Response:
Police operations and decision-making have a big impact on communities throughout the United States. Therefore, many police departments take on continuous planning to increase their effectiveness. This process helps develop key plans police departments use in their daily operations (Swanson, Territo, & Taylor, 2008).
Planning
Planning is a critical process for police effectiveness (Gottschalk, 2008; Swanson et al., 2008). According to Charles R. Swanson, Leonard Territo, and Robert W. Taylor (2008), …show more content…
These plans provide details about the objective and organization of the police department. Administrative plans include the department’s mission statement, goals, and policies to define its purpose and function (Swanson et al., 2008). The mission statement clearly defines the fundamental purpose of the agency and clarifies the tasks and service outcomes the police department is responsible for (Bazemore, 1992; Graves, 2014). In addition, the goals help clarify the objectives of the police department and the policies ensure that set rules are being followed in pursuit of the goals. The policies of the department define its guiding principles. Not following the policies can result severe consequences for the individual officer, department, or the public. In addition, administrative plans include the allocation of resources and personnel management (Swanson et al., 2008). This helps ensure the best use of the police department’s resources and personnel to achieve organizational goals (Gottschalk,