Columbia Southern University
Abstract
The police operation is one of the most important aspects of the police function. This paper will give an overview of police goals and objectives and will name some of the factors that affect its operations. Because threats have always played a significant role crippling the development of society, organization is key to successful police operations. The police registers system and functions, such as like criminalistics, provide additional support to police operations and organization. The roles and attributes of effective police patrol, as well as the significance of training workforces and police agencies and operations, will be further explored. To guarantee the effectiveness of this mission, various patrol strategies and tactics will be described. Strategies and tactics include preventive patrol by the police, team policing, and the patrol in split force. By introducing different management traits, police operations and organization will be more effectiveness. The hierarchy of authority within the police structure sets forth rules and regulations that must be adhered to in carrying out policies and preventing crime.
Threats to internal security and the need to maintain law and order have prompted the policymakers, in collaboration with various government agencies, suggest an enhanced and equipped police force that can respond to security issues at any given moment. The police force has become a significant government agency in the nation. Because a responsive and effective police force is of vital importance to the security of the country, there have been numerous attempts at reform to improve the operations and organization of the police force. The most significant features of police operations and organization are decision-making and responsiveness to various situations that concern the public (Haberfeld, Clarke & Sheehan, 2015). The police force is organized into departments headed by experienced police officers who have served for a considerable amount of time and have managed to climb the ranks of leadership for their exemplary performances.
Most police departments in the United States function like a bureaucracy and have militaristic styles of operation. The systematic administration of police departments is organized by specialization of duties and tasks. According to Haberfeld, Clarke, & Sheehan (2015), there are objective qualifications for positions in which personnel must act and operate according to regulations and rules by adhering to a hierarchy of authority. Bureaucratic organization maximizes efficiency in police operations. The disadvantage of the highly bureaucratic organization of the police is that the operations are, in most cases, marked by a lack of flexibility, red tape, and indifference to human needs.
In any police department, it is of utmost importance to have in place written guidelines that delineate the rules, regulations, and procedures of the department (Cordner & Scarborough, 2010, p. 122). The reason that these written guidelines are so significant is that they establish the parameters and expectations for police officers to follow (Cordner & Scarborough, 2010, p. 122). It is beyond dispute that police officers have extraordinary amounts of power and discretion over citizens by the sheer fact of their law enforcement position (Cordner & Scarborough, 2010, p. 122). Accordingly, police can pose a substantial threat to the freedom and liberties of ordinary citizens (Cordner & Scarborough, 2010, p. 122). To guard against potential abuses of power or violations of law by the very agency that is entrusted with protecting public safety, written and specific guidelines are needed to establish the legal constraints within which the police must work (Cordner & Scarborough, 2010, p. 122). While the net of discretion of individual police officers is quite wide, these guidelines set forth boundaries and limits to otherwise unfettered discretion.
The police force tends to operate under quasi-military features. Most of the departments fit into this structure in that officers are required to wear uniforms and carry ranks. Ranks include lieutenant, patrol officer, sergeant and captain with respect to their duties. These professionals tend to operate within an authoritarian command structure where orders normally flow one-way. Those at the top are expected to direct their subordinates, and the subordinates are expected to obey the orders of their superiors. Borrowing from the military approach, police often refer to crime prevention as the “war on crime.” By subscribing to the notion that they are at war against crime, police officers are motivated to work diligently to ensure that they maintain control of the tasks that are assigned to them.
Police departments have employed various management traits in their operations to enhance performance. In recent decades, three distinct management styles have emerged (Perez, 2014). These include the watchman style, legalistic style, and the service style. Under the watchman style, the police tend to focus on keeping and maintaining order. They are inclined to ignore minor violations as they concentrate on the bigger picture. Perez (2014) observes that the legalistic style is concerned with police placing a premium on handling matters formally. Under this style, police carry out functions by the book and do not deviate from established protocols. Finally, Perez (2014) describes the service style. This style has gained increasing prominence as police have begun to stress community service over conventional law enforcement. Rather than simply arresting any and all offenders, police officers are now encouraged to make referrals to social service agencies and work with the affected communities to address the problems at hand.
