The Virtual Police Department - Case Study Example

Case Study: The Virtual Police Department Introduction The police force has developed tremendously over the past three decades. Inthe early 1990s, the police force had limited departments that served in almost all sectors. In essence, the issue of specialization was not considered important till the beginning of the 1940s. By the early 1950s, several developments had taken place leading the establishment of the Virtual City Police Department. The department started with a workforce of seven policemen. By then, the department was ended by a chief whose primary role was to oversee the performance of the seven police officers. In addition, the chief handled the general planning of tasks performed by the seven police officers. However, the department has expanded significantly. Presently, the department has over one hundred and fifty police officers and a substantial number of members of the support staff (Virtual P D Case Study, 2015). Basically, the focus of this report is to analyze the developmental challenges of the Virtual City Police Department and the strategies that have been put in place to fight crime. The four most critical issues/problems facing the Virtual Police Department The Virtual City Police Department (VCPD) has experienced several challenges since its inception. In essence, the performance of the department in marinating law and order has been largely affected by the uncertainties brought about by several factors. A scrutiny of the structure and performance of the VCPD reveals that nepotism, lack of experience, poor training, and financial shortage are the major problems that prevent smooth running of the department. In essence, these problems have been very influential in the dwindling performance of the VCPD. Nepotism The VCPD has a history of conducting biased recruitment exercises. In essence, during the initial years of establishment, the Mayor and other stakeholders who initiated and empowered the VCPD rewarded their friends and loyalists by assigning them various positions. Studies have revealed the chief officers have been appointing their relatives, friends and the people loyal to them. In essence, the recruitment exercises have been ignoring the eligible and legitimate candidates. Apparently, several studies reveal that the mayor and the city council officials manipulate the recruitment process to get a chance of rewarding their family members and loyalists. In essence, nepotism is a challenge that has become quite rampant in the VCPD. A critical analysis of the situation shows that delays in solving the nepotism problem might result in adverse repercussions to the state. Basically, nepotism prevents recruitment of eligible members and thereby results in reduced quality of services. Limited experience Many officers serving in the VCPD have limited experience in the execution of police duties. In essence, the problem of limited experience has been very controversial in the daily operations of VCPD. A recent survey revealed that the department has not established effective retirement plans for its officers. In essence, retirement be seen as the main contributor to the increasing number of inexperienced officers and other workers. Currently, most officers serving in the VCPD have less than fifteen years of experience. Therefore, it can be observed that effective strategies have not be put in place to enhance smooth transition of power between the retired and the experienced employees. In essence, the department has not established structures that can groom junior officers for top positions once the seniors retire. In essence, an analysis of the VCPD’s promotions procedure reveals that formal strategies are not followed. In most cases, promotions are awarded to employees who portray outstanding performance in their areas of work. Therefore, it can be noted that the promotion approaches employed by the department are defective since performance is not considered. Further analysis of the department’s performance shows that the level of education affects the experience of workers. Apparently, the level of education for officers joining the VCPD is not considered important. Actually, the attempts to amend recruitment and promotion policies to have commanders in the police department hold a bachelor’s degree failed. It was argued that introducing such a policy would lock man officers out of the promotion platform. In essence, most officers serving in the department have low education qualification and thereby using the level of education as the major factors might be a demotivating factors. In essence, experience and the level of education go hand in hand (Grant, 2003). In this regard, it is important to emphasis on the level of education to facilitate smooth training for officers. Basically, effective training is facilitated by an outstanding education background. Research has shown that people with high level of education are easier to train in various field than those with a low level of education. The competence acquired through training facilitates good performance in the place of work and gives room for diversity in an individual’s career life. In this regard, the VCPD management should establish strategies that facilitate smooth training of officers to expand their level of expertise and competence in the work environment. Poor training The nature and quality of training are crucial factors as far as the quality of performance is concerned. The constant advancements in the level of technology have brought diverse changes in the police force (Snow, 2007). In this regard, the law enforcement officers serving in the various departments should be provided with opportunities and facilitates that promote sound understanding of the changes taking place in the police force. Therefore, training is an inevitable practice in the workforce and, therefore, all the necessary resources should be provided to facilitate smooth training exercises. An analysis of the approaches and quality of training at VCPD reveals that much has to be done to promote efficiency and reliability of the police officers. The department has not established structures that facilitate diversity in the training process. Apparently, a recent research shown that the VCPD has