A Case Study
Introduction With a digital world, the police roles and functions have vastly changed. The police goals have become broader and sophisticated. It has evolved into various functions more commonly related to various agencies (Tilley, 2008). However, the general public still expects the police forces as mainly focused on crime fighting activities. As such, much of the police work is not active and it is incident-based. It is not also tactical in nature.
This paper aims to present a dynamic view of the police force, primarily through their virtual policing functions. While they are still at the forefront of crime fighting, they are also engaged with civil emergency responses, peace and order maintenance, and even community work or policing. While this paper illustrates the potentials of virtual policing, it also presents the issues and challenges attached to this special policing aspect.
Company Reflection
The Virtual City Police Department has been around for at least 63 years. It originally had some few police officers and a Chief. This department was created by the City Council under the authority granted the City of Virtual in its founding Charter. The department has evolved as one of the main policing agency in the state. It has become a modern police department with 155 sworn officers. There are 70 civilian employees appointed to staff positions, which range from clerical support to correctional officers to crime scene investigators. The Virtual City Police Department is taken as a medium-sized organization of police departments all over the country. The department has four commands and many divisions and units of a modern police agency.
It was a manageable department in terms of personnel. Its only problem then was the retirement patterns of officers, and the accelerated hiring spree followed by a period of relative personnel retention until the next groups of officers becomes subject for retirement. Each of these HR cycles (happening every 5 to 7 years) has resulted in the loss of experienced police personnel, specifically from the supervisory and command positions, followed by mass promotion of less trained and less able police officers. This outcome has led to the emergence of front line supervisors and team leaders with little experience in police administration. Sadly, the city has not been successful in administrating a deferred retirement option plan (DROP). It is mainly because of cost miscalculation against the benefit by key members of the City Council.
Body
Issues and Problems of the Virtual Police Department
The number one issue of the City Virtual Police Department is its administration. As mentioned, the front line officers and leaders are not well experienced. There is a cyclical problem in terms of their tenure. Hence, the proper delegation of tasks and responsibilities are not well transferred and carried out. Such problem is seen in the programs and the accomplishments of the Department.
Another major issue is the organizational culture and the inculcation of group excellence among its team. The department is expected to uphold a culture of highest standards and excellence. But as per experience, the Virtual City Police experienced discrepancy in upholding the right values and standards. They have deflected from the code of integrity since the rules have some exceptions. Minor rule-bending and violations are usually ignored. Such problem might be due to the inexperience of the front line supervisors.
Budget and training of officers are compunded problems in the department. It restrains the proper administration and support for the staff and supervisors. For instance, training is very much affected due to the reduced administrative budget. Poor training leads to poor performance and this perennial issue affects each aspect of the virtual police operations. Less financial resources also mean less tactical operations and constrained resources such as less equipment and tools to fight crimes.
History of the agency and how it leads to the said issues and problems
With the problems of tenure, budget and lack of training, the agency has not operated well. This stemmed from the main problem in the administration of the Virtual Police Department. Having a less experienced, young and least trained officers and supervisors, the department’s direction and decision making is compromised. The scenario also leads to the rapid growth of the formal complaints from internal and external sources and the decreasing percentage of crimes solved and successfully prosecuted. In the latest mass-retirement cycle, many retirees meant vast dispersal of institutional knowledge. The present administration is inexperienced since they have only been promoted in the last 15 years only. Reduction in the financial resources has also greatly restricted management and leadership training for the newly promoted command staff members.
The problem can be traced to the time when the mayor and City Council members who empowered and then organized the department recruited their friends as the initial departmental members. The timeline was in the 1950’s. This promoted nepotism and the hiring of families and friends become a standard, and it sustains the bad system which leads to other failures of the department (Cope, 2004).
Linked to this is the practice of instilling excellence in education. Since recruits are by personal referrences, the high criterion for higher education for officers and commanders was not encouraged nor endorsed. Historically, the police experience was the main criterion for the department’s police qualifications. At present, less than 10% of the department has more than two years of college. Most officers have their only college credits as a mandate from the regional police academy and local community college.
Departmental Organization and Management
The Virtual Police Department’s organization is structured with twelve chiefs, with just one of them being recruited externally. With rare exception, the chief’s terms co terminus with the City Mayor who appointed him. This bureaucratic system promotes the dependency on the mayoral appointment and it makes the selection political, and it has grave implications in nearly all operational or administrative decisions of the department. For instance, the last three chiefs have all come from within the department and have led the agency for a combined 24 years. Their longevity testifies to the political savvy of the Chief. The relationship between the city of Virtual and the county and state governments is one of mutual indifference. The mayor, county executive and governor often differ in political positions and have little to do with each other. As an outcome, the state police, county sheriff and VPD chief rarely discuss mutual interests or common causes.
