Violent Crime Analysis Program

The New Jersey State Police Violent Crime Analysis Program serves as an investigative support and information resource center for the law enforcement community. The squad manages the New Jersey Violent Crime Analysis Program (NJ ViCAP), formerly known as the Homicide Evaluation and Assessment Tracking (HEAT) program. NJ ViCAP is a computer-assisted investigative tool which links violent crimes through comparison of specifics such as date, location, modus operandi, victimology, offender description, offender behavior, involved vehicles, and weapons. Included in the database are solved and unsolved murders, missing persons where foul play is suspected, unidentified bodies, solved and unsolved sexual assaults or attempts, non-parental abductions and attempts, luring incidents, and nuisance sex offenses. .

These cases are forwarded to the FBI Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP) for nationwide analysis. NJ ViCAP now collects information on sexual assaults, nuisance sex offenses, stalking incidents, abductions, and attempted abductions. Law enforcement agencies investigating sexual offenses are strongly recommended to complete a sexual assault crime analysis report and forward it to the New Jersey State Police Violent Crime Analysis Squad. Crime analysis reports will be provided to law enforcement agencies at no cost.

The Violent Crime Analysis Squad provides the law enforcement community with analytical and investigative support services in criminal investigations. The goal of the Violent Crime Analysis Squad, through NJ ViCAP, is to facilitate cooperation, communication, and coordination between law enforcement agencies and provide support in their efforts to investigate, identify, track, apprehend, and prosecute serial offenders.

The Violent Crime Analysis Squad provides additional investigative services and support to the law enforcement community which include:

• Immediate access to information in the ViCAP database
• Technical assistance in using the database and available resources as investigative tools
• Time lines on violent offenders and distribute them to law enforcement agencies for comparison to violent crimes that have occurred in their jurisdictions
• Assistance to law enforcement agencies by preparing analytical reports, violent crime matrixes, and special reports
• Multi-agency law enforcement conferences regarding serial violent crimes and violent offenders
• Maintain composite sketch file of offenders and suspects
• Daily review of NJLETS and NLETS teletypes.