NCJ Number
62659
Date Published
1979
Length
151 pages
Annotation
PART OF SAN DIEGO'S PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM STUDY OF THE POLICE INVESTIGATIONS BUREAU, THIS FINAL REPORT DISCUSSES THE CITY'S PRODUCTIVITY EFFORTS WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
Abstract
THE PROGRAM, BEGUN IN 1974, SOUGHT TO INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF CITY OPERATIONS, DEVELOP AN ONGOING IN-HOUSE ABILITY TO IDENTIFY REDUCIBLE COSTS AND EXPANDABLE SERVICE LEVELS USING EXISTING RESOURCES, AND DETERMINE STAFFING REQUIREMENTS AND DEVELOP WORK STANDARDS FOR 70 PERCENT OF THE CITY'S WORK FORCE. BY FISCAL YEAR 1979, THE STUDY OF THE POLICE INVESTIGATIONS BUREAU, THE MOST COMPLEX BUREAU IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, HAD BEEN BROKEN DOWN INTO FOUR EVALUATION PHASES: ORIENTATION, DATA COLLECTION, PREPARATION OF AN INVESTIGATIONS BUREAU PROFILE, AND METHOD STUDIES TO IDENTIFY APPROACHES FOR SIMPLIFYING WORK, STREAMLINING OPERATIONS, AND IMPROVING PERSONNEL USE. THIS LAST PHASE WAS CARRIED ON THROUGHOUT THE STUDY. IN ADDITION, A METHODOLOGY WAS DEVELOPED FOR DETERMINING AND VALIDATING STAFFING NEEDS. THE INVESTIGATIONS BUREAU OPERATING AND WORK PRACTICES ARE ASSESSED, AND THE 12 METHOD STUDIES USED TO EVALUATE THE BUREAU ARE SUMMARIZED IN THIS REPORT. THESE STUDIES PROVIDED THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WITH SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS BOTH IN DOLLAR SAVINGS AND INCREASED LEVELS OF SERVICE. A WORKLOAD REPORTING SYSTEM WAS DESIGNED AS A LONG-RANGE PLANNING TOOL TO IDENTIFY WORK LOAD-LEVELS, TIME UTILIZATION, AND WORKLOAD PERFORMANCE. PROJECT BENEFITS ARE FURTHER SUMMARIZED, INCLUDING COST REDUCTION AND AVOIDANCE OPPORTUNITIES FOR INVESTIGATIONS OPERATIONS, AMOUNTING TO A SAVINGS OF $225,633 FOR FISCAL YEAR 1980 AND $257,367 FOR FISCAL YEAR 1981. NONE OF THESE SAVINGS RESULTING FROM METHODS IMPROVEMENT CAUSED ANY LOWERING OF SERVICE LEVEL. EXTENSIVE TABULAR DATA AND APPENDED INFORMATION ARE INCLUDED. (WJR)