Proposal for Best Town Police Department - Research Paper Example

Proposal for Best Town Police Department. Instruction: This proposal provides recommendations for the creation of a police department for Best Town community. The proposal is based on various inferences that are designed to facilitate the most effective security system. The proposal uses the demographics and statistics for Best Town as the basis upon which the police department is to be structured. Aspects such as the organizational structure are also looked into in correspondence with the statistics for Best Town. Additionally, the budgeting suggestions, in addition to the siting and equipping of the department are considered in light of the existing possibilities. The overall conclusion tries to draw a relationship between all the existing factors that are involved in designing an able and efficient police department, in light of Best Town. Project Summary. The general aim of this proposal is to provide recommendations for a police department for Best Town community based on reports that the community is not satisfied by the services provided by the county police department. The town therefore feels the need to have their own police department, and this proposal aims to provide recommendations and ideas on how to implement such a department. The department would take up all the crimes committed in the town, as its sole mandate would be to ensure proper law enforcement for Best Town. Mission Statement. There are various elements that define life in any society. These include the social, political, environmental, technological, economic, and even cultural factors that all have a bearing on how a society is going to structured. Each of these factors has its own distinctive characteristics that make it efficient in the part that it plays in the society. In addition, all of them relate, and have some form of interdependence such that for the maximization of any of the factors, the others also have to be enjoying some level of stability. This means that for the economic factors to be at their best, the political and even social elements have to be just as successful and in a stable state. The converse is also true. This type of relationship reduces any instance of impasse that would arise should one factor fall greatly behind. Through all this, security is of key significance. Security is like the bond that links all the aforementioned factors. While some of them may be relatively efficient in the absence of the others, like environmental factors being favorable at the expense of technological advancement, none can have a substantial amount of success at the expense of security. This highlights the magnitude of security in the society. To this end, the security of a community or town is the most importance factor that affects all the other factors involved in its existence and propensity towards overall success. As such, an effective security system can only be realized by an equally convenient and well organized police department capable of delivering competent security services to the constituents. Consequently, this forms the basis for a research proposal on the creation of an able and proficient police department for Best Town community. Introduction and Analysis. An effective police department has to consider and incorporate all races into the department to ensure overall equality, and reduce chances of racial discrimination of any kind. The demographics of Best Town show that there is technically no significant majority, since there is no race that accounts for more than 50% of the population. White non-Hispanics account for approximately 44% of the population, followed by the black community at 34%. These are the most populous races, and the demographics gradually drops up to 0.5%, representing the Chinese. Following this racial breakdown, the Best Town police department has to be broken down and represented in the exact same way. The department should be made up of at least 44% White non-Hispanic, 34% Black, and all the way down up to approximately 0.5% Chinese. The main reason for doing this is to give every individual in the town a sense of being represented, and not being looked down upon. This is one of the most essential security or community management programs as there is limited chances of unrests as a result of some races feeling being discriminated against (Gajewski et al 2006, p. 553). Additionally, this is particularly important when dealing with situations whereby one race has a propensity, or proclivity towards committing crime more than the other races. Therefore, by including them in the law enforcement, it becomes much easier to deal with any perception that such a crime-inclined race is being victimized. Another advantage associated with involving every race is that the police department is bound to be all-round such that it becomes much easier to understand the different behavioral traits of the different races. The intrinsic characteristics of different races are bound to differ, and this means that their personality traits that lead them to committing certain crimes differ correspondingly (Fletcher 2005, p. 177). Additionally, an inclusive police department makes it much easier to incorporate community ideas or involve the larger community in the management strategies for the police department. This means that the relationship between the community and the police department is greatly improved when the community is given priority. This is achieved by ensuring that the policing system is spread out throughout the community in question, which is Best Town in this case. The demographics of the town, therefore, are very essential in forming an evaluative basis for planning and coordinating the way that the Best Town police department is to be structured, and the underlying mechanisms that will guide how it operates in the long-run in addition to the advantages to be gained from the management structure. In light of this, a department made up of all the races will be more than capable of understanding and tackling the various types of crimes, and understanding the causes so that they can effectively be tackled to prevent any further recurrence of similar crimes. This proposal sticks with initial suggestions of subdividing Best Town into three patrol districts, as this is realistic when considering the