Violent Crime Reduction Self-Assessment Tool
Violent Crime Reduction Operations Guide (VCROG)
Created by the Major Cities Chiefs Association and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
13 Critical Elements
Essential components of crime-fighting strategies that assist agencies in determining respective capacity.
Community Engagement
Maintaining community support is a classic problem in policing, and is crucial and challenging when the department deploys resources to address violent crime.
Crime Analysis
Crime analysis is at the heart of problem solving, ensuring that agencies are creating and implementing strategies that are addressing their real problems.
Technology
Technology systems can create the infrastructure for actionable intelligence, enhance officer safety, support efficient operations, and manage risk but systems are only effective when complemented by appropriate processes and implementation.
Investigations
It is vital that investigations are fully staffed, conducted by trained investigators, and have an adequate review process to uphold community trust.
Constitutional Policing
Constitutional Policing is a concept that should be reflected in every new initiative and decision, touching on four tenets of procedural justice.
Gun Violence
Gun violence is an issue that plagues many jurisdictions across the United States. Beyond gun violence itself, it’s important to assess numbers and initiatives to decrease the of incidents, and also the handling of gun violence evidence.
Resources and Sustainability
Effective management of police budgets is essential to sustain credibility with the elected bodies that provide the funds for police operations.
Accountability
Police leaders are accountable for more than the effectiveness of their interventions on crime and it is important to develop measures that monitor success across multiple areas of intervention on crime.
Training
As officers intervene in unpredictable circumstances, their tactics and training will be relied on to guide them to successful outcomes for not only the victims and the community at large but also themselves and the department.
Tactics
Tactics operationalize strategy. Tactics might require realigning beats or districts and the assignment of the same officers to the same neighborhoods to operationalize a community-based approach.
Grants Management
Funding is one important component but grants can play a much larger role in achieving the department’s vision and mission.
Collaboration
Criminal justice system collaboration includes government and non-government partnerships. Peer connection can be agency’s strongest tool in sharing information and learning.
Federal Partnerships
Local and tribal law enforcement agencies rely on law enforcement partnerships on a daily, routine basis throughout their operations, realized through task forces, tactical operations, intelligence centers, and other activities.
Problem Identification and Analysis
Local law enforcement is in the business of problem solving. Whether those problems require short or long-term solutions, it is imperative for police executives to use the tools at their disposal.
Leadership
The success of any strategy depends on the most important element: Leadership. No matter what the size of the agency, the expectations of police leaders are wide-ranging.
Access the VCROG
Things to Keep in Mind
We highly encourage your agency to collaborate on your assessment, utilizing additional insight from the mayor’s office, district attorney’s office, or city and county managers. For prosecutor’s offices, it may be helpful to incorporate the police or sheriff’s office.
There is no deadline for the VCROG completion other than at the end of your grant. It is recommended that you incrementally complete the assessment tool in sections for better management.