New York City Police Department Street Crime Unit

About this book

This manual presents a detailed description of the policies, procedures, and results of the Street Crime Unit (SCU) which utilizes plainclothes police and 'decoys' to apprehend robbery and assault suspects. The primary objective is to effect quality arrests which lead to convictions --^ with no increased danger to police or citizens. This manual presents a detailed description of the policies and procedures which govern SCUM operations. The chapters in this manual deal with specific areas of administrative concern, focusing on manpower requirements as well as operational issues. In addition to discussing policies and procedures, each chapter debates replication issues, among the topics presented are: organization and administration; personnel selection, training and evaluation; SCUM crime analysis methods, deployment strategies, and street tactics; guidelines on confrontations and arrests; and the housing hardware and communication systems of the SCUM. The SCU's methods for maintaining the integrity of unit members are explored.^ The legal issue of entrapment is discussed as well, emphasizing the necessity for developing guidelines to assist officers in avoiding entrapment, figures and facts on SCU costs and results are documented and arrest and conviction rates, injury levels, and crime reductive impact are discussed. Although not complete, recent statistics indicate that approximately 90 percent of all SCU arrests result in conviction. The final chapter presents a comprehensive evaluation design for assessing the outcomes and impacts of Street Crime Unit operations. Appendixes contain statutes for assault, larceny and robbery; procedures for bribery arrest and stop and frisk; an inventory of SCU equipment; and various guidelines and forms relating to the interview and rating of SCU candidates and their subsequent training and performance evaluation. The New York City Police Department Street Crime Unit is one of 13 programs which have earned the LEAA 'exemplary' level.