Proactive Police Management (5th Edition) - Hardcover

Edward A. Thibault

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0130225193 ISBN 13: 9780130225191

Publisher: Prentice Hall College Div, 2000

Synopsis

Based upon the authors' extensive experience in teaching, policing, and management, this introduction to management in the day-to-day rigors of a police department stresses that management is only effective if it is based upon a combination of both theory and practice. Proactive rather than reactive in approach, it shows how successful police managers anticipate events through planning, use police personnel and resources effectively, and deliver a whole range of police services to the community. Chapter topics include the consultative style and various approaches of management; community policing and problem-oriented policing; basic operating principles; leadership styles; internal and external communication skills; the patrol function; training; proactive technology; human resource management and general personnel issues; and auxiliary function. For current and future police managers and administrators.

About this title

From the Back Cover

All the chapters of Proactive Police Management 5/e have been revised and updated to reflect police management issues and new concepts in this millennium. A new chapter on police technology has been added because of the increasing importance of this topic on operations and the changes that continue to occur in the digital revolution. Examples from 911, computer-aided dispatch, global positioning and computer mapping have been taken from some of the most technological advanced departments today.

Addressing these issues through a blend of theoretical background and practical application, Proactive Police Management 5/e continues to be widely used as both a text book for classes in police management and a reference text for managers to deal with operational issues in their departments. It is also used as a training tool for police administration courses. Together, the authors have decades of experience in criminal justice education, policy research, and police management, sharing their own experience in dealing with the complex world of American policing.

From the Inside Flap

Preface

Our approach to police organizational management is proactive rather than reactive, with police managers anticipating events through planning, using police personnel and resources effectively, and delivering a whole range of police services to the community. This proactive concept is not new. In the preface of the 1829 duty manual of the recently organized London Metropolitan Police, Commissioners Rowan and Mayne wrote:

It should be understood, at the outset, that the object to be obtained
is the prevention of crime. To this great end every effort of the police
is to be directed. The security of person and property, the preservation of
public tranquillity, and all other objects of a police establishment will thus
be better effected than by the detection and punishment of the offender after he
has succeeded in committing the crime. This should constantly be kept in mind
by every member of the police force as the guide for his own conduct. Officers
and police constables should endeavor by such vigilance and activity as may render
it impossible for anyone to commit a crime within that portion of the town under their charge.

Thus, proactive policing is a grand and noble tradition of both the first modern police force and policing throughout the ages.

Based on the authors' experience in teaching, policing, and management, three important considerations must be made before discussing proactive management for American policing. First, we believe that sound management is management based on a combination of theory and practice. Practice without analysis will cause us to repeat the mistakes of history, so our theoretical analysis must be directed toward the practical for implementation into the day-to-day rigors of operating a police department.

Second, we reject complete adherence to the authoritarian as well as to purely participatory styles of management. In the authoritarian model, which indeed dominates most police organizations, important elements of planning and communications are eliminated or lost, whereas in the full participatory model, response to emergency and life-threatening situations will be hampered if too many people are involved; one person often has to be in charge—subordinates must respond to others.

Third, we rely, to a great extent, on the consultative style of management. As will be shown, the consultative style leaves room for change and "doors open" throughout all elements of the police organization. It can be an efficient and dynamic style of management, provided that the necessary elements of a well-run law enforcement agency are met. Consultation also includes discussions with the community on law enforcement and safety problems. It is one of the key ingredients for community-oriented and problem-oriented policing, which are being publicly advanced by police and community leaders.

Proactive Police Management, Fifth Edition, provides a review, analysis, and synthesis of the various approaches to police management, including traditional scientific management, the behavioral/systems approach, and the human relations approach. There is enough detail concerning basic organization and management skills that police managers and students of police management will find the text useful. At the same time, major conceptual contributions from the behavioral sciences and human relations are explored in the context of police management. Most important is the constant theme of being proactive: planning ahead, anticipating the future, and hopefully establishing some control for police managers over those future events.

Community policing is emphasized. Overall, community policing echoes the relationship between police and the community before automobiles and wireless radios. Much attention is also paid to evolving theories, such as total quality management, and to new applications of computer technology—which together continue to revolutionize policing as well as other private and public services in the United States.

In our first edition, we wrote that most police departments operate on traditional organization principles as stated in Wilson's text. Since 1986, college-educated and professionally trained managers are today concerned with communication advances and organizational theories that can be readily applied to their departments.