population of 75000 and the fact that 25% of this population is still below 18 years of age. The assumption made here is that the underage population, which translates to about 18000 residents, is largely not involved in violence or crime related activities of any kind. Therefore, this leaves the population most likely to commit crimes at about 56000. This is a more manageable number, and subdividing it further to three service areas makes it much more efficient and convenient such that the overall workload of the proposed police department is much more manageable. This does not mean that the 18 and below 18 year olds are completely left out of the police range, rather, the division and approximation is just to come up with a virtual and hypothetical approach for better logistics. In the real sense, some of the 18-and-below year inhabitants of Best Town are bound to be involved in criminal activities, just the same way not all who are above 18 are involved in criminal activities. Therefore, looking at the demarcations from this point of view, it is easy to note that the figures are bound to cancel out and end up with roughly the 56000 as the main population for which the police department is to focus on. One of the major advantages to be achieved by demarcating and subdividing the town is that service provision will greatly improve, and grievances such as the apparent dissatisfaction with service delivery will greatly reduce. Poor service delivery is largely as a result of the police department being overwhelmed by the number of inhabitants that they have to look after. In most cases it can be well taken care of with an efficient and able management system that allocates different service areas to different individuals. This highlights the importance that is to be gained from subdividing Best Town into three service area, and the viability of the idea in relation to the fact that one of the most pressing needs is the apparent dissatisfaction resulting from poor service delivery. Organizational Structure. Facilitating the realization of a police department capable of proper service delivery calls for an organizational structure that is capable of incorporating all the necessary administrative frameworks. This is because a well-designed organization enables efficiency and proper implementation of objectives (Ferry & Eckersley 2010, p. 17). The data provided for Best Town crime show that the most prevalent crimes are robbery, burglary, larceny, assault, and auto theft. While there are also instances of rape and homicide, they are not as common as the fore mentioned crimes. As such, the organizational structure has to correspond to the various types of crimes that form the major part criminality in Best Town. Consequently, the authorized sworn strength of 150 has to be broken down into units that ensure the most is gotten out of every single sworn officer. The ranks start from the captain, the lieutenant, sergeant, corporal, detective, and down to the officer. It is worth noting that this excludes the civilian strength which is projected at about 30 individuals. Quite obviously, the ranking of the personnel is such that the highest number will be made up of the officers, and the numbers will drop as the rank gets higher, since the captain can only be one. The organizational chart for Best Town police department will be based on both vertical and horizontal orientation. This is such that while the general chart will be vertically oriented, the relationships that exist between individuals of the same level is to be guided by horizontal orientation. By making use of both vertical and horizontal orientations, it becomes much more efficient as the whole organization is capable of getting the best of both orientation mechanisms. As such, the following organizational chart depicts the proposed structure of Best Town police department: The above organizational chart depicts the type of relationships that the various officials will have among each other. At the very top is the chief of the police department, who oversees the overall implementation of the various strategies and departmental decisions. Additionally, the mayor-council recommendations are also forwarded to the chief who then sees to it that they are effectively considered in the police system. On the other hand, the mayor-council and local government is to demand answers from the chief in case of anything. As such, the chief is the link that connects the police department and the local government. The chief is helped by the deputy chief, whose main mandate is to ensure that the chief of the police is not overwhelmed with his responsibilities. The chief may delegate some of the responsibilities to the deputy chief, and at certain times they may share ideas regarding the security matters of Best Town. Below the chief and the deputy chief are the three captains. This is so that it corresponds to the three service areas, such that each captain is mandated with being in control of a service area. The captains are the bosses of their service areas, and they are answerable to either the chief or the deputy chief. While the relationship between the chief or deputy chief and the captains is vertical, the captains themselves have a horizontal type of relationship among each other such that none of them has authority over the others. This makes it easier for them to compare their success rates at implementing the different strategies and policies that the chief or deputy chief direct them to implement. Down the chart are the lieutenants, who are answerable to the captains in each of the three service areas. The captains are also three in number, and this is to make the relationship and managerial tasks of the lieutenants and the captains much more manageable. Also at this point, the lieutenants have a horizontal relationship among each other, just like the case with the three captains. However, the relationship between the lieutenants and the captains is vertical, as the captains delegate duties to the lieutenants. It is also worth noting that the overall area of operation of the lieutenants is smaller, meaning that they have a more personal relationship with the people that they are meant to look after. The lieutenants are then followed by sergeants who have the second lowest ranks in the organizational chart. They are typically responsible for even