NCJ Number
111348
Journal
National Sheriff Volume: 39 Issue: 2 Dated: (April-May 1988) Pages: 30-34
Date Published
1988
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the instruments available within the police profession that would assist the administration of police departments in enhancement of its management capabilities.
Abstract
How a police department is managed is determined by law and politics. Because there is a constant short-term focus on immediate needs of service to the public, management often adjusts policy only after an administrative difficulty has become a demonstrated problem, and ignores long-term needs. Two major studies are applicable to management in the police profession: the Wickersham Report (1931) and the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals (1973). The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), formed in 1982, took the management concepts from the National Advisory Commission and other sources and put it into an applicable, specific, and flexible format for today's law enforcement agency. CALEA offers extensive social research and specific objective standards that are the product of experienced law enforcement executives. No longer restricted by individual knowledge, the administrator can make better informed management decisions about what administrative systems he needs by subscribing to CALEA standards. This will result in regulated and decentralized management strategy. When the department subscribes to CALEA, there is the expense of certification fees, but the cost is justified by the incentive of making deadlines and the evaluation provided.