Exam 1.3 Flashcards
What must administrators of both small and large organizations must perform a wide range of tasks?
- Plan what the organization needs to accomplish
- Organize a formal structure to accomplish the organization’s mission
- Recruit, select, and train staff for the organization
- Direct the decision-making process
- Develop rules, policies, and procedures
- Coordinate groups to work together toward a common mission
- Report, keep records, and communicate
- Budget and manage organization’s resources
What is the purpose of the structure of police organization?
- Determines productivity
- Determines achievement of goals
- Helps carry out tasks effectively and efficiently
- Helps maintain a balance between inclusivity and the need for rapid response + efficiency
What is the organizational structure of policing influenced by?
- Size
- Tradition
- Function
- Degree of professionalism
- Receptiveness to change
- Style of leadership
What are hierarchies in policing?
- Organizational structures that take the shape of a pyramid
- Many employees at the bottom, few management personnel at the top
- Resistant to change
What is line personnel in policing?
Officers that perform actual police work
- Ex. patrol officers, investigators
What is the relationship between hierarchy and communication in policing?
- Clear division of authority ensures responsibility and accountability
- Clarifies supervisor’s’ span of control
- Top-down, one-way flow of information
- Gives few opportunities for lower ranks for feedback
What is Unity of Command?
Each member of the organization has an immediate supervisor
What is Rank Structure?
Chain of command that determines who communicates with whom and identifies lines of authority
What is Span of Control?
Ratio of supervisors to subordinates
What is the Paramilitary Structure?
Rigid, military-like organizational structure that focuses on accountability
Why was the Paramilitary Structure formed?
Minimize corruption, Maximize efficiency by distancing officers from the public
What does the Paramilitary Structure prioritize in utilization?
- Centralized and controlled power
- Strong enforcement of rules, regulations, and discipline
- Discouragement of individual creativity
- Resistance of change in system
What type of management does the Paramilitary Structure use to improve efficiency?
Top-down management
What does the Paramilitary Structure have in common with the military?
Terminology
What are limitations of the Paramilitary Structure?
- Authoritarian
- No horizontal, bottom-up communication
- Emphasizes strict obedience that hinders discretion and critical thinking
- Inflexible structure slows down system changes
- Restricts personal freedoms
- Has narrow job descriptions
What is the Matrix Structure?
Organization that involves multiple support systems and authority relationships that are often found in a drug task force
What is the Chain of Custody?
A chronological documentation of all seizures, custodies, controls, transfers, analyses, and disposals of physical or electronic evidence
What is the largest law enforcement division in terms of personnel and resources?
Operations Division
What are the main two subdivisions of the Operations Division?
- Patrol: Responsible for providing continuous police service; Backbone of police organization
- Investigations: Responsible for making arrests based on evidence
What does a patrol division do?
- Respond to calls for service
- Make first contact with crime victims
- Make arrests
- Secure crime scenes
- Conduct initial investigations of crime scenes as first responders
- Control traffic
- Respond to and investigate traffic accidents
- Utilize watercraft, aircraft, bicycle, canine-assistance, and civilian volunteers
What does an investigations division do?
- Obtain and process evidence; establish chain of custody
- Make arrests based on evidence
- Document crime scenes
- Analyze records and reports
- Authorize search warrants
- Prepare cases for court testimony
- Conduct undercover operations
- Oversee juvenile unit
What is a Functional Design?
- Organizational substructure
- Creates positions and departments for specialized activities/functions
- Identifies and integrates common tasks and areas of work
- Varies according to size of department; minimal application to smaller departments
- All employees understand the importance of responsibility and accountability
What is a Place Design?
- Organizational substructure
- Geographical establishment of primary units within an organization, including assigning personnel to different zones/jurisdictions
- Establishes organization’s primary units geographically while still retaining many facets of Functional Design
What is a disadvantage of a Place Design?
It can increase problems with coordination, depending on the number and locations of beats, zones, districts, areas, sectors, or precincts
What is a Place Design’s organizational structure based on?
Geography
What is a Time Design?
- Organizational design
- Involves assigning personnel based on watches, tours, or shifts
How are patrol divisions divided in a Time Design?
3 watches/tours/shifts throughout 24-hour period
How is shift coverage balanced in a Time Design?
By hiring new staff and the use of overtime
What is the Code of Ethics in policing?
- Set of principles that guide decision-making and acceptable behavior for police officers (on and off duty)
- Defines standards for professionalism
Why is professionalism important in policing?
It is crucial to maintain the integrity of police officers and their public credibility
What determines someone’s hierarchal position?
Amount of work
What organization developed the Code of Ethics in policing?
The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
What is the most commonly used structuring method in the U.S?
Functional Design
