NCJ Number
126652
Journal
Canadian Police College Journal Volume: 14 Issue: 3 Dated: (1990) Pages: 184-201
Date Published
1990
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This document summarizes the effects of a 12-hour compressed shift schedule in terms of its ability to respond to certain organizational requirements including management coordination, administrative efficiency, personal productivity and effectiveness, and personal and family satisfaction.
Abstract
It would seem that this schedule responds to certain requirements better than others. On balance, however, the 12-hour shift schedule seems to have many advantages over the more traditional 8-hour rotating shift schedule common to policing. With regard to the 12-hour schedule, managers expressed concern about the opportunity to communicate with their staff, citizen complaints, deployment flexibility, potential costs, the long period of time away from the organization, continuity of investigations, and identification with the police profession. Some of these concerns are more serious than others, and some evolve from a failure to adjust the organizational and administrative structures. It must be recognized that some individuals are not able to tolerate shift work and that the intensity and type of police duty and the age of the police officers need to be more fully considered. 1 figure, 2 tables, and 61 references