The Importance Of An Effective Organization, And The Characteristics Of Effective Police Agencies Essay

Every day, law enforcement officers encounter danger while carrying out their duties. The foremost duty of law enforcement officers are to serve and protect citizens. Most law enforcement agencies do this successfully. However, many people view law enforcement officers as the enemy. People need to be better informed about law enforcement and why officers take specific actions in certain circumstances. In our society, police are in a very dangerous position when it comes to the amount of force they can use when dealing with an individual. Officers use discretion when deciding the best course of action for the situation, whether it be physical force, persuasion, or coercion. They must take the correct course of action, because if they are too lenient or to forceful, even when dealing with petty things, they can be reprimanded by superiors and the public. Should police use force? Which circumstances warrant use force and what are the limits of force they can use? These questions are often asked when police are compelled to use force.

In today’s law enforcement environment everyone agrees that departments should be more effective and efficient, but how do we measure and gauge this? A good evaluation of a department should include the documentation of activities and performance within it. The difference between efficient and effective is that efficiency refers to how well you do something, whereas effectiveness refers to how useful it is. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines effectiveness as: producing a result that is wanted or having an intended effect. Efficiency is defined as: the ability to do something or produce something without wasting materials, time, or energy.

This essay discusses the effects of the police organizational culture on a Police officer’s ability to make independent decisions.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police Research Center Board of executives, Smaller Law Enforcement Agencies Technical Assistance Program developed a New Police Chief Mentoring Project (IACP, 2013). Supported by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice, the focus is to make available official support to newer law enforcement leaders in the first three years of appointment, who are serving in smaller populations less than 50,000 citizens. As cities expand geographically and demographically, police departments face additional challenges determining efficient and effective ways to make use of officers and resources (Roberts, 2000).

Why do organizations fail? In Patrick O’Hara’s prologue of his book, Why Law enforcement Organizations Fail, he talks about how organizations are accidents waiting to happen. O’Hara gives examples of how one of the most well-known federal government agencies, the FBI, still has mishaps in their organization. In Dietrich Dorner’s book, The Logic of Failure, he talks about how humans make decisions and solve problems. Dorner believes the issue with humans solving problems is that once immediate problems are solved we do not anticipate the new ones that appear. Sam Antar in his interview with CNBC and in Lydia Segal’s journal article, Roadblocks in Reforming Corrupt Agencies: The Case of the New York City School Custodians, they talk about

CompStat allows police agencies to examine individual neighborhoods, or police precincts, and determine what problems need to be solved. CompStat involves the public by seeing them as the stakeholders (Cronkhite, 2013). The stakeholders, or public, are then involved in determining what the problems are in their area. CompStat then holds the commanding officer accountable for what is occurring in the areas under his command. CompStat also helps decentralize police command by empowering precinct commanders the freedom to solve the problems. This leads to new ideas and innovations that was not possible when decisions were made by a centralized command structure. Park and Barthe (2015) see CompStat as part of the SARA process being an integral part of identifying problems. CompStat has made police aware that statistics do have a place in policing and used correctly can lead to a reduction in crime and client satisfaction. Police officers in departments using concepts of problem oriented policing were found to be able to solve problems in their area by giving them the freedom to analyze problems and develop solutions (Park & Bathe,

As the new lieutenant in charge of policing violent crime in the city, the increase of violent crimes has been brought to my knowledge. Understanding that, some changes will be implementing into our department. For the past two months the amount of knowledge I have encounter when dealing within the criminal justice agencies, has been a lot. However, it has been the major key to making an organization have structure, a mission to oblige by, as well reducing the crime rate effectively. In this dissertation (meeting) a discussion of the new model intelligence-led approach will be describe how, along with an example of how well other organization utilizing these concepts to improve the reduction of crimes. Finally, a goal will be presented on how to go about implementing the evidence-based practice chosen.

There are also insufficiencies when researching response methods in law enforcement. It can be challenging to retrieve data on every response methods that police departments utilize. Whereas other demographics, such as agency size, population, crime rates, budgets, recruitment, criminal acts or technology may be obtainable, it can be vexing to find those demographics to include how they affect, are used in response methods or implemented. Further research should be investigated concerning the aspects of response methods in law enforcement.

