The SARA model

Scanning means spotting clusters in the noise of daily calls: the same offense, the same places, the same victims, week after week. A problem worth POP treatment is recurring, harmful, and something the public expects police to address.

Example: an analyst reviewing six months of calls notices that thefts from parked cars are concentrated in three downtown parking facilities — a quarter of the city's total, on a few hundred parking spaces.

Analysis digs into the who, where, when, and how — offenders, victims, and places — until the mechanics of the problem are understood. This is where research on the problem type pays off: most recurring problems have been studied, and the common causes are documented.

Example: the guide on thefts from cars in parking facilities points the analyst at known drivers — poor sightlines, no attendants, unlocked vehicles, visible valuables. Local data confirms two of the three facilities have no attendant after 6pm, when most thefts occur.

Responses are tailored to the analysis, and usually reach beyond enforcement: changing the place, the management, or the opportunity — often with partners who control the environment.

Example: the facilities' operators add evening attendants and improve lighting; the police run a short lock-your-car campaign and target the small number of repeat offenders identified in analysis. Other agencies' project write-ups show which of these carried the effect.

Assessment compares the problem before and after the response — ideally against a comparison area — and checks for displacement. An honest assessment feeds back into scanning: problems that persist get re-analyzed.

Example: six months on, thefts in the three facilities are down 60% with no matching rise nearby. The analyst documents the project — and it becomes exactly the kind of write-up this hub indexes for the next agency.