NCJ Number
129314
Date Published
1981
Length
250 pages
Annotation
This study proposes a model of the police administrative process based on John Dewey's problemsolving paradigm and views police administration as a scientific problemsolving activity.
Abstract
The study first provides a historical overview of five police administrative models and then concludes that none of the models are sufficient to encompass an effective and efficient structuring of the police task. The proposed model, called the "Problem-Response System" model, focuses on improving the problemsolving capabilities of the police in any kind of organizational setting, and it provides the focal point or hub of the interaction between police agencies and their environment. The model uses an information-actuated process, conceptually based in a number of theory innovations and with a premise as to purpose, values, the scientific method, and its organizational correlate. The study recommends against any attempt to impose a single type of organization on police agencies. The emphasis is on a process of administration that can be implemented in a variety of organizational structures. Appended task analysis and resource needs of policing, glossary, and 121 references