Police Organization and Management (From Progress in Policing Essays on Change, P 65-84, 1980, R A Staufenberger, ed. - See NCJ-75830)

• NCJ Number: 75833
• Author(s): T A Reppetto
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 20 pages
• Sale Source: Ballinger Publishing Co
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Developments in police organization, operations, and management since the 1967 publication of the report of the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice are reviewed, and future trends are identified.

Abstract

The report called for better deployment of personnel and better coordination between patrol officers and detectives, modernization of communications systems and dispatching procedures, experimentation with team policing, and standard principles of organization and management. In addition, strong internal affairs units, the employment of legal advisors, and improved management information systems and crime analysis capabilities were recommended. A 1977 survey revealed that 74 percent of the responding departments reported the creation of one or more new field units after 1967, half had formed special anticrime squads assigned to high crime areas. Another 18 percent had experimented with the division of patrol units into reactive and proactive elements. The percentage of detectives remained about the same in 58 percent of the responding departments, while 31 percent reported an increase. Patrol and detective operations were merged in 10 percent of the agencies, and 56 percent had established detective task forces. Experiments in team policing had been undertaken in 35 percent of the departments, although fewer than 20 percent finally opted for this technique. Management surveys had been conducted in 63 percent of all departments since 1967; 35 percent employed legal advisors (14 percent in 1967); planning units existed in 58 percent; and crime analysis units were operating in 45 percent. However, 27 percent had not yet created an internal affairs unit. Furthermore, many departments had begun to recognize citizen surveys as effective measures of police efficiency. For the future, improved field operations could result from a careful analysis of a community and the selection of the policing model most appropriate to it. Notes and references are included.