Policing today remains in the limelight in terms of ethics, the use of authority and force, the crime problem as related to increased drug use and trafficking, and repeated calls by state and national leaders for dealing with crime problems. Correspondingly, many police managers complain that they must do more with less under the burden of antiquated civil service and collective bargaining rules and reduced budgets. From the viewpoint of the general public, there is widespread support for police to contain crime. Communities, however, will no longer tolerate corruption and brutality. It is against this background that we present the proactive style of management. HIGHLIGHTS

Proactive Police Management is widely used both as a textbook for classes in police management and as a reference text for police managers in dealing with operational issues in their departments. It is also used for training police supervisors and administrators.

Historical and Police Culture Context, places the skills and concepts needed to become a professional police manager in a historical (Chapter 1) as well as a police subculture context. Modern police management has a legacy from public administration, the social sciences, and traditional policing policies adapted throughout the United States and England. Basically, with few exceptions, the modern police organization is the result of an Anglo-Saxon heritage with a unique American contribution. This book concerns the American experience in modern police administration. The latest contributions owe much to the behavioral sciences, particularly psychology and sociology.

More modern police administrators have been promoted through the ranks. This increases the importance of the effect of the police subculture on these managers. The police subculture will shape their everyday policies in many ways that these managers may not even comprehend, especially in the crucial areas of internal discipline, training, personnel selection, and personnel management. The increasing number of African and Latino Americans and women is having a strong impact on this subculture.

A knowledge of subcultural norms is important for police management. For the police manager, an understanding of the police subculture is more important than are all other administrative skills and knowledge combined.

Basic Organizational Concepts, provides the fundamental conceptual framework for the structure of the police agency. To have a department operate effectively, both the formal and the informal goals of the department have to be made explicit. There are general purposes for any department, including community service, criminal apprehension, and crime prevention. However, a small department may wish to define its purposes in terms of community service, whereas a metropolitan police agency has to have broader goals, including traffic engineering, vice, organized crime, and so on. It is important for police managers to understand the specific purposes of their own departments so as to implement them effectively. Chapter 3 also includes discussions on the extended use of civilians in police agencies and the accreditation movement.

For a department to go from basic organizational conceptual models to one of high operating efficiency, certain basic operating principles have to be implemented. These basic concepts, such as range and span of control, unity of command, division of work, and so on, are basic to the operational knowledge of all police managers and supervisors from the chief on down to the supervising sergeants. With these concepts in place, it becomes possible to have an efficiently operating department whose internal policies make for consistency and cost-effective operations.

A basic review of leadership styles allows us to have an understanding of how the implementation of authority by police managers can make or break a department. The style of leadership in the police management team will give an indication of the type of department being managed. Elements of democracy and hierarchy that are needed to have an optimally efficient department demand a fairly complete knowledge of the styles of police leadership. Although many writers would like effective leadership to be scientific and cut and dried, it is still an art—the art of the possible. No matter how many books are written on leadership, the subject still concerns a human being leading other human beings. In this area we review the concept of reengineering, which is often associated with restructuring and downsizing in large, complex organizations and also the need for emotional intelligence.

Good communication skills are at the very center of good management. It is more than having a radio, a cell phone, a beeper system, or a computerized communication center. Communication relates to how human beings understand each other. Policing and police management are human services made possible by communication between individuals. The implementation of first-class communication skills is the heart of the police organization. Chapter 6 also reviews how computers and advanced technology are revolutionizing police operations. However, we feel that the police manager has to assume leadership and allow technology to assist, not drive, policy decisions.

Once the major concepts are in place, it is necessary to operate the police agency on a daily basis to get the job done. Much of the daily work revolves around the patrol function and the various line functions related to carrying out the patrol operations. These basic line functions include traffic, youth services, vice (including organized crime), and investigation. Following our earlier editions, we present a mix of new and old community relations programs that are offered by these areas.

The proactive approach is seen as a positive approach to increase the effectiveness of the delivery of line and patrol services. Advanced planning and analysis of a metropolitan or even smaller area means that patrol activity is directed activity; in other words, the patrol is sent to do specific jobs in specific areas along with the normal activity of responding to citizens' phone calls.

Traffic is seen as primarily a planning/accident investigation activity. Traffic flow is basically an engineering problem where police pressure can be helpful but not related to the core of the problem. Accident investigation is a technical function somewhat different from criminal investigation.

