Police Operation Trends

Police Development and Operation Trends
CJA/394

Police Development and Operation Trends
Police organizations bring different meaning to different people based on age, sex, relationship, etc. If you were to ask a person who was the age of 30 in 1950, I am sure they would have drastically different details in regards to the policing that took place within their police organizations, than if you were to ask a person today of age 30. This is because although most policing organizations still utilize the hierarchal systems and the para-military based structure, the development of departments, technology, trends, and relationships with civilians has all changed. Some police organizations feel that the changes are only for the better and that
the changes are much needed to ensure the possible policing within the police organizations. However, change to some is always negative and no matter what signs of improvement are displayed, change just will not be justified. Throughout the paper you read how the trends, organization, and developments have changed policing within the police organizations. Organizational Management of Policing
The organizational management within the policing is straightforward. Local police, city, and county, make up the third part of the jurisdiction. “Community policing represents an alternative to the traditional form of police organizations” (Walker-Katz, 2008, p. 100). Within each different part of the local police there are different responsibilities that must function together to protect the communities. A chain of command is crucial it helps sort out the order of authority within the departments. Much like the military, law enforcement uses captain, lieutenant, and sergeant rankings, which places officers in ranks highest to lowest. Some cities may have thousands of police officers who divide duties, some towns only have one officer who fills the roles or “status hierarchy —their assigned status within the police department” (Walker- Katz, 2008, p. 106). The basic requirement for a police officer is standardized throughout the United States. One issue that creates a challenge for American Policing is the police subculture, which prescribes the basic assumptions and values that can permeate law enforcement agencies. Unacceptable police practices have been the reason for introducing amendments (such as Miranda rights) to ensure that citizens’ rights were protected.
The criminal justice system is set in place to create order among the people. The criminal justice system is made up of three primary components. The organizational management in policing consists of the corrections branch, the law enforcement/police branch, and the judiciary/courts branch. Each of these branches performs a different function, and has numerous individual responsibilities to keep maintenance and order for the system. Each component has a different role to play, and contributes in its own way. The first to encounter the suspected offender is the law enforcement officer, or peace/police officer. When the suspect is apprehended, the suspect is taken to the officer’s station, held to be booked, inspected, and introduced to the general population of fellow criminals. Police administration is present on every level of a police agency. Administration of Policing
In examining the administration of policing within a police organization one must first focus on structure.
“Police agencies are bureaucratic paramilitary organizations that have traditionally been slow to change” (Jones, 2008). This quasi military style has been criticized for many reasons over the years. It is believed that this structure marks police against society and enlists a war on crime attitude which can lead to the mistreatment of people in the community. In recent years, the arrival of the community policing philosophy has induced drastic attempts of organizational change in police organizations by mandating a decentralized policing style wherein police agencies must de-specialize and officers must have closer integration with the communities they serve” (Jones, 2008). In having closer integration with the communities they serve, these organizations aim to put great emphasis on community relations, eliminate strict rule and policy that stifle officers from being able to perform effectively, and replace specialized departments with officers facing the same issues
daily.
O.W Wilson’s principles of police administration include specialization, hierarchy, clear lines of authority, and written rules and policies. These principles are subject of the professional policing era. With the introduction of community policing and problem-oriented policing, came the realization that change was necessary. Now the efforts of the administration of policing are to steer away from the bureaucratic structure that had proven to be ineffective over the years. Revitalization, improvement of relations within the community, and offering the officer more opportunity for growth is now at the forefront of police administration. The administration of these principles has bought forth both positive and negative changes. “Maguire found that in the 1990s large police departments across the country were becoming less centralized and less bureaucratic, and were increasingly relying on civilians to perform police work” (Walker-Katz, 2008). No change was represented in administrative distance between officer and chief. Change will continue to occur not only in administration, but in operations as well. Operations of Policing