The selection process should be less bureacratized. The recruitment should apply a standard of excellence and the criteria for leadership should rest on the likes of police experience, degree or education, character, among others. If this is not instituted, the city police department will not achieve much in terms of administration.
Demographic Differences and Counter Strategies
Most of the members of the department is white and male and is not statistically as diverse as the community it is charged to protect. The current command staff does not accurately reflect the minority rank and file and does not even mirror the current diversity of the city heads and administrators. Likewise, the police union, representing all officers below the rank of Lieutenant, is strong and very politically active. Police union support is sought by every candidate for local elected office. There have been unsubstantiated rumors that past mayors have even allowed the union to select the new chief of police. The union has also negotiated several prime benefits when negotiating with the city, including a 12 hour shift schedule.
Sadly, this lack of integration among the members of the virtual police force also lead to problems related to their effectiveness. The dispersion of the police members must be based on geographic location but the effectiveness of the officers also rely on how well they address the issues of their community. With a commonly White police officers, it is not a good indication of a multicultural organization that would be most effective. Going back to the first strategy, the recruitment criteria must be strictly upheld, sans nepotism and lack of a standard.
Agency Culture and how it adds to the problems
The Virtual City Police department has its own police culture. The public demands that all professions be held to a high standard, but for general reasons, policing has an even higher threshold to meet. All police officers must accept this higher standard. In the past, the Virtual City Police experienced very few cases where officers would abide by what has been referred to as “the code of silence.” In the VPD integrity was always at the core of the agency. If someone did not follow the rules, they were usually reported and the problems were addressed. In the past several years that part of the culture has changed. Minor rule bending and violations are often ignored, even by the inexperienced first line supervisors.
This should be eradicated. A proper system and a change of culture should be instituted and this should basically stem from the proper recruitment process (Telep & Weisburd, 2012). Another major solution is to create a new code of conduct for the department. This must be properly and equally enforced. With strict rules and harsh penalties, perhaps, a better organizational culture could evolve.
Analysis of Crime Statistics and Strategies to Supress These Crimes
In terms of offenses such as homicide, theft, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, motor vehicle theft and forcible sexual offenses, theft, burglary and motor vehicle theft remain large problems. In offenses encompassing 16 additional types of crime ranging from simple assault to vandalism to disorderly conduct, and all other crime classifications outside those defined in the first two classifications, vandalism, drug violations, adult offenses, juvenile offenses, and offenses related to police conduct reign high in terms of crime statistics.
As it is, these crime statistics reflect the traditional crimes and it is normally expected that the police force shall deal with them in the regular course of action. However, the main solution to these concerns require using the resources of the police force very efficiently (Cope, 2004). As local, county and state budgets have been dramatically reduced, the concept of consolidating, merging or integrating law enforcement services, including the virtual police department, should be prioritized.
Another effective solution is to apply technological aspects to the solutions of these crimes. Part of the increase in these statistics is the fact that some major crimes are now acted on the virtual world. Hence, the department must dynamically meet the need for crime fighting through the expensive use of technology, specifically the Internet.
Possible Solutions
A powerful evidence shows that a more focused and specific strategies of the police force and a tailored approach to the crime problems they seek to address will lead to a more effective police enforcement, specifically in controlling crime and public disorder (Skogan & Frydl, 2004). This paper shows that the task of examining the different options with a certain focus on the factors that must be considered by politicians and administrators to ensure that public safety is not compromised, and to upgrade to a more efficient, effective, responsive and proactive law enforcement services.
In this light, it is best to realize that despite the problems and challenges faced by the Virtual City Police Department, it can still be considered as a major and highly promising force to effectively eradicate crime.
This can be attained if the bureaucratic and administrative problems of the virtual police department are addressed well. Basically, the helm of the problems and issues is on the recruitment and tenure of the police officers and their recruitment and organizational culture. If these major concerns are addressed, the more effective the department would become.
References:
Cope, N. (2004). Intelligence Led Policing or Policing led Intelligence?: Integrating Volume Crime Analysis into Policing. British Journal of Criminology, 44(2), p. 188-203.
Skogan, W. & Frydl, K. (2004). Fairness and effectiveness in policing: The Evidence. Washington DC: The National Academies Press.
Telep, C.W. and Weisburd, D. (2012). What is Known about the Effectiveness of Police Practices in reducing crime and disorder? Police Quarterly, 15(4), p. 331-357.
Tilley, N. (2008). ‘Modern approaches to policing: community, problem-oriented and intelligence-led’. In Newburn, T. (ed.) Handbook of Policing. Cullompton: Willan.
