NCJ Number
212299
Date Published
July 2007
Length
84 pages
Annotation
After explaining the features of an early intervention system (EIS) within a community policing context, this guide presents recommendations intended to help police agencies improve personnel supervision and expand intervention options within an EIS.
Abstract
An EIS uses an electronic database that captures specific information about officer behavior to help identify problems before they escalate. Some of the more common EIS data elements are the use of sick leave, the number and type of community complaints, and the number and type of use-of-force incidents. Such information is typically used to intervene with an officer in a nonpunitive manner to help him/her deal with any problems that may be impeding his/her performance. This guide's recommendations are based on a study of law enforcement agencies that are leading the field in successful EISs. The study focused on how these agencies addressed issues of personnel supervision and intervention. Recommendations pertain to the role of the first-line supervisor in the intervention process; and they derive from lessons learned in the study regarding the development, implementation, and maintenance of an EIS. Specifically, the recommendations address the planning process, which includes the assessment of departmental needs, defining the new culture of accountability, and budgeting; developing and implementing an EIS, which involves getting "buy-in" from officers at all ranks and building community outreach; and maintaining the EIS, which focuses on data integrity, clarity and consistency, ongoing training, and dealing with hostility toward the EIS and morale problems. 5 references and appended list of participating agencies, telephone survey participants, and research staff