POLICE SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENT BRANCH ROLE AND APPROACH TO POLICE PRODUCTIVITY (FROM WORKSHOP ON POLICE PRODUCTIVITY AND PERFORMANCE, 1980, BY PETER ENGSTAD AND MICHELE LIOY - SEE NCJ-71054)

• NCJ Number: 66696
• Author(s): A BURROWS
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 22 pages
• Corporate Author: Canada Solicitor General
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

ENGLAND'S POLICE SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENT BRANCH (PSDB) WAS ESTABLISHED TO PROMOTE PRODUCTIVITY IN UNITED KINGDOM POLICE FORCES BY THE USE OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY.

Abstract

PSDB'S FIRST POLICY ASSUMPTION IS THAT OVER THE 150 YEARS OF ITS EXISTENCE, THE POLICE HAVE ARRIVED METHODS OF PERFORMING THEIR DUTY THAT ARE REASONABLY SUCCESSFUL AND ACCEPTABLE TO SOCIETY. THEREFORE, THE FIRST PRIORITY OF THE SCIENTIST IS TO EVALUATE HOW THE APPLICATION OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY MIGHT AUGMENT POLICE PERFORMANCE AS WELL AS TO BRING RELEVANT TECHNOLOGY WITHIN THE REACH OF THE POLICE SERVICE. WHEN A MIX OF POLICE OFFICER AND MODERN TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN FOUND TO BE WORTHWHILE AND HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED, THE SCIENTIST SHOULD THEN CONSIDER WHAT CHANGES OF TACTICS WOULD MAKE MORE EFFICIENT USE OF POLICE MANPOWER. THUS THE BRANCH ATTEMPTS TO DEVELOP EQUIPMENT POLICE CAN AFFORD, TO DEVELOP ONLY ITEMS WHICH CANNOT BE PROCURED SATISFACTORILY FROM THE CIVIL MARKET, AND TO DERIVE MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR ITEMS COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE. BECAUSE THERE HAS BEEN A PROBLEM WITH BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN THE SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPMENT OF PROTOTYPES AND THEIR INTRODUCTION INTO OPERATIONAL SERVICE, PSDB HAS INTRODUCED A TECHNICAL SUPPORT UNIT (TSU). THE TSUS HELP TO ESTABLISH A WORKING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCIENTISTS AND POLICE OFFICERS. THE UNITED KINGDOM'S LATE START IN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY HAS ENABLED IT TO SKIP MANY STAGES AND TO MOVE QUITE RAPIDLY NOW WITH THE MOST RECENTLY DEVELOPED TECHNOLOGY. COMPUTERIZATION HAS BEEN SHOWN TO INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY AND PERFORMANCE. COMPUTER AIDED DISPATCH IS ALREADY GENERALLY ACCEPTED AND PRIORITIES ARE BEING GIVEN TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS. ATTENTION IS ALSO BEING GIVEN TO INVESTIGATING DRIVER BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS AND TRAFFIC POLICE OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS. OVERALL, PSDB IS AIMING FOR A PROJECT MIX THAT INCLUDES BOTH SUFFICIENT SHORT-TERM CONTENT TO ENABLE RESEARCH BRANCHES TO MAINTAIN CREDIBILITY WITH THEIR POLICE BRANCHES AND A HARD CORE OF LONG-TERM RESEARCH ON THE FOUNDATIONS OF POLICE WORK ITSELF. FOOTNOTES ARE PROVIDED. APPENDIXES LIST CURRENT WORK BY EQUIPMENT GROUPS AND INFORMATION ON COMPUTERIZED POLICE COMMAND AND CONTROL. (MHP)