Page 49 - 1Proactive Policing

Pro-Active Policing

Reactive aims to deal with the consequences of crime and the victims, whereas proactive is a
more crime preventative measure, aiming to stop the crime before it happens. There is much

scope for improvement inside the system and many problems, such as the time consuming
reactive work, which allows the officers little time for anything else. Also the proactive approach
only works if the forces have adequate staff, equipment and training to deal with the demand on

them.

Proactive Investigation

The type of activity investigators engage in and the material gathered varies depending on
whether investigations use the reactive or proactive method. However, they all go through similar

stages, as shown in the process of investigation diagram.

Every investigation is different and may require a different route through the process, e.g., in

some cases the identity of the offender is known from the outset and the investigation quickly
enters the suspect management phase. In others, the identity of the offender may never be known
or is discovered only after further investigation.

Criminal investigations can be either reactive, where the police respond to a crime that has
already occurred, or proactive, where the investigation may go on before and during the
commission of the offense.

The reactive criminal investigation process can be organized into several stages. The first stage is
initial discovery and response. Of course, before the criminal investigation process can begin, the
police must discover that a crime occurred or the victim (or witness) must realize that a crime

occurred and notify the police. In the vast majority of cases it is the victim that first realizes a
crime occurred and notifies the police. Then, most often, a patrol officer is dispatched to the crime
scene or the location of the victim.

The second stage, the initial investigation, consists of the immediate post-crime activities of the
patrol officer who arrives at the crime scene. The tasks of the patrol officer during the initial

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