The strategy entails planning for the future with regards to the past trend. Strategic planning allows an organization to align its internal resources and capabilities with the prospects and risks generated by its external setting. Strategy refers to an organization’s long-term direction within a changing environment. Additionally, the degree to which those who make decisions perceive the future and alter their plans is signified by strategic planning and formulation. Nonetheless, the key stage is the strategy implementation role, which is the highly sophisticated and time-consuming segment of strategic management. Implementation of strategy is a proactive operation and requires executive leadership as well as crucial managerial skills. Most of the productive organizations employ strategic planning as a means of attaining success. No organization can succeed without establishing and implementing a long-term plan (Darmaki and Rashed 6).
Police departments are much more multifaceted than they were many years ago. Although staffs remain answerable to traditional roles like calls for service and crime investigation, police have extended their mission, focusing on prevention of crime and reduction of crime rates. Instead of concentrating only on responding to crimes once they are committed, current best police departments are looking for ways of being proactive (Greene 300). The American law enforcement offered insights into the way policing could transform in the next two to five years regarding police tasks and department organization, communication and the relations between police agencies and the community, the importance of social media and technology as well as the manner in which officer recruitment and retention could be impacted by budget reductions. Several American law enforcement agencies look forward to implementing predictive policing and intelligence-led policing (Ratcliffe 4).
The economic crisis of 2008 made several police departments in the United States to establish ways of saving money, and the majority considered whether they could manage to keep on responding to different forms of calls for service. Most police departments in the United States are moving towards online crime reporting and eliminating response by sworn officers to some forms of call for service. Common areas experiencing a decrease in police response are robbery, break-ins, damage, or other crimes that are committed hours before the victim calls the police. Police leaders are vigilant about creating any immediate changes in response policies without having a feeling of whether their communities will back the changes (McGarrell, Freilich and Chermak 145). New ways of thinking are required concerning police response to calls for service. Additionally, scaling back the fast response of sworn officers to minor crime scenes should not be proposed as a budget-cutting strategy, but instead as a strategy to enhance the efficiency of policing. When police spend a lot of time responding to minor theft calls, it makes them have less time for effectual, pro-active initiatives like problem-solving. Moreover, rushing to crime scenes when a fast response is not required is wasteful (Wells and Falcone 1).
In various cities, residents who report relatively minor crimes are directed to record a crime report online instead of having an officer respond to the scene and taking a report. This ensures that the crime is recorded for purposes of calculating crime rates, without requiring an officer to take a lot of time noting down information that the Vatican provide directly. Additionally, the computerized system produces a crime report number that victims can give to their insurance companies (Hughes and Jackson 70).
Several police chiefs outline that numerous individuals are accustomed to doing things online, for instance, shopping, financial transaction, and settling bills. Some individuals view filing a crime report online concerning a minor crime is simpler compared to calling the police and waiting for an officer to respond and take a report manually. The American police departments are highly placing “Report a Crime” buttons on their home pages for such a purpose. Maintaining commutation with citizens regarding such forms of changes in police services makes many individuals understand that there are several ways of getting the information they require from the police online, faster and correctly (Ozdemir 23).
Several organizations have failed to transform their mission into goals that are attainable. They continue being insincere in their conversion, and therefore, the goals that are not established appropriately are not attained. Thus, it is vital to plan the strategies and convert the great vision into short-term and long-term objectives. Additionally, the leadership often fails to acknowledge the significance of developing a simple, well-defined, brief strategy statement that each person can adopt and utilize as a reference for making hard decisions (Famega 90). Moreover, in public sector, corporations that have a controlling environment, strategy statement is essential in attaining a cohesive and a united sense of purpose, the way forward and achievement including a platform for dialogue, deliberation as well as decision making. Therefore, it is necessary for leaders in public sector organizations to comprehend the operating environment, important goals and objectives, recognize the high-priority roles, evaluate priorities and major challenges, and recognize metrics as well as future action plans (Darmaki and Rashed 6).