smaller geographical locations, and this means that their work descriptions is quite limited. Nonetheless, they are still responsible for the security of their areas and are answerable to the lieutenants. Similar to the way the lieutenants and the captains, the sergeants have a horizontal type of relationship among each other, and also vertical relationship with those above them, in this case the lieutenants. The last individuals in the organizational chart, who could not be added due to the chart becoming too clustered and unorganized, are the officers. These are the lowest ranking officials in the police department, yet the most important due to the type of relationship that they have with the Best Town inhabitants. While the chief links the police department with the top-most tier of the government, the officers link the police with the very people who are vulnerable to most criminal activities. As such, they are the representation of the police force that the community sees whenever they interact with the police force. Additionally, they are the individuals who will respond first hand to the various calls for service, and it is their response time that will be used by the public to rate the performance level of the entire police unit. Therefore, this shows that despite the officers being at the lowest point of the organizational chart, they are basically the most important. To this end, their welfare has to be looked after as much as possible to ensure that they have the best conditions for operating within the Best Town Community. The individuals best suited for the position of the officers are the very local civilians who are most conversant with their respective areas of service. However, since the projected civilian strength is 30, the civilian staff would be best given sergeant positions, since there are roughly 27 positions for sergeants as per the above organizational chart. This means that the remaining three could be given an overall position over all the nine sergeants under each captain. This would make the work much easier for the remaining sergeants as they would only be answerable to the overall sergeant. Budget Proposal. The budget is the most important part of any system since it determines the overall success of the system. The Best Town police budget is to be based on the performance format for budgets, such that the resources are fully optimized for the realization of the objectives. This type of budgeting makes it difficult to come up with one figure for the annual amount, rather, it is based on the different policies and strategies that have been identified for any given period. Therefore, the budget for Best Town cannot be abstracted to a fixed figure, but is a function of the plans that the mayor-council and the chief have put in place relative to the allocations given to them by the local government. Additionally, the various factors such as the equipment also determine the budget, such that an under-equipped personnel will necessitate the inclusion of funds for their equipment and any other related gear. Moreover, the salary breakdown of the various officers has to be considerate of their different job descriptions. While the basic logic states that the chief has to earn significantly higher than the rest of the officers, the most efficient salary system should evaluate the overall responsibilities of any officer and peg the remuneration at a commensurate level to the responsibilities. The most efficient way of achieving this is by having a committee mandated with looking into the different job descriptions of the officers, and ensuring that their salaries are proportionate to the work and responsibilities bestowed on them. However, it is recommended that the salaries be exciting enough to make sure that the officers feel motivated in their various positions, since motivation is one of the most important facets of ensuring the best performance (Gardner et al 2010, p. 2144). One of the most important aspects of the police department is the departmental and positioning of their key offices. For a start, the police headquarters is best located at a central point from which it can easily be accessed by the individuals of Best Town. However, the rest of the offices are to be spread out all over Best Town for the best management. An even spreading also makes it easier to have a grip on the whole area as it does not leave any area for crime to rake root, this is due to the ease of patrolling as enabled by smaller service areas. This also translates to the equipment and technology requirements, which is best determined by the most prevalent crimes in the area. For homicide and other forms of violent crimes, guns and Tasers suffice, otherwise batons are just as efficient. Conclusion. Security being an important aspect of any society, the above proposals for Best Town police department looks at the various points of consideration for an effective police department. The organizational structure, the budgeting and salary recommendations, and the siting and equipping of the force all play a vital role in the overall success of the police department. In all, the most successful security system has to understand the needs of the people it needs to take care of, and the features that characterize the area such as local government support for the realization of the most able system (Eck et al 2010, p. 144). References. Gardner, A., et al. (2010). “The Enforcement of Cooperation by Policing” Evolution, 64(7), 2139-2152. Fletcher, R., (2005). “Policing a complex community; political influence on policing and its impact on local and central accountability” Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 15(3), 170-187. Ferry, L., & Eckersley, P. (2010). Budgeting and Governing for deficit reduction in the public sector: Act One the Comprehensive Spending Review. Journal of Finance and Management in Public Services, 10(1), 14-23. Stott, C., and Hogget, J. (2012). “Post G20: The Challenge of Change, Implementing Evidence-based Public Order Policing” Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, 9(2), 174-183. Eck, J., et al. (2010). “Is Problem-oriented policing effective in reducing crime and disorder?” Criminology & Public Policy, 9(1), 139-172. Gajewski, F., et al. (2006). “Problem-oriented policing in violent crime places.” Criminology, 37(3), 541-580. Read More