In this paper I would be identifying, compare, and contrast the policing function at the local, state, and federal organizational levels. I would be Analyzing how the organizational, management, administration, and operational functions at these three organizational levels are similar or different and why. Also I would be identifying the leadership characteristics and responsibilities pertaining to each organizational level.

“Intelligence-led policing (ILP) - a collaborative law enforcement approach combining problem-solving policing, information sharing, and police accountability with enhanced intelligence operations” (Lambert 2010, 2). The main goal of the ILP is to reform police practices and improve the effectiveness of current practices that are used to target and reduce violent crimes and create intelligence that targets investigations and tactical responses to disrupt and reduce crime (Gibbs, McGarrell &Sullivan, 2015). ILP emphasizes the integration of information to help inform strategic resource allocation and identify emerging trends and tactics associated with criminal activity. (Carter, Phillips & Gayadeen, 2014).

Police leadership uses standardization and procedure as a way to create consistency and predict¬ability in law enforcement operations (Batts, Smoot, & Scrivner, 2012). The San Diego Police Department, like nearly all law enforcement agencies uses leadership models mimicking the United States military. Paramilitary organizations use highly structured framing to conduct business operations. The structural frame creates compartmentalized specialization, and predictable, uniform task performance desired by police executives. The tightly designed rank-and-file structure delineates locus power and control based on position (Bolman & Deal, 1991). Power rests at the top. Contained with this structure is top-down control of personnel,

When discussing leadership within the law enforcement profession is it vital to take the human factors into consideration. There are multiple human factors that the law enforcement leaders must take note of, such as, family issues, financial issues, stress, health, and morale. These human factors that play an important role for law enforcement in general can impact morale, officer safety and the public perception. When addressing the human factors, “Law enforcement leaders should challenge themselves and their employees to increase safety margins by focusing on human factors. By doing so, they will improve proactive communication at their level of influence and develop an organizational culture that values safety and wellness” (Bone, D., Normore,

There are multiple approaches to engaging a police force with the community in order to most effectively prevent and respond to crime, and considering the relative strengths and weakness of each of these strategic models will demonstrate how models can impact the operation of daily policing practices and activities. The model under discussion here is called community oriented policing (COP), and focuses on building relationships and rapport between officers and the community in order to more effectively prevent crime. It is augmented by a model called problem solving policing (PSP), and depends upon rank-and-file officers identifying community problem areas through direct observation and analysis. Each model excels at slightly different things, and in practice most police agencies deploy a mix of models. By examining the Miami-Dade Police Department's handbook for school resource officers, it will be possible to view a COP/PSP policy in action in order to better understand how these models practically affect policing.

Auditing the effectiveness of a public organisation is a difficult task in itself, however. What does effectiveness entail, and how does one measure it? You could argue that the effectiveness of the police force could be measured by looking at the ratio of number of crimes reported to the number of crimes solved. This seems to be in line with the police force’s social goals, so in theory seems an appropriate proxy for effectiveness. Yet it is also easy to see how this metric could be manipulated; where it is unlikely that a crime will be solved, the reporting of the crime may be ignored. The measure will give a false image of the efficacy of the police force in question, when

The earlier development of the law enforcement was developed by a man named Sir Robert Peel also known as the “Father of Modern Policing” (Bennett & Hess, 2007). He was born February 5, 1788 in Chamber Hall near Bury in Lancashire (Bloy, n.d.). He was the one who greatly influenced and set forth the fundamental principles of the police force. He developed an organized force called the London Metropolitan Police in 1829 that protected the people who were victimized due to high unemployment, poverty, and crime. An organization is “an artificial structure created to coordinate either people or groups and resources to achieve a mission or goal” (Bennett & Hess, 2007). The police’s goal is to protect and serve their community. Although the term of a police officer is mixed up with a peace officer “all police officers are peace officers, but all peace officers are not police officers” (Walker & Katz, 2011). The principles that Sir Robert Peel set for the police include: