NCJ Number
79301
Journal
Criminal Justice Review Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: (Fall 1980) Pages: 12-21
Date Published
1980
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Factors contributing to the isolation of police administration from general public administration are examined, and an approach for reforming the relationship between the municipal chief executive and the chief of police is proposed.
Abstract
The general view that police chiefs are among the most backward of local government executives is due largely to police chiefs having been isolated from the rest of public administration. Consequently, police administration has been left isolated while other municipal departments have benefited from cross-fertilization. This isolation of the police chief has been fostered by the well-intentioned effort to remove partisan political control from police departments. This effort has frequently resulted in the removal of all political and nonprofessional influences from police administration. This pressure for autonomy fosters and sustains a gap between police chiefs and their nominal overseers. Overcoming the shortcomings of police administration requires the integration of police administration with the rest of local public administration. The recruiting of a new police chief can provide the base for cooperation and communication between the new chief and the municipal chief executive. During the hiring process, the chief executive and the new police chief can state to each other their views of their respective responsibilities to each other and the community. Lateral entry of police chiefs can help to break stereotyped patterns of isolation between the police chief and the chief executive. Ten references and one footnote are listed.