Many law enforcement agencies across the world assert that they have implemented various strategic planning processes. Strategy implementation in the police service is significant because failure to carry out strategy can result in lost opportunities and hesitancy among police officers for strategic planning. Failure to execute it also causes problems in maintenance of priorities and attainment of organizational goals. Successful implementation necessitates an emphasis on the fundamental skills since they connect the strategic thinking with the execution of the strategy. Regarding the main skills of the police department, it is significant to comprehend the kinds of professional skills that the officers require to complete their tasks well and meet the transforming needs of the citizens (Darmaki and Rashed 6).
Many organizations fail to assess the skills of their workers and therefore are not involved in establishing a plan to improve any inadequacies in the skills and the job behavior. Therefore, it is significant to carry out job assessment often to clearly comprehend the workforce strengths and weaknesses. Frequent job analysis can assist organizations in developing an appropriate infrastructure by outlining the roles to be executed including the duration of completing them. This enables employees to understand their value towards the attainment of organizational goals. The proactive job analysis also provides a valuable opportunity of evaluating the physical and social context of work, which is essential for the success of strategic planning. Enhancement of the police officers’ performance requires them to understand the significance of both the technical competencies and interpersonal skills. Effectual policing takes place when officers and members of the public collaborate to establish secure and crime-free communities. Therefore, the officers need to be trained on ways of interacting efficiently with the public. A developed law enforcement agency should conduct training and evaluation of all recruits for the technical competencies. However, few agencies are determined to train and assess officers’ interpersonal skills (Darmaki and Rashed 8). Moreover, comprehension of the required professional skills is necessary for assessing and identifying the inadequacy of skills in an organization. Various professional skills required for successful strategy implementation include communication skills, flexibility and adaptability, energy level, work ethic, uprightness and veracity, listening skills, and problem- solving skills among others. The professional skills, knowledge, and motivation of individual workers determine the performance. Therefore, organizational performance refers to the real management of activities to complete tasks as per the standards. Research carried out on the American Police revealed that investigation of a crime is considered as a process of gathering information and citizen perceive police officers as knowledge employees who are supposed to address the information and interactions relations with individuals. Thus, the achievement of police officers is based on many factors like skills and education, including the occupational culture, which influences their performance by applying a great impact on information sharing (Darmaki and Rashed 7).
For a long time, several researchers have concentrated on the connection between the strategic planning and organizational performance. It is evident that strategic planning is a tool for attaining the anticipated level of performance. An all-inclusive method is needed, which will foster proactive rather than reactive policing. The Philadelphia police administration issued a strategic plan for the police for the year (Darmaki and Rashed 10). Police are in charge of preventing and controlling crime as well as evil forces. Therefore, they are not supposed to be passive towards the society they are required to protect. Thus, police officers need to establish brand new precautionary tools and techniques to ensure a stable and peaceful society. Policing that is preventive is an effectual way of enhancing safety and preserving stability in the nation. Moreover, such policing is cost effective. Therefore, being alert to possible threats contributes to the prevention of crime while addressing short-term problems. The American law enforcement is determined to improve the strategic planning process across all the government departments. Organization performance is linked to the priority objectives, and its achievement is determined by mainly strategic planning and professional skills (Carrington et al. 100).
Reactive policing denotes the reaction of police to particular individual calls as well as answering calls promptly and making inquiries on inspections. On the other hand, proactive policing entails the police taking actions on their initiative to develop information concerning crime and techniques for its repression. Strategic planning in the American law enforcement has enabled police officers to settle issues proactively by arbitrating between the parties or employing information action rather than responding reactively to a dispatched call (Harmon 5). The American law enforcement employs directed patrol, which entails police officers being commanded to watch over certain regions that are recognized through problem or crime analysis when not responding to dispatch calls. Guided supervision is more practical than unsystematic precautionary supervision. Additionally, proactive policing in the American law enforcement contributes to increased arrests, confinement and filing of reports compared to reactive policing (Maguire and John 75).
