COMPUTERIZED SCHEDULING OF POLICE MANPOWER - V 1 METHODS AND CONCLUSIONS

• NCJ Number: 13362
• Author(s): N B HELLER; T J MCEWEN
• Date Published: 1973
• Length: 153 pages
• Grant Number(s): 72-NI-99-0018
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice; US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: St Louis Metropolitan Police Dept
• Sale Source: National Technical Information Service; National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

METHODS AND CONCLUSIONS OF A PROJECT TO DEVELOP COMPUTERIZED TECHNIQUES FOR CONSTRUCTING WORK SCHEDULES FOR POLICE OFFICERS.

Abstract

THE DESIGN OF A POLICE WORK SCHEDULE INVOLVES 1) DETERMINATION OF THE APPROPRIATE MANNING LEVELS FOR EACH WATCH AND DAY OF WORK, 2) CONSTRUCTION OF SUITABLE SEQUENCES OF WATCH ASSIGNMENTS AND OF DAYS WORKED AND DAYS OFF FOR EACH OFFICER, AND 3) DEVELOPMENT OF PROCEDURES FOR DEALING WITH COMMON PROBLEMS OF SCHEDULE ADMINISTRATION, SHOULD THEY ARISE AT ANY TIME AFTER THE SCHEDULE IS IMPLEMENTED. THIS PROJECT DEVELOPED A SET OF COMPUTER PROGRAMS TO PERFORM THE FIRST TWO STAGES OF THE DESIGN PROCEDURE, AND SIMPLE MANUAL PROCEDURES FOR THE THIRD. THE COMPUTER PROGRAMS PERMIT THE SCHEDULE DESIGNER TO SPECIFY THE VALUES OF, OR RANGES OF ACCEPTABLE VALUES FOR, MANY OF THE SCHEDULE'S MOST IMPORTANT ATTRIBUTES. THEY ALSO PROVIDE A CAPABILITY FOR TRADING OFF THE VALUES OF SIGNIFICANT ATTRIBUTES AGAINST ONE ANOTHER WHEN DESIGN CONSTRAINTS WILL NOT PERMIT SIMULTANEOUS OPTIMIZATION OF ALL OF THEM. THE PROGRAMS WERE TESTED BY USING THEM TO DESIGN SCHEDULES FOR THE ST. LOUIS METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT. FOR THE APPENDIX TO THIS REPORT SEE NCJ-012783. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)