How timely - no pun intrended. I am teaching Introduction to Criminal Justice at Daley College in Chicago, and one of the upcoming chapters addresses problems in modern policing. Response times and clearance rates are both examined in the text. I will use this article to augment our studies. Thank you!
This is not surprising. I think many agencies understand this, but you have to be able to manage resources effectively. More is not necessarily better, and that is generally the way agencies approach staffing. Crime is up…then we must need more officers. I know this sounds simplistic, but more is not better, smarter is better. For example, when civilian traffic officers free up time for sworn personnel, it’s what those sworn personnel do in that recaptured time that matters more than anything else. Traffic is good place to experiment because most crashes, even those with injury, really don’t require sworn personnel. Great work, thanks for sharing!
For the record, the New Orleans model is what got distorted into "Defund the Police".
"Defund" did NOT mean "Be soft on crime". It DID mean; have fewer (costly, at $78k/yr per the BLS), trained officers who can focus on actual crime and more, less expensive, civilians to handle non-crime duties.
Better for the cops, better for citizens and better for communities.
I came here to say exactly this! Pulling as much from sworn officers as possible allows them to focus on their core function and gets better outcomes for all involved.
The 'send social workers' thing is a joke but is not entirely off-base, as New Orleans has demonstrated. A lot of 'routine' police calls (like those non-injury TCs) really don't need a sworn officer, just someone with the authority to issue tickets and take statements. I wonder how many other low-impact calls can be handled this way.
My concern with fewer commissioned officers responding to less critical incidents is the effect it can have on public perceptions of the police.
If cops only respond to situations where an armed officer is required, and not the community caretaking incidents where cops just help people who need help and no one is going to jail, then cops increasingly become the guys that don't help people and only take them to jail. That perception is what led to the "defund" movement in the first place.
How timely - no pun intrended. I am teaching Introduction to Criminal Justice at Daley College in Chicago, and one of the upcoming chapters addresses problems in modern policing. Response times and clearance rates are both examined in the text. I will use this article to augment our studies. Thank you!
This is not surprising. I think many agencies understand this, but you have to be able to manage resources effectively. More is not necessarily better, and that is generally the way agencies approach staffing. Crime is up…then we must need more officers. I know this sounds simplistic, but more is not better, smarter is better. For example, when civilian traffic officers free up time for sworn personnel, it’s what those sworn personnel do in that recaptured time that matters more than anything else. Traffic is good place to experiment because most crashes, even those with injury, really don’t require sworn personnel. Great work, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for another informative article, Jeff,
For the record, the New Orleans model is what got distorted into "Defund the Police".
"Defund" did NOT mean "Be soft on crime". It DID mean; have fewer (costly, at $78k/yr per the BLS), trained officers who can focus on actual crime and more, less expensive, civilians to handle non-crime duties.
Better for the cops, better for citizens and better for communities.
I came here to say exactly this! Pulling as much from sworn officers as possible allows them to focus on their core function and gets better outcomes for all involved.
The 'send social workers' thing is a joke but is not entirely off-base, as New Orleans has demonstrated. A lot of 'routine' police calls (like those non-injury TCs) really don't need a sworn officer, just someone with the authority to issue tickets and take statements. I wonder how many other low-impact calls can be handled this way.
Actually, the co-responder model that is implemented by Law Enforcement Action Partnership, of which I am a member (LEAP), has been utilized successfully in many municipalities. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/community-responder-model/
I should have said 'mocked', since it clearly can and does work if done right.
My concern with fewer commissioned officers responding to less critical incidents is the effect it can have on public perceptions of the police.
If cops only respond to situations where an armed officer is required, and not the community caretaking incidents where cops just help people who need help and no one is going to jail, then cops increasingly become the guys that don't help people and only take them to jail. That perception is what led to the "defund" movement in the first place.
Insightful. Thanks Jeff. Len.