NCJ Number
168675
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 66 Issue: 6 Dated: (June 1997) Pages: 8-10
Date Published
1997
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article examines cross-training as a way for law enforcement agencies to achieve flexibility and efficiency and make optimal use of personnel.
Abstract
The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office Detective Bureau in New Brunswick, New Jersey, has developed a cross-training program that contains three types of units: (1) primarily investigative but also helps the legal staff prepare cases and take them to trial; (2) primarily legal staff support but also conducts a limited amount of investigative work; and (3) primarily administrative support to the entire prosecutor's office. The article includes criteria for investigators' participation in the program and a brief summary of course content. Benefits of the cross-training program included a more cohesive and less competitive atmosphere in the department and a cooperative approach to the most difficult unsolved cases as original investigators worked with investigators from other units to develop new leads, new approaches and new techniques for solving the cases. In the short-term, cross-training provides flexibility for the Detective Bureau to address changing operational priorities. Long-term benefits include the development of a cadre of well-rounded investigators ready to assume leadership positions.