NCJ Number
90661
Date Published
Unknown
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This film delineates the reasons behind the need for improved police manpower deployment and explains management approaches for achieving it.
Abstract
Studies and the experience of police departments have shown that traditional responses to service calls are both wasteful and ineffective. Procedures whereby a patrol car is dispatched immediately upon receiving a call, whereby officers are equally distributed among shifts and districts, and whereby random patrolling is the rule are characteristic of reactive policing under passive management. They do not take into account the varying priorities of incoming calls, the monotony and futility of patrol time spent awaiting calls, nor the intensified needs for a police presence at different times of day and in different parts of the city. To overcome these shortcomings, patrol management procedures are being instituted by police departments around the country. They comprise resource allocation, policy review, crime analysis, and patrol strategies. With the aid of computers, current operations can be analyzed to identify wasted resources in areas ranging from manpower use to fuel consumption by patrol cars. Policy review clarifies goals and objectives; using analysis information, alternatives can be weighed and needs identified, leading to decisions on new operations such as prioritization of service calls and directed patrol. These procedures are in turn supported by crime analysis information identifying service problems, targeted crimes, and suspects. Directed patrol, a key strategy of effective manpower deployment, is essentially the assignment of specific duties to officers during their uncommitted patrol time. These can take various forms such as low or high visibility patrol, community relations, undercover work, specialized tasks under a split force arrangement, or structured stakeouts -- all under the supervision of a staff sergeant who makes assignment decisions based on analysis information. Patrol management endows police work with a proactive approach that results in both greater effectiveness and higher personnel work satisfaction.