Vice, including organized and economic crime, is a place for specialists and officers who can work closely with a multitude of jurisdictions on the local, state, federal, and even international level. Youth services are seen as both preventive and useful for the solving of cases through youthful informants. Some specialized knowledge is needed concerning youth culture and gangs, and many departments are instituting or have instituted specialized youth officers or youth bureaus for this area. Considerable time has been spent on investigations in many departments with no criteria of when to stop them. To make investigations functionally efficient, a management control system of specific responsibilities and the ability to stop them when necessary is vitally important.

After reviewing patrol operations trends, we focus attention on directed patrol, foot patrol, bike patrol, problem-oriented policing, and community-oriented policing. At this time community policing is the subject of much debate among police administrators since this philosophy offers so much in delivering services to citizens.

Administrative functions deal with how young uniformed police officers on the line related to the basic administrative staff. Although primarily task oriented, this is also a function of two-way communication. Community relations are seen as the police being part of the community they are policing rather than simply the speech-making function of a special unit. Many departments have instituted a legal adviser, who, besides solving legal problems, can be an important link to the district attorney's office.

Internal affairs and disciplinary problems are seen to be intertwined. The citizens-review board approach is rejected as being too political, whereas having the police protecting their own and hiding bad police work and corruption is also rejected. A positive approach between these two models is recommended. A. department needs an ongoing anticorruption goal with clear-cut policies and an internal affairs officer or unit that will treat everyone fairly. This is seen as one of the toughest problems in managing a police agency but one that must be met head-on with solid due process for officers but an overriding concern with eliminating corruption.

Our chapter on human resource management presents a wider focus onto general personnel issues, including officer recruit steps, affirmative action, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), sexual harassment, and police stress.

A major concern with training is quality control and an up-to-date curriculum that promotes the full range of police services, with a major emphasis on human services. Training is seen as an ongoing function. Society changes, innovations in police work come into the field every year, and new police management texts are published, and a professionally trained and operational police officer has to be aware of all this.The only way to have an aware and professionally trained police officer is to have a management team that allows for ongoing training for all of the officers over the duty year.

Planning and research is the core of the proactive approach. The basic idea is to plan ahead so that the police agency can deal with changing situations before they happen. Most police departments are reactive; that is, they wait for events to happen and then respond to these events. This means that many departments do not do the operational planning or have the resources to meet emergencies and unforeseen situations. Planning is also related to fiscal affairs, and it is vital in this age of scarce resources for major police administrators to have top-flight budgeting skills.

Auxiliary functions entail a variety of administrative activities. When we examine the communication function in this chapter, we are focusing on the actual carrying out of communications in the department and how the communication unit is organized. Other concerns discussed involve (1) vehicles (maintenance, turnover, and garage considerations), (2) the maintenance of the police laboratory (either as a centralized regional laboratory or as a facility that can be operated by the department depending on its needs, size, and capabilities), (3) property rooms, and (4) records management.

One of the most important areas of police management skills concerns collective bargaining. With police unions being adversarial, the collective bargaining process is important. It is vital for a chief and his or her management team to understand this process. The collective bargaining process can be an important management tool for creating innovations in the structural and personnel procedures of the department so that both management and the personnel "win" in the process. However, it has to be seen in this positive light; otherwise, collective bargaining can make enemies of management and the personnel who are being managed. Attention is paid to the Fair Labor Standards Act, which has become an issue for police managers and unions. Finally, the model for the future and the present is seen to be the proactive police agency where there is forward planning. A brief scenario of what the future might bring to police managers is offered to give you a carefully ordered set of ideas that can be considered for implementation in present and future departments: the proactive police agency. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FIFTH EDITION

Chapter 1 has been updated with proactive community policing as the management model for the 21 st century. The last chapter in the book also expands on this model. Short biographies of William Bratton and Lee Brown have been added.

Chapter 2, Police Culture, describes the subcultural norms of secrecy, solidarity, and social isolation. It is a powerful chapter because it shows how police culture affects police organization, police deviance, and police violence. The role of the female police officer taking her place as a normal police officer and administrator has been documented with the latest studies.

Chapter 5, Proactive Police Leadership, has been updated with a discussion of reengineering, which is widely used for the community policing revolution, especially in the NYPD.A corporate best-seller on emotional intelligence has been added. Emotional intelligence will also revolutionize police management in the 21st century by enhancing humanistic administrators who work well with community leaders.

Chapter 6, Police Communication, has been divided into two chapters because of the increasing importance of technology to police managers. Police Communication will continue the basic materials and concepts for communication skills needed for every police manager. No matter how sophisticated the technology, police managers will still need clear and effective communication skills. In ternal and external communication need to be organized and structured in order to be effective. With enormous amounts of data becoming accessible, the indexing and organization of records, locally, nationally and globally is crucial to usability. Knowing specifically what information you need for what purpose and having a clear cut display of that information is crucial. Good concepts are needed before technology can work effectively.