In the American law enforcement, proactivity is equated to a police-initiated response. It denotes police acting without being called. Therefore, the police can identify problems, determine solutions and initiate responses. Changing from a ‘Force’ to a ‘Service’ necessitates a move towards increased effectiveness and enhanced service delivery. This entails maximizing resources to deal with issues covering the whole spectrum of police activities from an offense, hotspots, and offender management to community safety through an informed decision-making process. As the American law enforcement develops proactivity, it does not disregard its commitment to prevention, initial response and reactivity, but it is determined to maximize its duty (Waxman 379).
The Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) seeks to demonstrate excellence in policing by collaborating with the community and others in fighting and preventing crime, the fear of crime and terrorism. Additionally, PPD implements laws aimed at protecting the legal rights of every person. Over the next five years, the Philadelphia Police Department will implement several new strategies for reducing crime, protecting citizens, and rebuilding trust between police officers and the public. One priority over the next five years will be reducing the number of homicides in Philadelphia. Approximately, 227 homicides were reported in 2015, a 12% increase from 2014 (Nutter and Ramsey 145). Despite the fact that the city has witnessed decreased levels of violent crimes, in the past ten years, PPD continues to concentrate on minimizing shootings and violence. The police department cooperates with state and federal partners to establish strategies for reducing crime. It works with community partners to help neighborhoods in conflict resolution intended for averting rising violence or reprisal for past issues (Nutter and Ramsey 146). Another strategy that PPD will utilize over the next five years will be increasing the number of pre-arrest diversions, thereby decreasing cases of convictions and incarcerations that take place because of minor infractions. Additionally, PPD will concentrate on non-criminal enforcement measures, which will support the cities goal of minimizing the jail population by 34%. Furthermore, in order to increase transparency, enhance community trust, and minimize complaints issued against police officers, PPD will buy 4000 body cameras to be worn by police officers. The cameras will capture video and audio recording of interactions with citizens to foster respectful and appropriate conduct on the part of the police officers and the public (Nutter and Ramsey 174). The Philadelphia police department has also established various strategies to help in preventing crime and criminal victimization. They include improving police response to crime, enhancing police, community, and city agency coordination in handling crime and disorder, and offering crime prevention services to the most vulnerable.
Conclusion
It is evident that the American law enforcement is currently transforming more rapidly. In the past, police regarded their mission as responding to calls for service and investigating a crime. Presently, police departments are much more complex compared to several years ago. They have extended their mission by purposing to prevent crime and minimize crime rates, instead of merely responding after crimes are committed. The current police departments are searching for ways of being proactive rather than reactive. The police departments have attained their goals mainly by employing new strategies and technologies, which include community policing, problem-oriented policing, and sharing of information among others.
Annotated Bibliography
Carrington, Peter J., et al. Police discretion with young offenders. Ottawa: Department of Justice Canada, 2003.
The source examines organizational factors influencing police discretion. It discusses in detail two main policing styles: reactive and proactive policing. The source further highlights styles of policing by the location of service, type of community, as well as the regional distribution of styles of policing. The findings evoke the significance of differentiating clearly between proactive mobilization as well as problem-oriented policing practices.
Darmaki, Al, and Abdulla Rashed. “A Systematic Analysis of Strategic Planning Key Success Factors and Its Required Professional Skills-Case Study of Abu Dhabi Police GHQ.” International Journal of Sales, Retailing & Marketing 4.7 (2015).
The article examines major success factors associated with the strategic planning implementation and the professional skills needed. It also analyzes the effect of professional skills on enhancing the performance of Abu Dhabi Police GHQ, UAE in strategic planning practices. The article identifies the real state of the implementation of strategic planning practices in Abu Dhabi Police and if a link exists between practicing the strategic planning and the needed professional skills.
Famega, Christine N. “Proactive Policing By Post And Community Officers.” Crime & Delinquency 55.1 (2009): 78-104.
