NCJ Number
12297
Date Published
1973
Length
95 pages
Annotation
POLICE SERVICES IN THE INDIANAPOLIS METROPOLITAN AREA ARE EXAMINED TO COMPARE LARGER SCALE, CENTRALIZED POLICE DEPARTMENTS WITH SMALL, COMMUNITY-CONTROLLED DEPARTMENTS.
Abstract
MANY SCHOLARS AND ADMINISTRATORS HAVE URGED THE CONSOLIDATION OF POLICE AGENCIES SERVING A SINGLE METROPOLITAN REGION INTO ONE FORCE. OTHERS HAVE PROPOSED A RADICALLY DIFFERENT KIND OF REFORM - CREATING SMALLER POLICE DEPARTMENTS SUBJECT TO NEIGHBORHOOD CONTROL IN THE BIG CITIES. THIS STUDY EXAMINES THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT FORMS OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION ON THE QUALITY OF POLICE SERVICES BY COMPARING DEPARTMENTS IN THREE SMALL, INDEPENDENT RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITIES IN MARION COUNTY, INDIANA WITH THOSE IN THREE CLOSELY MATCHED ADJACENT NEIGHBORHOODS IN INDIANAPOLIS. TO MEASURE POLICE OUTPUT, THE STUDY USED A CITIZEN SURVEY WHICH ASKED ABOUT THE RESPONDENTS EXPERIENCES WITH POLICE, CRIMINAL ACTIVITY DIRECTED AGAINST THEIR HOUSEHOLDS, AND GENERAL EVALUATION OF POLICE SERVICES IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS. THE RESULTS INDICATED A CONSISTENT PATTERN OF BETTER SERVICES BY THE SMALLER, COMMUNITY - CONTROLLED DEPARTMENTS. THE STUDY ALSO LOOKED AT THE DIFFERENT PRODUCTION STRATEGIES USED BY THE TWO TYPES OF POLICE DEPARTMENTS. THE INDIANAPOLIS POLICE USE A TASK-ORIENTED STRATEGY INVOLVING HIGH LEVELS OF SUPPORTIVE SERVICES AND SPECIALIZED UNITS TO DEAL WITH PARTICULAR PROBLEMS. THE INDEPENDENT COMMUNITIES, ON THE OTHER HAND, USE A PATROL-ORIENTED STRATEGY IN WHICH A LARGER PROPORTION OF RESOURCES IS ALLOCATED TO PATROLLING THE AREA SERVED. THE STUDY WAS UNABLE TO DRAW CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE RELATIVE EFFICIENCY OF THE TWO TYPES OF POLICE ORGANIZATION, SINCE BOTH THE AMOUNT OF RESOURCES DEVOTED TO POLICE SERVICES AND THE LEVEL OF QUALITY OF THOSE SERVICES WERE HIGHER IN THE SMALLER DEPARTMENTS.