Introduction
The structural organization of agencies is apparent today. It is needful to make more emphasis on the effectiveness and efficiency of the bureau or organization. What are the impulses for such trends in governmental law enforcement bodies is the point for discussion?
In this respect, a particular scope on administration in a police department in Abilene, Texas is included in the discussion of the paper. The whole research aims at the methods which make the work in the department effective and stable in improving the situation in the region. All in all, the paper is organized in terms of the discussion about the approaches and methods used. Moreover, the discussion, as it is, is represented in the form of critical analysis of the work in the department and its achievements at the moment.
The urge of local governments in the United States is to provide appropriate services in order to defend the population from the negative effects of crimes. This flow is coordinated by the federal government. The periphery administration matters in numerous counties of the states in the USA. Thus, special attention is posed to the whole analysis of the work in the Abilene police department.
Methodology section
Looking at the design of work in this police department it is vital to admit that a critical analysis of its sub-divisions and their model of work is detached. Furthermore, the main points in the discussion touch upon the significance of the department’s structural parts. The records department is considered in this respect, as the main domain for having particular results in numbers. The comparison to the general practice in law enforcement is included in the part of the discussion. Thus, the discussion includes the analysis of agency operations. Some among them are the budget, the internal and external relations of the department, Human resources, Office of Legal Affairs, and others. For the purpose of validity and reliability of the research, it was needful to interview several employees. Debbie Littlefield, division manager, answered the questions. The number of questions is 9. All of them concern the practicality of the work in the division. Thus, the details of the interview appear throughout the research.
Discussion
Abilene Police Department is the structural part of the national system of law enforcement in Abilene, Taylor County, Texas. It is a full-service municipal police agency with 184 officers and 60 civilian positions for a population of more than 117,000 people (Abilene Police, 2009). High moral values are stated as of the duties of the policemen: they serve for the goal of keeping in safety the peaceful population of the city. In this respect, the structural division of the police in Abilene does not extremely different from the rest of the departments throughout the country.
First of all, analyzing the structure of the agency it is necessary to have a glance at the figure of the department chief. The head of the department is the person who is responsible for the decision-making mechanism in the organization. The destiny of the personnel is especially at risk due to the specialization of the profession. In this case, I think that the schedule of the work should be determined with points on the decrease of risky situations at their minimum. However, the team spirit in the agency is of high significance. Each officer is considered to be a leader of his/her situation. Fast reaction and reflection are stated to be the obligatory attributes for all officers in the department. “Rather than being passive receivers of orders, developing forms of policing theory and organizational principles place patrol officers in the role of leader and decision-maker” (Conser, 2005, p. 133). This assertion is one of the bases for the law enforcement system in the United States.
The divisions are structured according to the specialty of work obligations and its direct sphere. Hence, among them are Patrol, Traffic, Criminal Investigation, Crime Analysis/Intelligence, Youth, Special Operations, Child Advocacy, Training divisions, Communications, Identification, Property and Evidence, Community Services and Records divisions, and K-9, bicycle Units (Abilene Police, 2009). Each of the divisions serves for specifically evaluated goals. Notwithstanding the relatively small density of the City of Abilene, the diversity of the divisions makes its work and influence on the society more felt and acquired. Among the sections in the department, the Records Division is chosen for close analysis in terms of practice, and procedures of the agency related to this very part of it. As for me, this division provides a scope of activities recorded during the whole existence of the police department in Abilene. Thus, I feel that the research of this department helps get to the point about its goals and practical duties. Having a conversation with Debbie Littlefield, I gathered the information about resources, hierarchy, and schedule of the division. During the whole conversation, I fixed several advantages and limitations of working in the Records division.
Owing to a versatile character of crimes inflicted by dangerous elements of the society there is a rational need to fix details about each case into schemed graphics or charts. In this respect, the records department is the optimal division of police where an officer has access to databases. Among the main purposes, I found two that are concerned with the activity of the department, namely: administrative and general (Willoughby, 2007). The correctness of the records should be distinctively determined in detail. However, it is not convenient for the personnel to operate with files due to low shelves and a small room of approximately 40 by 40. Thus, this is the main technical disadvantage for the division. However, the work process is on its positive track.