insufficient training facilities for its officers and that some training programs are poorly funded. In addition, the commitment of top official in enhancing smooth training programs has been declining subsequently. In essence, the commanders and other top officials are concerned about huge salaries and not service to the local population. In this regard, training is not taken as a serious issue among the police officers in the VCPD. In some instance, the money allocated for training of workforce in the VCPD is pocketed by a few top officials thereby terminating the training programs. Essentially, the failure to establish effective policies to guard the training processes at VCPD has been the major cause of poor performance for the department in addressing crime challenges in the area. Shortage funds The global economy has experienced a financial overturn in the past few decades. The major economic activities have been faced with an unlimited challenges thereby leading to their dwindling contribution in the world economy. In essence, the economic challenges facing the country have led to the limitation of annual budget allocated to the VCPD. Basically, shortage of funds has resulted in unlimited challenges in the VCPD. For instance, the department cannot be able to purchase sufficient modern equipment for fighting crime in the streets. Moreover, the amount of money spent by the state government for the salaries of officers in the VCPD is quite huge. The shortage of funds cause delays in the release of officers’ salaries thereby killing their working morale. In essence, the increased cases of corruption and unacceptable ethical concerns can be attributed to the reduced remuneration motivation for the police officers. Moreover, the shortage of funds have negatively affected the training programs among the officers working with the VCPD. Basically, training is costly investment for any department and, therefore, financial shortage is big blow. Organization of the VCPD The VCPD is organized into four commands. The commands are patrol, investigation, special operations and finally the support services division. The commands area headed by a commander who oversees the general operations. The patrol section is the largest unit of the department (Virtual P D Case Study, 2015).. The other commands are structured with respect to the functions they perform and the skills, talents or personal background of the officers. The department is composed of 155 full-time sworn officers and about 30 members of the support staff. The officers go for a less than 20 weeks training before becoming official workers of the department. An analysis of the organizational structure of the depart reveals that several changes need to be done to improve the quality of services and efficiency of the workforce. For instance, the management of the department should extend the training period for officers to equip them with sufficient knowledge for handling emerging trends in the security field. In addition, the management should establish a section for specialist in crime management to facilitate efficiency during intervention in crime scenes. Demographics Analysis of the VCPD The number of officers serving in the department has been increasing subsequently over the past few years. For instance, a research that was conducted between 2009 and 2012 revealed that the workforce in the department was on an increase. However, department does not have a national representation since the white population is given the first priority. The available statistics shows that the inferior races have been discriminated in provision of jobs in the department. Moreover, men have been given priority over women as far as employment in the department is concerned. In this regard, the department should introduce policies that mitigate discrimination in provision of job opportunities. In essence, gender and racial discrimination should be eliminated in any public service department to enhance state and nation integration and cohesion. All people should be provided with equal chances to serve in the department irrespective of the racial, ethnical or gender differences. Impacts of the VCPD organization culture on general performance The administration culture in the VCPD can be blamed for the many challenges facing the department. For instance, the top officers give priority to their friends and relatives when conducting recruitment exercises. In this regard, the department ends up being led by incompetent and inexperienced officers thereby resulting in poor performance. The top official of the VCPD should stop being selfish and recruit skilled and competent workforce. In essence, the management of VCPD should stop running the institution as a family business since it is a public utility. Crime analysis The crime rate has increased predominately in the past five years with jurisdiction of the VCPD. The department spends enormous government resources and, therefore, there should be no excuses to the increased crime rates. The department should utilize its available workforce optimally to solve the problem of crime in the state. In addition, the department should institute effective community policing strategies that reduce the crime rates. Conclusion and recommendations The VCPD has expanded predominantly over the past two decades. The department is charged with a serious security responsibility. Recent surveys reveal that the department is delivering less services than expected. Therefore, the management should considered restructuring the department to facilitate accommodation of the progressive changes in the execution of police duties. Moreover, the VCDP should establish a good public relation department to facilitate free sharing of intelligent reports between the police and the government. In summary, the VCDP should be vigilant in matters of emerging trends in crime to avoid public frustrations. References: Grant, G. G. (2003). ERP & data warehousing in organizations: Issues and challenges. Hershey, PA: IRM Press. Snow, R. L. (2007). Technology and law enforcement: From gumshoe to gamma rays. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers. Virtual P D Case Study (2015). Supplemental Information for Final Project: Case Study: The Virtual Police Department Read More