The Primary Goal of the Macon Police Department - Essay Example

Agency The Macon Police Department in Georgia Mission ment: The primary goal of the Macon Police Department is to maintain social order within prescribed ethical and constitutional limits. To attain this goal, the Departments role is to enforce the law in a fair and impartial manner, recognizing both the statutory and judicial limitations of police authority and the constitutional rights of all persons.   Included are the Departments responsibilities to: Protection of Life and Property Prevention, Detection & Investigation of Criminal Activity Apprehension of Offenders Recovery of Property Training of Officers Maintain Ethical Standards Traffic (web: maconpd.com) Proposal Name: 1) Hiring of employees on vacancies 2) Improvement in Pay scale 3) Purchase of new computer and detection equipments for record keeping and enhancement of police department’s internal efficiency and effectiveness. Identified Needs: It is worthwhile to mention that efficiency of Macon Police Department is reduced over the years because of fewer personnel, low salaries, fewer chances of promotion and above all non-availability of top quality computerized equipments and machines. (Womack, 2009) Description: Indeed, it is justified to argue that performance of department is fairly lower than police agencies in other US states and cities. Our department does not have enough personnel as only fewer than 250 employees are on job against announced vacancies of 310. Hence, the police officials are unable to share various law enforcement responsibilities and fulfill their duties that are assigned by Department Head and state authorities. This in turn leads to extreme work overload over existing officers thereby resulting in mental stress and reduction in performance and efficiency. In addition, the employees’ morale has reduced because of comparatively low wages at Macon Police Department against other area departments including ‘Bibb County Sheriff’s Office and The Medical Center of Central Georgia’. Similarly, there are also fewer chances for officers to attain extrinsic financial rewards (bonuses, pay increase etc) and promotions. Together, these factors demotivate the police officers and compel to either switch their jobs or showcase low performance. Turnover rates may also increase in future if the above two factors are not rectified. (Womack, 2009) As far as internal efficiency of Macon Police is concerned, it should be pointed out that officers have been using old vehicles (that require immediate maintenance and repair) with out dated in-car cameras. Similarly, department also does not have any modernized computer equipments, information systems and technology that could help in record keeping of crimes, immediate information access and in crime investigation. Required Changes In order to improve department’s overall performance in the light of above mentioned analysis of problems, there is dire need to improve job pay scale and employee promotional system so that officers’ morale, confidence and commitment with their job could be increased. As a result, performance will improve automatically because police officers will opt to showcase optimal performance. Secondly, there is need to immediately replace old automobiles and police vehicles with the new ones (fuel-efficient and equipped with latest in-car cameras) of which spare parts are easily available in the marketplace. For instance, this will not only save costs of maintenance in the long run but also enable officers to reach crime places in time. Sometimes, officers are unable to show up because of poor vehicle condition. Thirdly, the Macon Police Department should induct latest computerized equipments (servers, notebooks and PCs with specific advance software applications) that would help in record keeping and crime investigation. Finally, in order to improve a police departments effectiveness, it is necessary to acquire an Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) that would facilitate crime investigation process (murders, sexual and physical abuse, robbery etc). Indeed, the system will assist in scanning and identifying the culprits and felons that are indulged in unethical and illicit instances. First Year Costs – (January 1 – December 31, 2011): The total budget for this proposal is $100,000 that will be utilized to make necessary changes. Since the budget is not sufficient enough to make all necessary aforementioned changes, the author will propose to purchase computer equipments to facilitate crime reporting and investigation, internal communication and record keeping. It has been suggested to purchase 100 new Toshiba L-series laptops for $500 each thereby costing $50,000. In addition, the installation of software applications, additional features and programs would cost nearly $300. Hence, the total costs for acquisition of notebooks used for above mentioned activities are around $80,000. Other equipments such as Printers, Scanners and Network Servers will cost $12,000. Total Budget = $100,000 Expenditures Laptops: 100 * $500 = $50,000 Software Applications: 100 * $300 = $30,000 Other Necessary Equipments: Plotters 3 * $2000 = $6,000 Scanner 5 * $500 = $2,500 Servers 5 * $700 = $3,500 Yearly Maintenance Costs of Equipments: = $4,000 Refill of Ink in Plotters = $2,000 Total Expenditures = $98,000 Savings = $2,000 Program Implementation: The program will be implemented during upcoming fiscal year of 2011. It is proposed that twenty laptops should be purchased every month and provided to top ranked investigation officers so that they could improve the department’s performance. According to this plan: . All laptop purchases including softwares are to be completed by May 2011. Plotters will be purchased in January 2011, whereas Scanners and Servers will be acquired in February and March respectively. Indeed, the reason behind these monthly purchases is to avoid any unnecessary financial burden on Macon Police Department. In the first year, the laptops will be supplied to 100 main officers who are responsible for maintaining law and order in the city. After induction of network servers, the communication, sharing and interaction among all officers will be enhanced thereby resulting in department’s efficiency and effectiveness against all criminal elements. Measure of Success The success of department would be measured by reduction in crime rate and public complaints in allocated areas in Macon. Indeed, the success will also be measured from improvement in average number of cases solved per month and per station. The officers with exceptional performance will be awarded accolades, bonuses and better promotion chances that, in turn, will motivate other officers and result in overall enhancement in the department’s performance and efficiency. References: Womack, Amy “In the News: Poor equipment, low pay hamper Macon police” The Macon Telegraphy February 22, 2009 Available at http://www.cviog.uga.edu/spotlight/news/item.php?id=648 www.maconpd.com Read More