SWOT Analysis of New York City Police Department - Research Paper Example

SWOT Analysis of New York City Police Department Brief Overview of NYPD After 9/11, NYPD had undergone radical reforms to bring about the drastic changes in its operations and it has been successful in reducing the crime rate within the city. It has been reported that the number of crimes has declined by about 15% in the last ten years and this trend will continue to increase because of the efficiency of the entire team of NYPD that comprises of both front-end and back-end employees (White, 3). Strengths of NYPD In order to provide enhanced safety and protection to the people of New York City, the organizational structure of NYPD has been revamped to improve its proficiency. According to Henry, the major strength of the department lies in its management team who has taken various strategic steps for curtailing the accelerating crime rate in the city (14). Following are the strengths of NYPD: 1. Strong management team – When Bratton was given the charge of running NYPD, the foremost thing that he did was the organizational restructuring. The policies of the organization were changed and the entire structure was changed to ensure that the duties and responsibilities were properly divided among the divisions. Division of tasks leads to less workload and timely completion of the tasks. He developed a vision for the entire management team that has been helping the team in following a clear path of direction for effective performance in the region (Sugarman, 159). 2. Wide range of departments for specific purposes – The major strength of this organization lies in its varying range of departments as each one of them has been developed with a specific purpose. For instance, it has developed Emergency Service Unit, Traffic Enforcement District, Major Case Squad, Evidence Collection Team, Crime Scene Unit, Task Forces, Highway Patrol, Mounted Unit, Auxiliary Police, Technical Assistance Response Unit and many more (Nagy and Joel, 20). 3. Implementation of Compstat Technology – Compstat which stands for the Computerized Statistics program is a strategic management process that is goal-oriented. This system makes efficient use of three key components of NYPD i.e. business strategy, information technology and accountability of management for controlling the crime along with the police neighborhoods. It has been implemented in NYPD with the aim of oppressing the crimes and it enhances the quality of community’s life by providing the residents a safe and secured environment. The system has helped the organization in successfully fulfilling its mission (Henry, 2). 4. Redesigning the tasks and responsibilities of police and patrol officers – When the bureaus and specialized units were properly developed, it allowed the management team to re-consider the tasks that were assigned to the police and patrol officers. With clarity about the vision and guidance about the responsibilities, the efficiency of the entire workforce increased and it became evident in the fact that the number of crimes committed declined as the criminals were being arrested at a fast pace (Eterno and Silverman, 11). Weaknesses of NYPD The head of NYPD realized that the structure required too many changes and the management team introduced the system without doing careful analysis of the needs of the officers. Despite the improvised performance of newly designed teams and introduction of competitive policies, following are some of the weaknesses that are still present in the organization: 1. NYPD officers had to abide by strict rules for gaining control – It has been reported by Tarleton that some of the officers of NYPD squad are getting out of hand as they are arresting people without proper investigation (14). Some of the cases reported by the citizens showed that among those people shot by the officers were innocent and they were killed because the respective officer thought that the person was a criminal. Despite increased patrolling, the street crime rate has not been reduced significantly because it is still the highest committed crime in the city. The percentage reduction is evident from the fact that in 2008 the rate was 57% and after the introduction of the new system the rate reduced to 51%. 2. Lack of training to the employees – Although NYPD claims to have easy access to the funds for its source utilization purposes but it still lacks the resources that are required for giving proper training and tools to its workforce. As it has to arrange the funds on its own, it has to make sure that it offers the complete training packages to the officers. The keys skills that need to be developed are related to the compliance with rules and regulations, dealing with the victims in appropriate manner, giving attention to the work of the subordinates and ensuring tighter control on the street crimes. The training programs are insufficient to train the officers in performing the complete range of duties with perfection. Since most of the BYPD officers have shown shocking behaviors to the citizens, the people are reluctant to contact them for any kind of help. It is evident that not all the officers can be given complete training about their work, there is deficit of completely skilled and competent personnel in the organization (Rostker, Lawrence, William, Carl, Andrew, Greg and Terry, 22). 3. Stringent compliance requirements – There are many strict laws that are imposed by the government and ensuring compliance to them becomes a challenging task for the organization. In addition, there are some rules related to equal employment opportunity law, work hours fulfillment criteria, performance assessment measures, recruitment procedure of new inductions and many more that are affecting the efficient working of the units for reducing the number of crime rates in the city (Stewart, 30). Opportunities for NYPD Every organization is looking forward to exploit the range of opportunities that are available within its sector; Sugarman in his study revealed that the government has to get involved in the work of NYPD so that it can ensure the country environment is tight and secured (178). He even highlighted the need of making effective use of social mediums so that the citizens view the organization in positive way and are willing to seek help from them in hours of any emergency. Likewise, following are some of the opportunities available for NYPD as depicted from the study of Sugarman (180): 1. Revitalize the image of NYPD by developing good relations with citizens – Since its image has been completely distorted as mentioned in the weaknesses such as unfriendly attitude of officers and unwillingness of patrol officers to provide assistance to the residents in urgent circumstances, it needs to regain the confidence of the citizens by promptly responding to their concerns. The most frequent complaint received by the people is that the officers are non-cooperative and reluctant to help them. NYPD has to organize various awareness programs so that it can show that it values the importance of providing quality life to the entire community and the police officers are aware about their responsibilities and will take every step to give protection to every citizen in the region. 