NCJ Number
129148
Date Published
1990
Length
279 pages
Annotation
This analysis of urban policing focuses on the limitations of traditional police strategies and management styles and uses examples from seven innovative police departments to explore new approaches to policing that offer hope both for better crime control and for major improvements in the quality of urban life.
Abstract
The discussion focuses on the history of policing, the ways in which the current organization and beliefs of police hamper progress, the significance of executive leadership in overcoming these constraints, and the main issues facing contemporary policing. It argues that society, police managers, and police officers must change their behavior toward one another and recommends changes in these relationships that will both immediately transform police operations and keep police departments open to additional changes in the future. Further chapters address the role of values in shaping policing's external relations and internal management, the relationships through which police policies and operations are guided and evaluated by the public, and partnerships between the police and the public and other parts of government. The analysis concludes that changing the professional environment of police officers, redefining their responsibilities, and restructuring their incentives can make police and policing both flourish. Figure, index, and chapter reference notes