NCJ Number
177775
Date Published
May 1998
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This article addresses the issue of whether the California Highway Patrol (CHP) will maintain its leadership role in traffic management in the future through the traditional model of traffic law enforcement or through community-oriented policing (COP).
Abstract
The ability to impact community issues is important if the CHP is to maintain its leadership role in traffic management, especially since more communities are demanding personalized traffic law enforcement services. As the CHP looks to the future, the issue of transitioning from a traditional traffic law enforcement model to a COP traffic law enforcement model is being additionally impacted by the Sheriff's Department. Through proposed legislation, county sheriffs are advocating a change to California's Vehicle Code that will authorize sheriff deputies to enforce traffic laws in county areas. In response, the CHP has attempted to solidify its traffic management responsibilities and views traffic management and safety and its primary mission into the next century. The CHP believes in the COP model but faces challenges of dealing with changes required by a switch to COP. These challenges concern training, patrol responsibilities, personnel deployment, and the mileage death rate. Technology and leadership appear to be part of the answer to increased requests for traffic law enforcement services. 17 references