NCJ Number
172065
Journal
Intelscope Volume: 12 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1994) Pages: 4-7
Date Published
1994
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Law enforcement is examined with respect to the psychological and mechanical factors that keep the various Federal, State, and local police agencies from working together in a coordinated effort within the fragmented, pluralistic structure that is intended to ensure control by the people in a democratic society.
Abstract
Task forces, team approaches, consolidation and other alternatives are possible ways to correct the overly fragmented system. Police agencies use their limited resources of personnel, funds, intelligence data, equipment, and political support in a framework constrained by public relations, fear of corruption, jurisdictional boundaries, base control, crime statistics, paramilitary procedures, and competition within the agency. Agencies need to pool resources in a coordinated effort to maximize existing resources and use others' strengths to compensate for their individual weaknesses. Jurisdictional issues also need to be addressed as part of interagency cooperation. The main psychological barriers to cooperation are the inappropriate competition that results from political pressures and the unique investigative techniques that each agency has developed, combined with psychological resistance and fear of change. Progress in cooperation will require the commitment of higher levels of Federal, State, and local police agencies. Temporary merging on a project basis or the use of a long-term task force is a feasible course of action, especially at the local level, and would encourage intergovernmental cooperation to improve police effectiveness. A fully integrated effort has become necessary to overcome the hindrances of the currently fragmented approach to law enforcement.