Policing as traditionally organized, cannot effectively prevent crime, but Bagley see’s no possibility of a more effective crime prevention if de-centralizing the police department and giving more responsibility to the neighborhood police (Walker-Katz, 2008). De-centralizing gives more responsibility to the officers at the bottom of the organization instead of the traditional top down quasi-military style organization.
In 1970, team policing was a radical innovation involving restructuring police operation along the neighborhood lines and de-centralizing decision making authority. Neighborhood police had more of an input along with neighborhood leaders as to the information flowing out of the neighborhoods to the police and back. Poorly planned experiments vanished with the community policing becoming more problem oriented policing, zero tolerance policing, or traditional style policing. The main goal is to keep peace and safety among society with the least amount of harm. Training officers and chiefs is important to the flow of information being correctly received and acted upon. There should be no guess work in the department’s strategy for maintaining order, or following orders. The organization is essential to the operation of the department, without structure, management, and information, policing would be impossible to maintain in communities (Gordner G, 1996). The United States Department of Justice granted in the 1994 Violent Crime Control Act 100,000 officers for community oriented policing only communities that developed a plan for community policing received the fund ( Walker-Katz, 2008). Operationally the departments need to be connected to share more information across departments and states. Operation and development trends must continue to be shared to ensure a bright future for all police agencies. Past, Present, and Future Trends of Development & Operations
Past, present, and future trends in policing have all contributed to the success and failures of different police organizations. In the past, things such as team policing have not been successful for developing and organizing police agencies (Walker & Katz, 2008). Team policing did not allow agencies to handle issues that would arise in several locations at once. When patrol cars were introduced into policing, they became a positive contribution towards controlling criminal behavior. In the last two decades, police organizations have developed and implemented a technology called COMPSTAT, which is the abbreviation for computer comparison statistics (Walker & Katz, 2008). COMPSTAT has been a successful tool for police agencies because it states a police department’s goals, missions, and values (Walker & Katz, 2008). This technology also organizes authority and transfers resources to the proper commanders who are in charge of specific geographical areas (Walker & Katz, 2008). By implementing these features, COMPSTAT has been successful in the reduction of crime rate. The future of police agencies will rely on five different trends to ensure success in development and operations: police technology, employment trends in law enforcement, police research, demographic change, and the war on terrorism (Walker & Katz, 2008). The future in law enforcement depends upon employment trends and the ability of possible employees. Before hiring new employees, police agencies must review policies and handbooks to ensure that the proper definitions are included into law enforcement manuals that new employees are to receive (Keating, 2010). Prior to being hired by a police agency, it is imperative that each candidate be given a thorough detailed background check (Keating, 2010). The past, present, and future trends of today’s police agencies will ensure a positive operational department and continual development. Conclusion
After all the research and analyzing, it is apparent that the policing in police organizations from the administrations, management, and operations has developed and changed greatly.
The police organizations have also been able to begin utilizing tools such as COMPSTAT to better ensure operations are continuing on the positive path of development. Police organizations have begun communicating not only internally but also state wide and nationally after taking advantage of all the technological advancements. With some of the technological advancements created, policing organizations are able to stay at a pace of the criminals in hopes to catch and prevent crimes. Past practices are still active in today’s policing world but some may have small changes to better utilize them, for example the top down approach still helps maintain the organizations structure and management. With all of the progress made in policing by utilizing change in trends to keep up with the current times, it can only be perceived that in another decade the police organizations will again be advancing in the tools used to help ensure crime is prevented, stopped, and
punished.

References
Gordner G (1996) Community Policing: Principles and Elements
Jones, M. (2008, Fall). A Complexity Science View of Modern Police Administration. Public Administration Quarterly, Vol 32(Issues 3), p. 433-457.
Keating, P.M. (2010). Employment Law: Issues That Need Attention Sooner Rather Than Later. Shopping Center Legal Update, 30(1), 14-18.
Walker, S., & Katz, C.M. (2008). The police in America: An introduction (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.