Chapter 7, Proactive Police Technology, deals with the technology revolution and how police management can use the latest technology. Examples from 911, Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) to global positioning and computer mapping and Comstat are described. Examples are taken from the most technologically advanced police departments in the United States. The chapter concludes with an adaptation of a case study by Bill Gates to police operations.

Chapter 8, Basic Line Functions documents the most successful violent youth program today, the Boston Gun Project as a case study. The interagency task force which included the Boston Police Department, focused on violent members of youth gangs. The Boston Gun Project brought youth killings down by 50% in a short time.

Chapter 9, Community Policing and Patrol Operations expands the community policing case studies with new examples of what works. A specific criteria for community policing is offered to clear up what is and what is not community policing. Neither the federal government granting agencies nor police departments have a specific criteria for community policing. Clear criteria with specific examples are given. Seattle was an early success because it has rich resources and clear goals for working with organized community groups. A larger challenge and a success story for the 21st century is Chicago's community policing program. A section on police pursuits with policy recommendations deals with this historically significant police management problem.

Chapter 10, Administrative Staff Functions has a major section on controlling police deviance and violence under professional standards. Secrecy, solidarity, social isolation, treating people as things and the military model explain why police deviance and violence have been so persistent. The three S's also help explain the blue curtain of silence and cover ups in even the most professional police departments. Positive and specific recommendations are given so that proactive police managers have the policies and tools needed to deal with this major police management problem.

Chapter 11, Auxiliary Functions recommends a need for a computer crime investigation unit for the departments that have the trained personnel and computers to do this work. The variety of computer crimes is outlined. How to create a successful computer crime unit that works closely with the business community is described.

Chapter 12, Managing Human Resources draws on a nationwide survey on overtime to document this problem and recommend solutions. Overtime is a major police management problem that costs million of dollars. A high percentage of police departments have no effective means of controlling and documenting overtime. Specific recommendations are made that can save police management much of the money spent on overtime.

Chapter 14, Proactive Planning has added recommendations on how to organize for emergency mobilizations. The concluding chapter updates the major elements of proactive community policing. Larry Sherman's research on what works and what does not work for law enforcement and evidenced based policing has been added. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In closing we would like to acknowledge the hundreds of students we have taught over the past two decades. Today, many former students are police and public administrators, and their comments and questions on the topics in this book have been invaluable. In similar fashion, we also thank the many faculty members who adopted this book and gave us critical comments.

We would also like to thank the many police administrators who have used this book for administrative and educational purposes. Proactive administrators who continue to give us new insights into management issues include Chief Michael Stein and Management Analyst Sandra J. Embick, Escondido Police Department; Professor Larry L. Roberts and Chief Kevin Barrett, Palomar College; Dr. Alfred Cali, SUNY atAlbany; Major FredAron and Inspector JamesYoung, NewYork State Police; the training and management staff at the Bureau for Municipal Police, State of New York; and all the public safety directors in the SUNY system.

Lawrence Lynch gives thanks to Marilyn Lynch for her patience and support.

Edward A. Thibault gives thanks to Donna Hale for her materials on female police; to David Owens, Donna Stuccio, and Jack Dempsey for keeping him in touch with police culture; and to Marianne Pampuch for her love and affection. He gives special thanks to Richard Loder of SUNY at Oswego for his encouragement over these many editions. Many thanks to the police supervisors and managers who have discussed issues in the text with me. Their contributions were invaluable.

R. Bruce McBride gives thanks to his loving family, Barbara, Robbie, Megan, and Brian McBride. Thanks to Al Cali and the staff at the Office of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Justice Services, and the Police Chiefs of the State University of NewYork.

We would also like to thank Neil Marquardt, Kim Davies, and the staff at Prentice Hall for their continuing support and for publishing the fifth edition of Proactive Police Management. Finally, special thanks to Lori Dalberg, lead project editor at Carlisle Publishers Services for increasing the clarity of the writing and for her many fixes.

Edward A.Thibault, Ph.D.
Fulton, New York

R. Bruce McBride, Ed.D.
Delmar, New York

Lawrence Lynch, M. P A.
Escondido, California

Edition details

• Publisher: Prentice Hall College Div
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0130225193
• ISBN 13: 9780130225191
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 5
• Number of pages: 467