NCJ Number
72352
Date Published
1980
Length
190 pages
Annotation
This final report describes the Managing Patrol Operations Project (MPO) at the Charlotte, North Carolina, Police Department.
Abstract
An LEAA grant for the project was approved in September 1978. Six MPO components were implemented. Computer based work schedules assigned team personnel, by shift and day of week, in proportion to the call-for-service workload for the previous six months. These schedules were intended to match manpower schedules to daily workload demands consistently throughout all teams. Computer assisted resource allocation was intended to predict the consequences of a number of alternative team structures and deployment plans to reduce the cost of service. A new system of call prioritization was designed to provide for the formal delay of routine calls for service and for referring some calls to an Expeditor Unit for processing by telephone. This system aimed to facilitate rapid response to high priority calls-for-service. A new expeditor unit processed calls by other means than dispatching a patrol car in order to relieve the workload in the field and to reduce costs. A new, permanently staffed, field-oriented Crime Analysis Unit was established to identify crime and service problems in each team area and report the problems to the appropriate bureaus and team commanders. Formal procedures for directed patrol in all teams were designed to govern the selection of problems, the planning and implementation of tactics, and the monitoring and evaluation of results. These procedures were intended to increase effectiveness and to provide a basis for more informed decisionmaking. As a result of MPO, the agency decreased average response time to emergency priority calls for service while reserving about 18 percent of its total patrol time for directed activities. The report also describes the department before MPO, MPO plan development, program components, program results, and observations on successful implementation. Data tables and graphs are included.