NCJ Number
146695
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 41 Issue: 12 Dated: (December 1993) Pages: 43-46
Date Published
1993
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The efforts that police departments make to be courteous to call-in and walk-in citizens is discussed.
Abstract
The departments in Billings, MT, Franklin, NH, and Moab, UT, have adopted a customer service philosophy toward police-citizen relations. In Ocean City, MD, and Las Vegas, NV, automated systems are used to expedite services or to cover for personnel shortages. In a recent survey, only 9 percent of departments reported using automated systems; 86 percent do not use them at all, and 5 percent use them only when no people are available to answer the phone. Although administrators generally are not too fond of automated systems, only 19 percent of departments have received citizen complaints about them. Most departments have live persons, sometimes civilians, handling inquiries whenever possible. Personnel and funding shortages notwithstanding, 8 percent seem not to grasp the importance of smooth relations with the public