Targeted Enforcement
Gary Cordner
Eastern Kentucky University
Program Sites
Irving’s Parolee Enforcement
 Tarrant Co. Multi-Agency Northeast Street
Crimes Unit (NSCU)
 El Paso’s Auto Theft Task Force
 San Antonio’s Youth Firearms Violence
Initiative

Irving’s Parolee Enforcement
 PURPOSE
 The Irving Police Department has begun focusing
enforcement attention on parolees living in their
jurisdiction, particularly those with outstanding
warrants.
 Initial efforts revealed that a high percentage of
parolees did have outstanding warrants, and that
many could be arrested and re-incarcerated.
Irving’s Parolee Enforcement
 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
 A new strategy for the Tactical Unit which had more
time as a result of declining street crime
 Began with enforcing outstanding county warrants
 Using the monthly parolee list provided by TDCJ, it
was discovered that a high percentage of parolees in
Irving had outstanding county and state warrants
 When the parolee list is received, it is checked for
people with outstanding warrants
 For those wanted, an intelligence file is created for
all known information about violators
Irving’s Parolee Enforcement
 PROGRAM
DESCRIPTION
 Information is given to the Tactical Unit which
makes a concerted effort to find those wanted
 Related tactical unit strategies include…
+ Surveillance of parolees suspected of being involved in
current criminal activity (particularly violent crime)
+ Work more closely with parole officers
+ Regularly review county warrant list for familiar
names and people with multiple outstanding warrants
 This is an offender-focused strategy supplementing their
offense-focused efforts
Irving’s Parolee Enforcement
 CRITICAL FACTORS
 Availability of comprehensive information from TDCJ
 Ability of department to field a full force Tactical Unit
(1 Lieutenant, 2 Sergeants, 12 officers--2 with K-9)
 The drop in street crime gave the unit more time to
become involved in new, more proactive strategies
 Irving appears to have a disproportionately high
number of parolees living in the city (particularly in
the apartment complexes adjacent to Dallas)
Irving’s Parolee Enforcement
 PROGRAM EFFECTS
 Over 50 parolees with outstanding were identified
quickly at the start of the program
+ Many were arrested within three months
 As an indirect measure of success, the list of wanted
parolees living in Irving is 17% shorter than when
the program was first implemented
 The program is too new to determine long-term effects
or even if it is needed over the long term
Tarrant Co. Multi-Agency
Northeast Street Crimes Unit
 SITE DESCRIPTION
 Six agencies participate in the NSCU…
+ North Richland Hills Police Department
+ Richland Hills Police Department
+ Haltom City Police Department
+ Watauga Department of Public Safety
+ Southlake Police Department
+ Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department
 The jurisdictions are basically located within the
northeast quadrant of Tarrant County between Fort
Worth and the Denton County line
Tarrant Co. Multi-Agency
Northeast Street Crimes Unit
 PURPOSE
 The participating agencies have entered into a formal
agreement to staff and utilize a multi-agency street
crimes unit.
 The unit provides three types of services within
participating jurisdictions
+ Immediate investigative response to major crimes
+ Coordinated gang enforcement
+ Targeted street crime enforcement
Tarrant Co. Multi-Agency
Northeast Street Crimes Unit
 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
 Purpose of creation…
+ Deal with major crime problems likely involving
multiple jurisdictions
+ More efficient use of police resources
 Primarily gang enforcement, but includes other street
crimes
 The relationship between the agencies is a formal one
supported by an “interlocal agreement,” governed by
a Board of Directors composed of the Chiefs of Police
 Each agency assigns at least one full time officer each
year
Tarrant Co. Multi-Agency
Northeast Street Crimes Unit
 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
 The budget is based on each city’s portion of the area
population (total 1997 budget was $26,475)
 The unit…
+ Supervised by a North Richland Hills Sergeant
+ Sergeant reports to a NRHPD Captain who answers
to the Board of Directors
 The NSCU provides three services…
+ Investigative response to major crimes/incidents
+ Gang intelligence and enforcement for the area
+ Targeted enforcement of emerging crime problems
Tarrant Co. Multi-Agency
Northeast Street Crimes Unit
 CRITICAL FACTORS
 The formal agreement between the agencies
 All NSCU officers have sworn authority in all
participating jurisdictions
 Careful selection of personnel who get along well
with others, who can accomplish their goals, and not
act like prima donnas
 Explicit definition of the Unit’s mission
 On-going and open communications between the
members of the Board of Directors
Tarrant Co. Multi-Agency
Northeast Street Crimes Unit
 PROGRAM EFFECTS
 For arrests made the Unit has a 100% conviction rate
 A number of targeted enforcement actions have led to
successful apprehensions
 It is reported that gang members fear the Unit
 The Unit appears to be a logical and wise use of
resources, however a formal evaluation has not been
done
El Paso’s Auto Theft Task Force
 SITE DESCRIPTION
El Paso has a population of approximately 614,000,
covers 257 square miles, and is bordered on the
south by Mexico. Together with Juarez, Mexico, it
has a metropolitan region population of 2.5 million.
The police department has an authorized strength of
1,182 sworn officers and 230 non-sworn positions.
The department is divided into two major divisions-Operations and Administrative Services-- as well as
five Regional Commands
El Paso’s Auto Theft Task Force
 PURPOSE
 A county-wide Auto Theft Task Force that responds
to the high rate of auto theft in the area
 The problem is heavily influenced by the city’s
proximity to the Mexican border
 The police department has implemented several
patrol and investigative tactics in an effort to reduce
the problem
El Paso’s Auto Theft Task Force
 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
 A grant funds 19 sworn personnel and one civilian,
while the city provides 14 additional sworn officers and
several more non-sworn staff.