Police operations are organized into various categories that include patrol, traffic, investigations, and special units. These structures play crucial roles in ensuring that law and order are maintained and that those who violate the laws of society are prosecuted as required by law (Perez, 2014). In each of these operating units, there are a number of support services that can be fulfilled by police personnel themselves, or specialists may be hired to provide these services. Such services include records, personnel, training, communication, planning, and research.
Organizing police operations into specific categories helps to ensure efficiency. Instead of operating as a generalized unit, the modern police force has recognized the need for specialization. Specialization helps to improve law enforcement in a society in which crime patterns are constantly changing. Specialized units can focus in on specific problems and can address those problems with added expertise or skill needed for those particular criminal justice issues. For instance, the rise of specialized gang units in law police departments and other law enforcement agencies reflects the need that gang-related crime is a specific problem that requires specialized skills and training in order to be properly addressed (Weisel & Shelley, 2004, p. 18).
Another important aspect of police organization is to ensure that a proper disciplinary regime is in place. More & Miller (2011) write that it is the responsibility of management in their supervisory role that employees have knowledge of 1) the standards of behavior they are expected to abide by, and 2) the sanctions that will be imposed for violations of those standards (p. 351). The onus is on supervisors and management to effectively convey the expected standards of behavior to subordinate employees and officers (More & Miller, 2011, p. 351). Here, communication between police managers and police officers is crucial. Communication can come in a variety of different forms and can include some kind of training, seeing firsthand disciplinary proceedings being applied to others, and through observation of role models exhibiting desired conduct and behavior (More & Miller, 2011, p. 351).
Many police departments have instituted a form of progressive discipline that increases the punishment for each additional violation (More & Miller, 2011, p. 346). The ultimate decision whether to pursue disciplinary actions against an officer rests with the heads of department and should not be entered into lightly (More & Miller, 2011, p. 345). A number of steps have become standard protocol to ensure departmental and fundamental fairness in officer disciplinary actions (More & Miller, 2011, p. 346). The purpose of instituting these procedures is to show the courts, trial boards, and arbitrators that supervisors have engaged in a good faith effort to ameliorate and correct the disruptive or deviant conduct (More & Miller, 2011, p. 346). The sequence of progressive punishments is as follows: 1) informal discussion, 2) oral warning, 2) written reprimand, 4) final written warning, 5) transfer, 6) suspension, 7) demotion, and lastly, 8) discharge from all duties (More & Miller, 2011, p. 346).
On the flip side of discipline, police departments should also make sure to properly reward and acknowledge those officers that perform well (More & Miller, 2011, p. 329). To indicate that an officer has exceeded or gone above and beyond expectations, police departments use certificates, commendations, and plaques as physical manifestations of praise (More & Miller, 2011, p. 329).
As technologies continue to advance and the needs of society change and progress, it is important that police departments integrate this technology accordingly to best serve law enforcement goals and objectives. Foot patrol has now become somewhat of an outdated police practice (Reiss, 1992, p. 60). The way in which police departments handle incoming phone calls has also changed to reflect modern society (Reiss, 1992, p. 61). All major police departments now have some sort of central communications center that responds to internal communications and incoming phone complaints (Reiss, 1992, p. 61). Because of evidentiary rules, all communications are now tape-recorded in case these calls need to be referred to or referenced at a later date (Reiss, 1992, p. 61).
Conclusion
The overarching purpose of police is to ensure security and protect public safety. Although this directive may seem simple enough, it is quite difficult to effectively carry out these goals. Law enforcement is a difficult job. To maximize efficiency and success, therefore, the organizational component of any given police department is essential. All police departments must have specific written guidelines that govern standard police conduct and acceptable exercises of discretion. Because it is inevitable that some police officers will violate such standards or their conduct will exceed the scope of their authority, it is also equally important that police departments have an effective disciplinary regime in place. Public confidence in the police will be undermined if police are not required to follow their own rules and guidelines. Limits of police power must be clearly established. When individual police officers act in such a way that violates law or department rules, it is the ultimate responsibility of supervising officers to take appropriate disciplinary action against such subordinates.
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