ADVOCACY

A Voice for Crime Analysts

Crime analysts play a critical role in public safety, but the profession does not always receive the recognition, resources, access, or support it deserves. NACA exists to help change that.

As a 501(c)(6) professional association, NACA is positioned to advocate directly for the interests of crime analysts and the profession. This structure allows NACA to engage with policymakers, support legislation and policy initiatives, educate decision-makers, and take positions on issues that affect crime analysts and their role in public safety. It gives NACA the ability to be more than a professional development organization. We can serve as an active, national voice for crime analysts and work to ensure their perspectives are represented when decisions are made that impact the profession.

Advocacy is a core part of our mission. We work to elevate the crime analysis profession, represent the interests of analysts, and support practitioners facing challenges within their agencies, communities, and across the profession. Our goal is simple: crime analysts should have a voice in the decisions that affect their work and their profession. NACA's vision is a profession in which crime analysts are valued partners in public safety and receive the respect, support, and compensation they deserve.

Building a Stronger Profession

Individual challenges often point to larger issues. By collecting information from analysts across the country, NACA can move beyond individual advocacy and begin identifying patterns in compensation, staffing, career progression, data access, technology, workload, training, and professional recognition. That information can help NACA develop stronger resources, communicate with public safety leaders and policymakers, and advocate from evidence rather than anecdotes.

Our goal is not simply to respond when an analyst needs help. It is to identify the issues affecting the profession, bring analysts together around them, and create lasting change. One analyst can raise an issue. Together, we give the profession a stronger voice.

What We Advocate For

Advocacy can take many forms. NACA works to identify issues affecting analysts across the country and provide meaningful support in areas such as:

•Compensation & Pay - Supporting competitive salaries and helping demonstrate the value, responsibilities, and specialized expertise of crime analysts.
•Staffing & Resources - Helping agencies and analysts make the case for appropriate staffing levels and additional analytical positions.
•Data Access & Systems - Supporting appropriate access to the information, systems, and technology analysts need to perform their work effectively. Job
•Classification & Career Growth - Promoting appropriate job classifications, career ladders, advancement opportunities, and leadership pathways.
•Professional Recognition - Elevating crime analysis as a core public safety function and strengthening the standing of analysts within their organizations.
•Training & Professional Development - Advocating for access to training, certification, conferences, and continuing professional development.
•Technology & Analytical Tools - Supporting access to the software, tools, and technology necessary for modern crime analysis.
•Legal & Policy Issues - Supporting analysts and agencies navigating policies affecting data sharing, public records, CJIS requirements, data retention, and interagency access.
•Workload & Retention - Identifying workload, staffing, compensation, recognition, and scope-of-work issues that contribute to analyst burnout and turnover.
•Legislative & Policy Advocacy - Engaging on local, state, and federal issues that affect crime analysts and the advancement of the profession.

These priorities reflect NACA's broader commitment to professional excellence, collaboration, advocacy, and service.

How NACA Can Help

Every advocacy issue is different. Depending on the circumstances and available information, NACA may be able to assist through:

•Data & Research - Salary and market comparisons, profession-wide data, benchmarking, and other information that helps analysts and agencies understand how positions, compensation, staffing, and resources compare.
•Resources & Templates - Sample job descriptions, classification language, talking points, letters, and other resources that analysts can use when working with agency leadership or other decision-makers.
•Professional Connections - Connections with analysts and leaders who have navigated similar challenges and can share their experiences, strategies, and lessons learned.
•Organizational Support - When appropriate, NACA may provide letters of support, presentations, testimony, or other forms of professional advocacy on issues affecting analysts or the profession.
•Policy & Legislative Advocacy - NACA works to build relationships with policymakers and public safety stakeholders, monitor issues affecting crime analysis, communicate the profession's perspective, and advocate for policies that strengthen crime analysis.

Tell Us What You're Facing

Effective advocacy starts with understanding what analysts are experiencing. If you are facing a challenge related to your position, agency, resources, professional standing, or the broader crime analysis profession, we want to hear from you.

NACA's Advocacy Intake Form allows analysts to tell us about issues affecting them and identify the type of support that may be helpful. Submissions also help NACA identify common challenges and emerging trends across agencies, regions, and the profession. Information collected may help us develop salary and staffing benchmarks, identify systemic issues, create new advocacy resources, prioritize policy initiatives, and better represent the needs of crime analysts nationwide.

Request Advocacy Support

Facing an issue at your agency or within the profession? Tell us about it. Submit an advocacy request to provide NACA with information about the issue, who it affects, what has already been done, and how we may be able to help.

You may also choose whether NACA can follow up with you, use your responses anonymously in future advocacy efforts, or contact you about potentially sharing your experience as a case study.