2. Developing training programs and institutions for its police force – It can develop its own training institution where the officers can be given adequate instruction for carrying out their tasks with perfection. The foremost thing required for it will be the funds so that it can take the initiative of developing the guidance programs and the training institution. Such programs will prove to be useful for all. 3. Employing the best resources for reducing the crime rate – Although there are appropriate number of patrol cars, weapons and other mandatory gadgets but they have become outdated. The resources need to be changed so that the officers are well-equipped with the best quality widgets for performing their duties in the field. 4. Up gradation of technological system – As it already has Compstat software, it needs to ensure that it is updated frequently so that the information is new and relevant. It can even consider the option of replacing it with an innovative system that is available in the market for boosting its efficiency level. It is important to make sure that all the data is upgraded and the officers have easy access to the database that will ensure that all employees have easy access to the valuable data regarding the NYPD operations. Threats for NYPD Some of the threats that are posed for NYPD in the city are as follows: 1. Growing population and foreign residents – The number of foreign residents has increased in the city in the last few years that is coupled with the country’s growing population. Most of the people are not obtaining higher education and looking for easy ways of earning good amount of money. As a result, the number of crimes such as narcotics trading, illegal businesses and trafficking of wrong things has increased significantly (Levesque, 15). 2. Increasing number of terrorist attacks – Since New York City is the center of attraction across the world, it is being watched most closely. In the last few years, the number of terrorist attacks in the region has risen considerably which is posing a threat to the residents of the city. They want enhanced security as they have created this scenario that their lives are in danger which can be attacked anytime by terrorists. 3. Technological problems – Since most of the vital information of NYPD is stored in the Compstat system, there are huge chances that the data gets hacked by an intruder. In order to protect the data, it is vital that the technological problems such as disruption of the system, losing the data or malfunctioning of the software are carefully evaluated (White, 9). 4. Legal boundaries Because of globalization and stricter rules and regulations, the laws of the countries have become too rigid. Some of the laws are forcing the NYPD to treat the immigrants leniently which is causing some unrest among the local citizens. As a result of relaxation of these rules, there is an increased chance of rise in the crime rate within the city. Recommendations In order to curtail the weaknesses and threats by making effective use of strengths and opportunities, NYPD will have to ensure that it takes all corrective measures that will enhance its performance in the region and helps it in fulfilling its mission of creating a friendly and crime free area for the citizens. Following are some of the recommendations that can be implemented by NYPD management team: 1. Getting access to the required funds – In order to employ the resources effectively, NYPD should try to avail the government grants or any of its attractive schemes that can help it in covering the drawbacks being faced by the organization. The increased amount of funds will allow the organization to invest more in the mandatory assets such as cars and vehicles for allowing the officers to track and catch the criminals quickly. The technology can be utilized properly as new systems will be installed that will enhance the working of its employees. 2. Setting up a training institution – Once the required funds are accumulated, the next step will be to design and set up a training institution where newly recruited along with existing officers will be trained so that they are competent and well-qualified. The platform will provide them the opportunity of learning mandatory skills along with ethical code of conduct so that they don’t misuse their power and authority. 3. Keeping a check on the activities of officers – Since it is important to keep a close watch on the officers’ activities and behaviors, surveillance cameras should be installed in their cars about which the officers are unaware so that they can be carefully monitored. In order to ensure that they abide by their responsibilities, each officer should be asked to give a weekly report detailing the work performed by it. The supervisor of the officer will then have to give feedback about the improvements that are evident in the performance of his/her subordinates. Conclusion In order to make sure that everyone in the city makes effective use of the services offered by the NYPD officials, the organization will have to ensure that they revamp their image in a positive way. Once their image will be revived, there will be huge chances that the crime rate in the city is controlled and the residents can move and live around the city with full sense of security and safety. Works Cited Eterno, John A. and Silverman, Eli B. “The NYPD’s Compstat: compare statistics or compose statistics.” International Journal of Police Science and Management 12.3 (2010): 1-24. Print. Henry, Vincent E. “Compstat management in NYPD: Reducing crime and improving quality of life in New York City.” Unafei.or.jp. N.p., 2007. Web. 26 February 2013. Levesque, Nicholas. “Fighting Narcoterrorism: A counter narcotic approach to Homeland security.” Digitalcommons.pace.edu. Dyson College of Arts & Sciences, 1 January 2012. Web. 26 February 2013. Nagy, Andrea R. and Joel Padolny. “William Bratton and the NYPD.” Pse.som.yale.edu. Yale Journal of Management, 12 February 2008. Web. 26 January 2013. Rostker, Bernard D., Lawrence M. Hanser, William M. Hix, Carl Jensen, Andrew R. Morral, Greg Ridgeway and Terry L. Schell. “Evaluation of the New York City Police Department Firearm Training and Firearm-Discharge Review Process.” www.nyc.gov. RAND Center on Quality Policing, 2008. Web. 26 February 2013. Stewart, Scott. “Growing concern over the NYPD’s Counterterrorism methods.” www.stratfor.com. N.p., 12 October 2011. Web. 26 February 2013. Sugarman, Barry. “Organizational learning and reform at the New York City Police Department.” The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 46.2 (2010): 157-185. Print. Tarleton, J. “NYPD Outta Control.” www.indypendent.org. N.p., 2 March 2012. Web. 26 February 2013. White, Michael D. “The New York City Police Department, its Crime-control strategies and organizational changes, 1970-2009.” Jjay.cunny.edu. N.p., August 2011. Web. 26 February 2013. Read More