NCJ Number
158100
Date Published
1996
Length
36 pages
Annotation
This paper explains how quantified measures of police street-level, drug-enforcement activities and outcomes can form the partial basis for improved managerial choices and suggests how quantifying quality might be accomplished.
Abstract
Given that little is currently known about the effectiveness of street-level drug enforcement should lay the foundation for a process whereby police can learn about the intermediate and ultimate outcomes of strategic and tactical choices. This process would make it incumbent on police managers, and perhaps the rank- and-file as well, to specify intended outcomes and to measure both the content of enforcement activities and the relevant outcome variables. Such a process could yield important insights, and it could challenge police managers to contemplate alternative goals and strategies. This paper outlines a general framework in terms of which strategic and tactical questions can be formulated and issues defined, whereupon the expertise of both police management and the rank-and-file can be applied to improve drug enforcement. The author specifies some goals toward which street- level drug enforcement might be directed and some corresponding outcomes in terms of which street-level drug enforcement might be assessed. The author also describes some sources of information that might be used to quantify these outcomes. Data analysis is discussed as well. 10 notes and 31 references