ILJ preformed a comprehensive evaluation of the National Institute of Justice's two-year field test of the concept of Differential Police Response (DPR) in Toledo, Ohio; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Garden Grove, California. These departments developed new ways to classify and screen calls for service and provided alternative means of responding to these calls. All three departments produced sizable increases in patrol time available for crime prevention, directed patrol, and other functions. The alternative call-handling methods (scheduling appointments, taking telephone reports, etc.) proved less costly than the traditional response of sending mobile units to all calls. The vast majority of the 11,000 citizens surveyed by phone reported they were very satisfied with the alternative services.
ILJ also evaluated the Garden Grove Police Department's Priority Patrol Field Test for the National Institute of Justice. Results showed that Garden Grove freed up patrol time in uninterrupted blocks; supervisors gained more control over field officers; and officers on priority patrol were more productive than those on routine patrol.