NCJ Number
120017
Date Published
1989
Length
29 pages
Annotation
This document compares present manpower allocations of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Detective Bureau to those found in other law enforcement agencies, with special emphasis on the Auto Theft, Burglary, and Larceny units.
Abstract
The data contained in this document was derived from contacts made with 42 police agencies and consists of population size, number of police employees, number of detectives, and assigned caseloads of detectives. In order for decentralization to work, policy, procedure, and a communications network need to be developed first. Detectives in specific areas would be replaced with generalists doing a larger number of tasks. Detectives at substations, when adequately staffed, communicate more readily with patrol officers, are closer to their area, and seem to take a more personal interest in their job. However, some negative aspects of decentralization include high cost, poor space allocations, and inadequate criminal information storage and analysis.