The author analyzes the time assigned to proactive and reactive activities by traditional and community police officers in order to evaluate the degree to which post officers participate in proactive activities. The author also finds out whether such activities vary from the proactive activities carried out by community officers. Additionally, the article investigates whether post and community officers’ activities signify a focus on different roles of policing as well as the level to which the two groups of officers exhibit community policing philosophy.
Greene, Jack R. “Community Policing In America: Changing The Nature, Structure, And Function Of The Police.” Criminal Justice 3.3 (2000): 299-370.
The article reviews increased community and problem-oriented policing as main vehicles for enhancing the efficacy of police efforts in communities, and as a way of restructuring police organizations. The article regards the historical growth of several models of policing, assessing the assumptions surrounding every often-competing emphases. The article also re-examines existing studies concerning the impact of community policing on societies and law enforcement agencies.
Harmon, Rachel. “Promoting civil rights through proactive policing reform.” (2010).
The source affirms that minimizing police misconduct needs substantial institutional reform in the country’s police department. However, traditional legal means for preventing misbehavior and the exclusionary rule have confirmed to be incapable of forcing departmental changes. The article outlines that most of the police misbehaviors are not accidental. Rather, they are systematic, emanating from departmental shortcomings that challenge officer’s conformity to legal rules. According to the article, countering the systematic causes of police misbehavior goes beyond punishing individual officers. The process requires changing the organization of the police department that concedes bad behaviour in order to make the police and their leaders responsible, and foster standards of honesty and uprightness.
Hughes, Vince, and Paul Jackson. “The Influence Of Technical, Social And Structural Factors On The Effective Use Of Information In A Policing Environment.” The Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management 2.1 (2004): 65-76.
The article suggests that social and political issues can impact knowledge management strategy by using Pan and Scarbrough’s socio-technical model to indicate the development of the intelligence-led philosophy in the last decade. Although the police service has been advancing towards an effectual knowledge management infrastructure, external factors, such as government policy have had a limiting effect on the development. The Pan and Scarbrough’s socio-technical model shows that the police service has not improved any further than during the Professionalism epoch.
Maguire, Mike, and Tim John. “Intelligence Led Policing, Managerialism And Community Engagement: Competing Priorities And The Role Of The National Intelligence Model In The UK.” Policing & Society 16.1 (2006): 67-85.
The article analyzes the assertion that a fundamental shift is occurring in policing towards a strategic, future-oriented and targeted approach- largely exemplified in the model of intelligence-led policing. The model is founded on analysis and management of challenges and threats instead of reactive responses to individual crimes. According to the article, The National Intelligence Model (NIM) implemented by all police forces in England and Wales, provides a structure of business processes for managing policing priorities of all forms. NIM can integrate the view of partner agencies and local communities and is able to establish parameters for reactive and proactive responses to crime.
McGarrell, Edmund F., Joshua D. Freilich, and Steven Chermak. “Intelligence-Led Policing As a Framework for Responding To Terrorism.” Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice 23.2 (2007): 142-158.
The article describes a model of Intelligence-Led Policing (ILP), which emphasizes on community policing, problem-solving, as well as continuous improvement business models that have been implemented by police departments. The article presents a broad conceptualization of ILP with the perception that it will be most likely incorporated into law enforcement and will have a major impact if it is implemented from an all crimes view. It ends with demonstrations of the utility of ILP for tackling threats of domestic and international terrorism.
Nutter, M. A., and C. H. Ramsey. “Making Philadelphia a Safer City: 2011 Progress Report on the Crime Fighting Strategy and Five-Year Plan.” (2011).
The report offers an update of the 2008 Crime Fighting Strategy, analysis of the nature of crime in Philadelphia as well as the Philadelphia Police Department’s strategic vision with targets and tactics established for the coming five years. In the next five years, the Philadelphia Police Department will implement several new strategies of reducing crime, protecting citizens, and rebuilding trust between police officers and the public. One priority over the next five years will be reducing the number of homicides in Philadelphia.
