The Basic Operations of the Crime Analysis Unit are:

1. Collection: Gathering crime data from computers, allied agencies, and personal contact with staff.

2. Collation: selecting targeted crimes and placing data in format for analysis;

3. Analysis: examining data for patterns/series, and performing statistical techniques for predictions, Tactical Action Plans (a recommendation for resources/tactics needed to stop a crime problem) and crime summaries/forecasts;

4. Dissemination: to appropriate personnel/agencies via Crime or Suspect Bulletins to include crime mapping, BOLO sheets (Be On Look Out), Wanted Posters, and Tactical Action Plans;

5. Evaluation and Feedback: to determine timelines, credibility, usefulness, and applicability of product.

Administrative Crime Analysis: In this category of activity, Crime Analysis communicates the status of criminal activity to division heads, and chief administrators.  This kind of analysis does not involve life-threatening crime problems that need to be solved immediately, however this kind of work lays the foundation for future departmental actions and tactical plans.

Strategic Crime Analysis: The work of the Crime Analyst can also be directed toward developing plans, both mid-range and long-term, which allow the department to better organize its resources to apprehend offenders and repress crime.  A substantial and sustained increase in robberies, for example, in a particular patrol district may cause a department to expand its investigative units to adequately meet the challenge of increased investigations. (i.e. the need for additional manpower)

Tactical Crime Analysis: This category of Crime Analysis exists to provide patrol and investigative units a global viewpoint of how, when, and where crime is occurring and to provide these units both suspect and victim profiles.  This category of analysis is a tactical plan that is directed toward preventing the crime and apprehending the offender.  Evaluation must occur as a follow-up in order to assess the effectiveness of the tactical plan the methods used to devise it.

Crime Analyst Duties
A number of specific duties appear to be common to work of the Crime Analysis Unit.  Listed are a few, but not limited to:

Information Dissemination: Information is the lifeblood of any law enforcement agency and if the information relates to crime, it needs to be shared with others, both within the department and outside.  Data involving calls for service, reported crimes, arrests, census, parolees, probationers, etc., are disseminated for one reason or another by the Crime Analysis Unit.  Other criminal justice agencies and even private citizens call the Bexar County Sheriff's Crime Analysis Unit to obtain clarification on the way offenses were defined and recorded in the county.  Moreover, the Crime Analysis Unit is often required to respond to requests for information falling under the freedom of information and public records law.  These kinds of requests may involve sharing crime reports and generating specific reports to respond to legitimate questions or giving a court information it has requested.

Routine Reports: Some reports in the Crime Analysis Unit are standard and must be produced on a regular basis.  Reports to police administrators, community policing officers, interested citizens, metropolitan housing authorities, city councils, and crime statistics to include mapped data are generated on weekly basis.

Research: The responsibility of providing data to researchers has become increasingly more important.  Specifically, the Crime Analysis process is becoming a common research interest.  In many ways, the idea of having a Crime Analysis Unit has made some duties easier for managers who used to scramble to meet data requests from the media and academic researchers.  Now these data scavengers can be directed to the Crime Analysis Unit.

Linking Activities: Often more interesting, however, are the crime analysis duties which involve linking criminals to crimes and criminals with each other n order for crimes to be cleared by arrest and future crimes prevented.  Link Analysis is a tool used in large Criminal Investigations which has become more commonly used by law enforcement agencies in and around Bexar County to include the U.S. Department of Justice.  This has been proven to be an effective tool against large criminal organizations.

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