What is Crime Analysis? The use of analytical methods to obtain information on crime patterns and trends that can then be disseminated to officers on the street.

• A. Crime Analysis
• B. Incident Report
• C. Field Notes
• D. Intelligence-Led Policing

Answer: (A)

Crime analysis is the systematic use of analytical methods to turn crime data into information about where, when, and what types of crime are occurring, so that officers on the street can act on patterns and trends. It involves collecting and examining data from reports, calls for service, and other sources to identify hotspots, timing of criminal activity, repeat offenders, and correlations, then sharing clear, actionable intelligence with patrols and supervisors to guide patrol deployment, problem-solving, and prevention efforts.

The other terms don’t fit as well because an incident report records a single event, and field notes capture informal observations rather than a formal analytic process. Intelligence-led policing is a broader approach that uses intelligence to guide operations, whereas crime analysis focuses specifically on analyzing data to identify patterns and inform street-level action.