Ozdemir, Habib. “Compstat: Strategic police management for effective crime deterrence in New York City.” International Police Executive Symposium, Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, Working Paper. No. 30. 2011.
The article analyzes the utilization of Compstat in police administrations in the U.S. The author utilizes the case study techniques to offer a thorough view covering facts and general conditions associated with the utilization of Compstat model. The main features of Compstat include precise and timely intelligence, prompt disposition of employees and resources, efficient tactics and continuous follow-up and evaluation.
Ratcliffe, Jerry H. Intelligence-led Policing. Routledge, 2016.
The book discusses intelligence-led policing in a wider perspective. According to the author, intelligence-led policing has become an important force in current policing, especially at the time when crime threats have emerged to be less narrow-minded. The source emphasizes that this form of policing is unique because it employs crime intelligence for strategic planning as well as sharing of resources for the investigative action to be utilized in targeting the right offenders and forecasting evolving areas of criminality.
Waxman, Matthew C. “Police and national security: American local law enforcement and counter-terrorism after 9/11.” (2008).
The source discusses American policing and national security prior to and after September 11. It analyzes the national security law challenges arising from increased engagement of state and local police agencies in the protection of national security, particularly in fighting terrorism. The source ends by predicting that the challenges will be tackled with time based on factors like the persistent progression of the terrorism threat.
Wells, Edward L, and David N. Falcone. “Policing in the United States: Developing a Comprehensive Empirical Model.” Unpublished report from the US Department of Justice (2005).
The article offers a systematic empirical assessment of the three main premises of Community Oriented Policing (COP). The author emphasizes that the main important development in policing in the United States in the past 50 years is growth and implementation of COP. Normally, COP is considered the evolving belief of present policing, implying that societies have transformed from the outdated responsive policing to hands-on policing, which is effective and addresses community concerns.
Works Cited
Carrington, Peter J., et al. Police discretion with young offenders. Ottawa: Department of Justice Canada, 2003.
Darmaki, Al, and Abdulla Rashed. “A Systematic Analysis of Strategic Planning Key Success Factors and Its Required Professional Skills-Case Study of Abu Dhabi Police GHQ.” International Journal of Sales, Retailing & Marketing 4.7 (2015).
Famega, Christine N. “Proactive Policing By Post And Community Officers.” Crime & Delinquency 55.1 (2009): 78-104.
Greene, Jack R. “Community Policing In America: Changing The Nature, Structure, And Function Of The Police.” Criminal Justice 3.3 (2000): 299-370.
Harmon, Rachel. “Promoting civil rights through proactive policing reform.” (2010).
Hughes, Vince, and Paul Jackson. “The Influence Of Technical, Social And Structural Factors On The Effective Use Of Information In A Policing Environment.” The Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management 2.1 (2004): 65-76.
Maguire, Mike, and Tim John. “Intelligence Led Policing, Managerialism and Community Engagement: Competing Priorities And The Role Of The National Intelligence Model In The UK.” Policing & Society 16.1 (2006): 67-85.
McGarrell, Edmund F., Joshua D. Freilich, and Steven Chermak. “Intelligence-Led Policing As a Framework for Responding To Terrorism.” Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice 23.2 (2007): 142-158.
Nutter, M. A., and C. H. Ramsey. “Making Philadelphia a Safer City: 2011 Progress Report on the Crime Fighting Strategy and Five-Year Plan.” (2011).
Ozdemir, Habib. “Compstat: Strategic police management for effective crime deterrence in New York City.” International Police Executive Symposium, Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, Working Paper. No. 30. 2011.
Ratcliffe, Jerry H. Intelligence-led Policing. Routledge, 2016.
Waxman, Matthew C. “Police and national security: American local law enforcement and counter-terrorism after 9/11.” (2008).
Wells, Edward L, and David N. Falcone. “Policing in the United States: Developing a Comprehensive Empirical Model.” Unpublished report from the US Department of Justice (2005).