Budget Cuts: A Case Study

For administrators in the criminal justice system that refuse to adapt to the open system of relying on help from outside agencies and the public, this condition of not meeting goals because of budget cuts will continue to worsen. However, those that learn to adapt and respond well from help will have a much brighter future. For example, when budget cuts arise, the first programs to receive large cuts are crime prevention programs so crime fighting programs will not have to be cut (Cronkhite, 2013). A more productive decision would be to use “crime prevention approaches as leverage in making the best use of personnel” because just a small crime prevention staff could prevent acts that would cost much more (Cronkhite, 2013, p. 204). At the Knoxville Police Department, where I have been employed the last 18 years, we have established a liaison program where a patrol officer is assigned to a neighborhood watch group that is on his or her beat. This officer will attend the meetings once a month and be the point of contact for any of their needs. This program has been very successful especially in the inner-city areas and the only cost is the occasional overtime if the officer is off during the …show more content…
These trained volunteers can “conduct crime prevention meetings as part of neighborhood watch programs, conduct Operation Identification programs that assist residents in marking property for later identification if stolen, conduct security surveys of residences, and distribute crime prevention (Cronkhite, 2013, p. 206). At the Knoxville Police Department, we also use volunteers to conduct phone follow-ups on property cases and participate in scenarios for recruits. We have a Citizens Police Academy and most graduates end up being volunteers because they like it so much. Administrators are losing a valuable resource if they don’t initiate a volunteer