NCJ Number
77985
Date Published
1980
Length
26 pages
Annotation
Traditional British police strategy is examined, and essential components of future police strategy are outlined with emphasis on the concept of preventive policing.
Abstract
Police strategies will continue to involve a series of compromises derived from resource limitations and conflicting priorities, roles, and expectations which are incapable of resolution. A primary conflict arises from the police's duty to enforce the law while simultaneously serving and obtaining the support of the community. The degree to which these ambivalent goals can be reconciled is dependent upon the community's acceptance of the rule of existing law and the quality and quantity of police contacts with the public. With these factors in mind, essential components of future police strategies should focus on organization, particularly organization designed to cope with social change and revision in community attitudes; management, notably the management of change; and training. Activities in these component areas should include improvement in the quality and quantity of data relevant to major police objectives, the study and use of systems analysis for determining outputs and allocating resources, and the development and evaluation of alternatives for matching resources to demands. Management by objectives should be taught in advanced training courses, along with the application of human relations principles to specific problems and projects. Also required is significant improvement in the training of probationary constables in interpersonal skills and in the management of persons. Efforts in community policing should continue, with particular attention to patrol variations to suit local conditions. (Author abstract modified)