NCJ Number
179856
Date Published
1999
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses how management changes and goal setting in police departments can be the catalysts for decreases in crime.
Abstract
In 1990 New York subways were plagued with steeply rising robbery rates, fare evasion and disorder problems caused by homeless people, most of them drug abusers, trying to live on trains, platforms and in restricted track areas. Changes in enforcement procedures and a program of full enforcement brought impressive and continuing declines in subway crime. However, evidence that a redirected police department can reduce an entire city's crime rate is found in New York's steep decline in crime during the last 2 years. During that time the NYPD went from a micromanaged organization with little strategic direction to a decentralized management style with strong strategic guidance at the top. At the same time, the Department operated according to four principles: timely, accurate intelligence; rapid deployment; effective tactics; and relentless follow-up and assessment. The paper concludes that a well managed and highly directed police agency provides a better explanation for the decline in New York City crime than any of the traditional explanations cited by criminologists. Note, references