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Managing for Excellence
POINT OF VIEW:
MANAGING FOR EXCELLENCE
By
David A. King
Chief of Police
Perkasie, Pennsylvania, Police Department
So much has been written on effective personnel management
that very little is left to be said on the topic. However, law
enforcement is such a unique field that specific methods for
selecting, training, deploying, and managing police employees
are essential in order for any department to be successful.
Obviously, the police officer is the most visible and
important component of a law enforcement agency. How well we
use the personnel resources of our police associates will
determine how positively the organization is perceived and how
successfully we attain organizational goals.
In the past, most agencies went to great lengths to attract
and recruit highly motivated, educated individuals. But, once
these individuals were in place, they were oftentimes
discouraged, and in some instances, even punished for performing
tasks outside the "standard" parameters. In doing so, we
systematically eliminated innovative, creative thinking at the
line level.
THE COMMUNITY POLICING MODEL
During the late 1970s, when police departments nationwide
began facing severe budget constraints, we, as police managers,
were forced to look for more effective methods in order to meet
increasing demands for police services. Interestingly enough,
one such method was increased cooperation between police
officers and members of the community. This led to the creation
of separate crime prevention and community service programs in
nearly every police department in the country.
At the time, most police administrators believed that
additional contact with the public would serve not only to
provide increased service to the citizens but also to enhance
the police department's professional image. Crime prevention
programs provided police departments with the opportunity to
move closer to a positive proactive working relationship with
the community.
However, this practice eliminated systematically many
police officers from the community service equation. The
specialized service that "crime prevention officers" now
provided set them apart from their patrol division counterparts.
Without even realizing it, we had created two distinct, and for
the most part, separate law enforcement efforts--crime
prevention and traditional police patrol services.
Only recently did we realize that community-based policing
must involve every component of the police organization--from
administration to command, from investigative to uniformed
patrol. All aspects of the police organization need to be
joined in a concerted effort with the community to be effective.
Community policing allows us to get back in touch with the
citizens and find out how we can work together for the
betterment of all. After all, who better to tell us what the
real law enforcement problems are in our communities than the
citizens we serve. And, it is these same citizens who can tell
us how well we are meeting our commitment to address these
problems. We cannot possibly determine how effective we are
without listening to those who benefit, or suffer, from our
efforts.
Traditionally, beat cops took a personal interest in their
service areas and were known to be astute at detecting,
preventing, and suppressing criminal activity through their own
innovative expertise. Today, the concept of community policing
is merely an extension of that simple philosophy.
THE POLICE OFFICER AS A MANAGEMENT RESOURCE
As police executives, we have sometimes allowed ourselves
to become too far removed from the operational aspects of
effective law enforcement. In meeting the challenges of
providing the department with long-range goal planning, we have
sometimes become too concerned with the future and not as aware
of the present as we should be. As police administrators, we
need to sense the changes in our environments and adjust our
methodology to meet those changes.
The line police officers are probably one of the most
overlooked management resources in any police agency. No one is
more familiar with the environment in which they must operate
than law enforcement patrol officers, and no one is more capable
of making effective suggestions to meet the demands for their
service. Therefore, we must rethink the philosophy that
requires unquestioned conformity to departmental procedures and
discourages individualism. Instead, we should consider the
input of those on the forefront of the criminal activity
battleground. Society demands no less.
As administrators, we must empower our employees to make
the kinds of decisions that can be effective for specific
problems in the community in which they serve and in which the
officer is looked to by the citizen to solve the problem. We
need officers who work with and for the community. We need
police officers as community organizers who can serve as
catalysts for positive action in the crime detection,
suppression, and prevention. We need personnel who view members
of the public as concerned, supportive, proactive assistants in
the law enforcement function. Without an understanding,
supportive community, the job of effective policing becomes
increasingly more difficult. And, many officers have for too
long viewed the general citizenry as more of a nuisance than as
an effective tool that could assist them in being a
more-efficient agent against criminal activity.
SUMMARY
Community policing empowers officers to make a real
difference. Police administrators need to become supportive of
officers in their ranks who can and will serve the community
policing model, provided that they are allowed to make practical
decisions that use creative and effective resources. As police
administrators, we go to great lengths to find the best
personnel available to meet the difficult challenges of law
enforcement. We must allow them to use those skills and
abilities that not only make them good police officers but also
allow them to become more-effective public servants.
Administrators have the ability to give patrol officers the
support they will need in order to manage their individual
community microcosms. By delegating responsibility, empowering,
and giving commensurate authority to these officers, we will not
only provide the essential components to successful applications
of community policing philosophies but we will also become more
successful in our search for management excellence.
______________
"Point of View" is a forum for law enforcement
professionals to suggest recommendations to improve police work.
Submissions for this feature should be typed, double spaced, and
forwarded to Editor, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, Room 7262,
10th & Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20535.
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