safety, and the results help police departments design successful community interventions.

The evaluator should work with the consultant to design a preassessment and follow-up survey to evaluate the success of new crime prevention initiatives and intervention tactics. The grant evaluator statistically should analyze if the new policing initiatives fulfill the goals established during the strategic and tactical planning stages. Grant administrators anticipate that the final report will contain accurate, reliable, and valid statistical data. Excellent research sets the foundation for the strategic and tactical planning phases.

Plan Strategically
The strategic planning process establishes where the department is going and tactical planning defines how the department will get there. Police managers should develop a strategic and tactical plan to achieve crime fighting and prevention goals. Once managers assess their department’s present state (where they are now), then they can project the future state (where they are going). Timely evaluations will prove useful in determining future changes. Assessment and measurement techniques are important issues when conducting grant research.

The cons ultant and evaluator can provide advice and technical support when developing a plan, as well as throughout the planning process. The plan should consist of a philosophy, statement of the problem, cohesive goals, objectives, and action plans. To aid in developing clear goals, grants provide strategic support for answering three basic questions: Where is the department going? How will the department get there? How will the department know when it has arrived?

Apply Problem-Oriented Policing
Police agencies can use numerous resources to help with the grant process.1 Such documents help explain the community- and problemoriented policing approach.

Although a number of different problem-solving techniques exist, SARA (scanning, analysis, response, and assessment) serves as the foundation for this process.2 Scanning identifies a problem through a variety of sources of information, such as calls for service and citizen surveys; analysis requires the thoughtful examination of the nature of the problem; response develops one or more desired solutions to the problem; and assessment evaluates the effectiveness of the expected solution. An accurate analysis and definition of the problem will tailor the appropriate responses and remedial actions.

Describe the Scope of the Problem
The government is interested in reducing crime and, more so, in obtaining accurate research data that builds on crime control and prevention theory. First, agencies should establish a statement of the problem or needs assessment, which encourages governmental officials and other decision makers to provide funding for the project. A needs assessment remains a vital process
that determines responses and courses of action.

The scope of the problem should describe the areas of concern and the affected population. It should identify the basic dimensions of the problem, define a project remedy, portray human needs, and avoid technical academic language. Subsequently, the reader should be able to anticipate the solution.

Determine a Hypothesis
A working hypothesis statement should follow the summation of the problem. Generally, the consultant and evaluator remain
best suited to define the hypothesis and dependent and independent