managers — and what were their motivations, gains, and losses?
- What harms resulted from the problem?
- How was the problem being addressed before this project, and with what results?
- What did the analysis reveal about causes and the conditions that let the problem recur?
- What situational details mattered — times, locations, environmental features?
- Was the problem discussed openly with the community?
Section 3
Connect what you did to what the analysis found.
- What range of response alternatives was considered?
- Which responses did you implement, and how did each follow from the analysis?
- What criteria drove the choice (legality, community values, evidence of effectiveness, cost, practicality)?
- What did you intend to accomplish — the goal and its measurable objectives?
- What resources and partners were involved, and who did what?
- What difficulties came up during implementation?
Section 4
Compare against the baseline, honestly. A well-documented failure is worth nearly as much to the next agency as a success.
- What were the results — what changed relative to the baseline figures from scanning?
- What evaluation methods did you use, and over what period?
- Who conducted the evaluation — and was anyone outside the project involved?
- What data supports the conclusions?
- Was displacement checked — did the problem move somewhere else, or did benefits diffuse?
- Which response goals were accomplished, and which were not?
- If the problem did not improve, what will be tried next?
- Will the result require continued monitoring or maintenance to hold?
Questions adapted from Implementing POP (Scott & Kirby, COPS Office 2012), section 20.
New to the framework? Start with the SARA model or the step-by-step walkthrough.