Organization of the Police Department

Running a patrol incision and preventing crime set up be a complex task. Every individual inwardly the practice of law section including patrol officeholders, detectives, and clerical staff are vital in maintaining smooth monastic order at bottom the department and lodge. The organization of the police department is only effective when the officers know his or her roll and abide save the assigned duties base on the area, time, and intent of the mission. The organization of the police department is what encounters an easy flowing and effective department.The organization does not just have the chain of command, but it includes how each(prenominal) officer will maintain order in the corporation by working different mongers and locations. Police officers rouse patrol the fraternity in different areas known as beat or posts, zones, and precincts. A beat or post is generally a small area in which one or two officers can patrol by either squad car or on foot. The bea t or post officers should be familiar with the people and businesses at bottom the area, and also be aware of the risks and concerns in which officers whitethorn need to prove additional assistance.However, the beat or post area should be deep enough to prevent boredom, but small enough to maintain with exceptional manpower (Dempsey & Frost, 2005). Next, a zone area within a community is when a number of individual beats are grouped unneurotic (Dempsey & Frost, 2005, p. 72). The purpose of zonal policing is to implement community policing, while providing a fasting response time, performing visible patrols, and providing localized service to the community based on its needs (City of Windhoek, 2010).Finally, a precinct is an entire group of beats or posts in a specific area within a community. A precinct is used in larger communities with more officer manpower than a traditional small town. This substantiates officers in assigned areas to ensure rapid response time and organiz ation (Dempsey & Frost, 2005). Every police department across the arena has to make good use of time and manpower to avoid idiom and fatigue, and to ensure that more officers are on shift during the highest times of margin call volume.Police departments run on shifts that ensure that there are officers on duty 24-hours a day. Some departments whitethorn operate the three-tour dodging, whereas other departments may use fixed tours. The three-tour system uses three shifts a day that operates on either 8 or 12 hours per officer. Sometimes the shifts may convergency which can be used for additional manpower to patrol the community or used for training purposes. However, the numbers of officers may vary per shift due to the typical call volume every day.Some cities may experience a higher call volume at dark therefore, there is a need for a higher percentage of officers on the graveyard shift compared to the morning or afternoon shift. Additionally, the stress of the three-tour sy stem can affect the personal life of the police officer and establish additional stress because the officer may work rotating shifts. Rotating shifts is when an officer may work all nights for an entire week, then the next week the officer may work the morning or afternoon shift to accommodate the three-tour system.The other type of shift, which is a fixed shift, is when officers are assigned to mornings, afternoons, or nights and usually maintain the same schedule. This option for the shift can be based on seniority however, it does ensure that each officer gets fit time for personal and social time (Dempsey & Frost, 2005). Another way to conjure a police department is to place particular functions into separate groups to ensure a continuous flow throughout the department, as well as to prevent any confusion inside the department.The best way to keep the department nonionic is by grouping each job style together and keeping them separate from the rest. For instance, patrol off icers should be grouped in the same unit, detectives should be grouped in another unit, and administration should be kept separate from these two groups. However, those are not the only groups within the department that should be kept separated.There are other positions such(prenominal) as juvenile, evidence, and communications that need to be secluded from other groups (City of Iowa City, Iowa, 2011). The purpose of each police department, however, is to ensure citizen safety by maintaining order within the community, enforcing state and local laws, as well as providing service to each member of the community (Dempsey & Frost, 2011). Although the tasks of the police department seem to be Brobdingnagian and complex, in reality each department is setup to provide organized service to the ommunity through careful planning of area, time, and purpose. Additionally, the way each police department is setup, it provides better service by ensuring that each area of the community is covered and that each officer has sufficient time to be sticking out(p) from duties for essential sleep, socializing, exercise, and family time. The planning and organizing of each department is as important as the protection and services that the department provides for each community.