NCJ Number
173014
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 64 Issue: 8 Dated: August 1997 Pages: 54-63
Date Published
1997
Length
8 pages
Annotation
After profiling the characteristics of Neighborhood Police Teams (NPTs), this paper describes the factors that make for an effective NPT and identifies some of the impediments to NPT success, along with recommendations for addressing them.
Abstract
Police agencies have taken two general approaches to the NPT model: "problem-solving teams" and "strategic teams." Problem- solving teams involve a circumscribed approach to the use of teams in the delivery of community policing services. In this configuration, teams of officers are relieved of regular field responsibilities (most significantly radio call responsibility) and assigned exclusively to community problem-solving activities. Strategic teams are a more ambitious undertaking, in which most field services are reorganized into teams responsible for both traditional field duties and community problem-solving. Despite these distinctions, reorganizing into teams requires a focus on interdependence; i.e., team members must regularly interact with and depend on one another for effective performance. Carl Larson and Frank La Fasto have identified eight "dimensions of effective teams in their book, "Teamwork: What Must Go Right; What Can Go Wrong." These dimensions are a clear, elevating goal; a results- driven structure; unified commitment; competent team members; a collaborative climate; standards of excellence; external support and recognition; and principled leadership. Some examples of contemporary NPTs are provided, and policy implications are discussed. The author concludes that NPTs offer substantial opportunities to improve departmental performance and further the community policing mission, but performance is impaired when police agencies attempt to manage the teams in the same manner as traditional patrol squads. 2 notes