NCJ Number
75830
Editor(s)
R A Staufenberger
Date Published
1980
Length
169 pages
Annotation
This book of essays explores how well the police and their allies have responded to the challenges documented in the 1967 report of the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice, a report which diagnosed weaknesses in policing and provided guideposts for reform.
Abstract
The first essay focuses on the commission's conclusions and on the research findings concerning the proper role of the police. It concludes that police officers spend a large share of their time on noncriminal matters. Further, the essay finds no reason to divert resources devoted to such activities into crime fighting and suggests four areas of potential research: understanding the police response to different types of incidents, educating the public concerning police calls, improving police training, and evaluating and rewarding officers for their performance of service functions. Personnel upgrading is discussed in terms of the rising percentage of sworn minority police officers and women; the development of more sophisticated techniques of personnel administration, including selection validation and career counseling; rising educational levels among officers; and the growth of police unionism. Developments in police organization, operations, and management that have occurred since publication of the commission's report are explored, including innovations in team policing, operational computer-assisted methods, and new performance indicators, such as the use of citizen surveys. Another essay assesses the progress in police-community relations since the commission's report and concludes that although tension between police departments and minority communities is not so great today as in the 1960's, the possibility of large-scale violence still exists. Police consolidation and coordination are evaluated in terms of recommendations made by the commission's report, the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, and the National Advisory Commission on Standards and Goals. The reduction of small police agencies, greater State and Federal involvement in police activity, and greater recognition of the importance of community decentralization are predicted. A final essay analyzes the importance of research and experimentation in police work and outlines some major findings on management of the patrol function, the role of citizens in crime prevention, police strategies for crime reduction, and police productivity. Reference notes are provided for each chapter.