The records division of the Abilene Police Department serves three functional goals in the course of crime, namely to deliver information during stages of crime prevention, intervention, and investigation (Abilene Police, 2009). Since the year 1996, this department is coordinated and employed with civilian workers apt at accountability and recording the details of the case. File cabinets and different indexes are performed in accordance with the time prospects and the level of crime. The department processes and implements more than 26,000 cases annually (Abilene Police, 2009). For the facilities in such an uneasy process, the structure of this division contemplates principles of subordination and discipline. I designate them as vital for any agency at all. The work in the division has several sub-divisions. Thereupon, Records/Property and Evidence (PED) is marked, as the multi-dimensional part of the division in the Support Services Bureau (Abilene Police, 2009). Each of the employees in the department is separated by cubes. It makes more prospects on concentration, but it is inconvenient for such a small room, as Debbie Littlefield admits.
The content of information gathered in the division presents an extreme significance for law enforcement agencies and cannot be disclosed or posted for general use (Ryals, 2002). All requests should be done in the written form in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (Abilene Police, 2009). The organizational constituent of the division includes 16 people responsible for the provided regulatory norms and activities. The official structure of it counts on such sub-divisionary parts as:
- Manager;
- Supervisor;
- Eleven Records Administrative Clerks;
- Two PED Custodians;
- One Civilian Breath Test Operator (Abilene Police, 2009).
The hierarchy in the division is implied by the initial tasks for storing, checking, processing, and transcribing data for a positive result. Working with such a great number of cases these 16 people are apt to work directly with the public. Furthermore, all employees in the division follow the Texas Open Records Act which illuminates the cases when access to information can be open or restricted (Watson, 2005). The effectiveness in work is achieved due to the cohesion among employees and their serving for one goal, namely in-time storing and delivery of significant information. The work of this division is also reckoned with the whole success of the police department.
The agency states the fact of rational spending of financial resources given by the local department and the administration of the county. Hence, in this year the numbers showed:
- $193, 200, 551 expenditures by category;
- $193, 200, 551 expenditures by program;
- $2,324 FTEs by category;
- $2,324 FTEs by program (City of Abilene, 2009).
In comparison with the Community Services Division, the Records Division also serves for making a positive image of the police viable to the public. This agency provides contacts with the public. Records Divisions is a so-called supporting means in the regulation of social conflicts or cases related to misunderstanding among individuals. The representatives of law enforcement procure fast and convenient access to definite files of information. Hence, both agencies are similar in their tasks and direct relation to the publicity. Other than that, in the department, there is another relevant to the Records Division subsidiary. It is the Property and Evidence Division. This three-member unit serves as the supporting body for care and control of different evidence, so that not to destruct the content of the case and direct or circumstantial evidence. This mandatory option of the divisions unites their work parameters and their reciprocal activities for the whole goal of the police department. The unified similar feature of three related divisions presupposes the fact that Records, Communications divisions, and PED are staffed mostly by civilians.
Conclusion
To conclude, the findings of the research showed a particular picture of the agency’s work in Abilene and in its municipal Police Department. In this respect a concise evaluation of the work of the department in general touches upon the destination and goals of the organization. The structural division of the department presupposes a close outlook on the Records Division in its characteristic features. Some among them gave a scope of information on the procedures, organization, and practice of this definite agency. Its comparison with related structural parts of the Police Department showed the significance of collaboration in it. All in all, the processing of activities in the division is coordinated due to principles of accountability, subordination and discipline. The effectiveness and efficiency of the work in the department in most points depends on the Records Division.
Reference
Abilene Police Department. (2009). Web.
City of Abilene. (2009). Web.
Conser, J. A., Russell, G. D. & Paynich, R. (2005). Law enforcement in the United States (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Ryals, S. M. (2002). Discovery and Proof in Police Misconduct Cases. New York: Aspen Publishers Online.
Watson, D. (2005). Race and the Houston police department, 1930-1990: a change did come. Houston, TX: Texas A&M University Press.
Willoughby, W. F. (2007). Principles of Judicial Administration. New York: READ BOOKS.