 The task force is headed by a lieutenant from the El
Paso Police Department and includes three sergeants,
nine investigators, 15 patrol officers, two crime
prevention officers, and three officers assigned to
abandoned vehicle-related duties.
El Paso’s Auto Theft Task Force
 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
 The activities of the task force fall into four areas:
+ Enforcement-relies on crime analysis; hot spots
+ Border Checkpoints-work with Customs
+ Investigation-organized crime; theft rings
+ Crime Prevention-public education
El Paso’s Auto Theft Task Force
 CRITICAL FACTORS
 Dealing with the proximity to Mexico
 Continued grant funding from the Auto Theft
Prevention authority
 Addressing the problem from different dimensions
(e.g., enforcement, etc.)
 Cooperation with the Mexican police authorities
(which is currently limited right now)
El Paso’s Auto Theft Task Force
 PROGRAM EFFECTS
 From the late 1980s to now, auto thefts that were
once around 5,500 per year now typically are around
4,000--better than a 25% reduction
 Clearance rates for auto thefts have also been
improving, albeit at slower rates
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Task Forces Enforcement Strategies
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
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Auto Theft Rates
Nationwide
Average of 7 other
largest states
Illinois
Florida
Texas
1992
1996
% Change
632
526
-17%
704
619
838
822
569
490
720
548
-19%
-21%
-13%
-33%
Auto Theft Units
Year of Formation
Dallas
Houston
San Antonio
Wichita Falls
Garland
Fort Worth
Irving
DPS
Arlington
1919
1930
1950
1957
1968
1970
1970
1972
1980
N. Richland Hills
Plano
Pasadena
Carrollton
Midland
Abilene
Travis County
Addison
1980
1987
1988
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
Auto Theft Task Forces
Year of Formation
Houston
Arlington
Dallas Co.
DPS
El Paso
Fort Worth
Harris Co.
1986
1991
1993
1993
1993
1993
1993
Midland
N. Richland Hills
Odessa
San Antonio
White Settlement
Dallas
Texarkana
1993
1993
1993
1993
1993
1994
1994
San Antonio’s Youth Firearms
Violence Initiative
 SITE DESCRIPTION
San Antonio is the third biggest city in Texas and
the nation’s 10th largest city, with an estimated
1997 population of 1,115,600. It is also a city
with a large geographic area--389 square miles.
The police department has 1,961 sworn positions
and almost 400 non-sworn, and investigated
83,571 Part I offenses in 1997. The department is
organized into four main divisions—
Investigations, Uniform, Support Services, and
Human Resources.
San Antonio’s Youth Firearms
Violence Initiative
 PURPOSE
 The San Antonio Police Department adopted an
enforcement strategy targeted at gangs and guns with
COPS Office funding under the Youth Firearms
Violence Initiative (YFVI)
 The department adopted five specific enforcement
tactics as well as an effort to improve information
sharing between the police department and emergency
trauma centers
 Emphasizing search warrants proved to be the most
effective enforcement tactic, while bar checks were
least effective
San Antonio’s Youth Firearms
Violence Initiative
 PROGRAM
DESCRIPTION
 The primary enforcement mechanism is the WRAT
(Weapons Recovery and Tracking) Task Force
 This is an overtime assignment where a group of
officers assemble and carry out the assigned tactic in
the assigned target area
+ WRAT was commanded throughout the project by
the same special operations lieutenant
+ Specific guidelines and directions were provided daily
+ Supervision, also funded by overtime pay, was
provided by a fairly small group of sergeants
+ A small number of officers were found to be the most
productive were used most frequently.
San Antonio’s Youth Firearms
Violence Initiative
 PROGRAM
DESCRIPTION
 Team efforts were focused on areas in the city based
upon an analysis of firearms-related crime
 Tactics employed by the team were:
+ Directed patrol-relied heavily on Target Sheets
provided by the Youth Crime Detail
+ Saturation patrol-night pairs of officers in targeted
areas provided by the Youth Crime Detail
+ Bar checks-least productive
+ Knock and talk-community policing officers visiting
homes of suspected gang members; request
permission to search youth’s room
+ Search warrants-for firearms-related offenses
San Antonio’s Youth Firearms
Violence Initiative
 PROGRAM
DESCRIPTION
 Gun tracing was also used
+ Involved submitting information on each firearm to
BATF and then following up on received information
if appropriate
+ This proved to be a cumbersome, time consuming, and
unproductive process
 Police-Hospital Network (Cops and Docs) used
dedicated fax machines for two types of notifications:
+ Emergency room personnel fax a simple Firearm Injury
Notification form whenever they have a gunshot patient
+ The police department faxes a BOLO for Possible Shooting
Victim form to emergency rooms when they know of a
shooting but have not been able to locate the victim
San Antonio’s Youth Firearms
Violence Initiative
 CRITICAL FACTORS
 The most critical factor for the YFVI was the
availability of substantial COPS Office funds for police
officer overtime
 As funding diminished, activities have been absorbed
by the department
San Antonio’s Youth Firearms
Violence Initiative
 PROGRAM EFFECTS
 254 firearms were seized during the course of the 14month YFVI project
 In 14 months, WRAT officers…
+ Made over 2,000 arrests, about half on warrants and
half warrantless
+ Issued over 3,000 citations
+ Conducted over 1,000 field interviews
 An analysis of crime and call for service data in order to
evaluate the overall cost-effectiveness of the program is
in progress
Targeted Enforcement
Discussion
Gary Cordner
Eastern Kentucky University