NCJ Number
75835
Date Published
1980
Length
26 pages
Annotation
Developments in police consolidation and coordination since the 1967 report of the President's Commission of Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice are reviewed.
Abstract
The Commission found that American police services were fragmented, complicated, and frequently overlapping and that the country was essentially a Nation of small police forces, each operating independently within the limits of its jurisdiction. At best, cooperation between departments was no more than sporadic and informal. Therefore, more coordination and resource pooling were called for; more specific recommendations for consolidation and coordination (reviewed here) were afterwards produced by the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations in 1971 and other national commissions as well as the American Bar Association. However, since 1967, neither police departments nor governments have shown an interest in reform. A 1977 Police Foundation survey found that among the 172 responding departments, only 10 percent had consolidated or attempted to consolidate operations with another department or assumed responsibility for policing new areas. However, 69 percent had participated in joint or combined service units or arrangements. At present, about 18,000 separate and independent police departments operate in the United States -- approximately 95 percent of these at the county or municipal level. Most have fewer than 10 full-time personnel; less than 0.5 percent of all police agencies account for a third of all sworn police personnel. Among the trends for the future are a reduction in the number of small police agencies; greater State regulation of local police activities; and increased similarity in structure of rural, suburban, and inner-city police agencies. Related literature is reviewed. Notes and references are included.