NCJ Number
92743
Date Published
1977
Length
69 pages
Annotation
This 1977 case study of team policing implemented in three districts of Hartford, Conn., in 1975 concludes that some minor changes in police/community relations and few changes in citizen fear occurred and that Part I crime decreased in some districts although it increased substantially citywide.
Abstract
Some elements of team policing had been implemented in Hartford prior to the LEAA demonstration project. During the 2-year demonstration, the department established the teams and continued its policies of personnel working only in their assigned districts to the maximum extent possible, making referrals to social service agencies, and emphasizing police interaction with the community. The demonstration allowed the police to inaugurate a personnel exchange system between field service and investigative service bureaus, provide training in team policing to all personnel, initiate a participatory management policy, and allow some officers in one district to work as an investigative team full time. This final report describes the city's demographic characteristics, its police manpower and budget, a prolonged police labor dispute that occurred during 1975 and 1976, and the findings of a 1973 residential neighborhood crime control study. The discussion of Hartford's efforts to implement team policing concepts addresses the varying sizes of teams formed, continuity of assignment, training programs, linkages to social service agencies, community relations, foot patrols, and management style changes. The report notes that the impact of the team policing demonstration cannot be disentangled from other strong influences, such as additional police organization changes occurring in the same period, a budget crisis, and urban renewal activities. Graphs and tables are supplied.