NCJ Number
72978
Journal
Journal of Police Science and Administration Volume: 8 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1980) Pages: 341-352
Date Published
1980
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Public dissatisfaction with the police can be improved by police use of a marketing approach emphasizing achievement of goals through customer satisfaction, and other marketing principles, to communicate with and determine the needs of the public.
Abstract
An examination of the traditional approaches to police goal achievement reveals they do not have a good, or indeed any, effect on troublesome police-public relations. While the police have grown more efficient through use of technology and have tried to enlist community support through public relations. While the police have grown more efficient through use of technology and have tried to enlist community support through public relations programs, neither approach provides the police with public opinion to inform police policymaking. Thus, it is suggested that the police use a marketing approach to communicate with, and determine the needs of, the public. The three important parts of marketing are a customer-needs orientation, integrated marketing, and organizational goal achievement through customer satisfaction. Customer-needs orientation requires that police observe the needs of the public before developing its product, police work. Integrated marketing assures that all functions within the police organization are committed to its goals through responding to public needs. Organizational goal achievement assumes goals are met when the public is satisfied. Implementation of the marketing concept involves four basic requirements: commitment from top management, identification of relevant publics, development of market-oriented strategies, and development of an information system. Diagrams and footnotes are included.