Quiz

The textbook states that police organizations can be viewed from three different perspectives. Which of the following is NOT one of them:

(1) The traditional perspective

(2) The strategic management perspective

(3) The dynamic perspective

(4) The human perspective

The Purpose of Police Organizations: A Systems Approach

Mission Goals Objectives StrategiesPoliciesProceduresTacticsRulesTasks

Behavior

Overall Mission & Organizational Behavior

Problems: (1) The model can flow the other way (reactive instead of proactive)(2) It can be misdirected (e.g., tasks are undertaken b/c they are easier)(3) Behavior is undertaken for unofficial purposes

The Police Mission

Mission: general statement of purpose which expresses the key values to guide the dept.

Example

Lowell PD: "The mission of the Lowell Police Department is to work with the community to reduce crime, the fear of crime, and improve the quality of life in the City of Lowell."

Goals of Police

3 Primary Goals:

(1) To protect life

(2) To protect property

(3) To maintain order

Police Objectives

(1) Prevent/control illegal conduct

(2) Aid individual in danger of harm

(3) Protect constitutional guarantees

(4) Facilitate movement of people/vehicles

(5) Assist those who cannot care for themselves

(6) Resolve conflict

(7) ID problems that can become more serious

(8) Create/maintain feelings of safety/security

Problems

Problems with police objectives:

(1) They’re vague

(2) Worse, they’re conflicting

(3) They’re challenging

Police Values

4 Important values:

(1) Efficiency

(2) Legality

(3) Equity/Fairness

(4) Accountability

I would add a fifth: Effectiveness

Systems theory

The Systems Approach

What is a system?

“An assemblage of objects/functions united by some interaction or interdependence”

The action of 1 factor in a system will produce results in a reaction from another

All things are systems (e.g., Families, cars, PDs)

All systems have subsystems and/or parent systems

The Systems Approach

What does all this mean? Systems are dynamic Systems are complex Building systems is incredibly difficult,

because they are dynamic and complex. Anticipating the interdependencies among all system parts is impossible in all but the simplest systems.

The Systems Approach

What does this mean for police administration?

PDs are very complex systems and are comprised of numerous, and interdependent, subsystems

Getting behavior of police to align with the values, goals, objectives, etc of the agency will be difficult.

PDs exist in larger systems

The System Function

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUTS

FEEDBACK

OUTCOMES

Perspectives of Police AdminThere are 3:

(1) The traditional perspective

(2) The human perspective

(3) The strategic management perspective