NCJ Number
158152
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 62 Issue: 10 Dated: (October 1995) Pages: 108,111- 112,114
Date Published
1995
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The changing demands and expectations of the police require police agencies to make the necessary shifts in operations and philosophy and to adapt and adopt new and radical approaches to the challenges they face.
Abstract
Policing philosophy has changed from encumbrance to empowerment; police culture has changed from a closed, top- down organization steeped in bureaucracy to one open to the community and to the employees who do the job. Traditional autocratic leadership is at odds with empowerment. The needed changes in organizational culture must go beyond policy statements and involve changes throughout the organization. Specific changes should include abandoning military ranks, insignias, and other trappings of office that serve as internal and external barriers and eliminating manuals that focus on micromanagement. Additional changes should include replacing the typical end-of-the-year evaluation system with community surveys or action groups and ongoing interactions with employees to maintain quality performance, reevaluating the system of controls in the control of the organization, and rewarding mistakes of good intent. Finally, police agencies should actively recruit for, encourage, and support higher levels of education, as well as technical and professional training. Footnotes