NCJ Number
76298
Date Published
1979
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This article describes a police manpower deployment program designed to fit the needs of an understaffed department which must cover a large geographical area (Greenville County, S.C.) with an urban, suburban, and rural population, with clusters of settlements in remote areas.
Abstract
The Greenville County Sheriff's Department has areas of its jurisdiction with population clusters that cannot be provided with prompt 24-hour patrol service because of limited manpower. In an effort to improve service to one particular area which complained regularly of poor police service, the sheriff's department established a resident deputy program. The program plan provided that a law enforcement officer residing in the affected area be assigned a regular shift there and be on call while off-duty for emergencies. Should a low-priority call come in during the resident deputy's off-duty hours, it would be answered by an officer from the larger patrol district. A qualified officer was found in the district, and the residents soon began to think of him as 'their' deputy. Citizen satisfaction with law enforcement greatly increased. The resident deputy is responsible for the majority of followup investigations in his district, including taking witness/victim statements, securing and executing search warrants, and procuring and serving arrest warrants. The success of the resident deputy program in one area of the county has prompted its establishment in another area. Tabular and graphic data bearing upon manpower deployment in the county are provided.