Part IV Control Processes in Police Management

1. Part IVControl Processes inPolice Management Chapter 12Control and Productivityin the Police Setting

2. Learning Objectives • Understand the roles of control. • List the levels of control. • Understand the various types of control. • Explain the control process. • Understand performance evaluation and methods of corrective action. • Understand the definition of productivity. • Measure productivity. • Discuss how to improve productivity.

3. Control The efficient accomplishment of goals and objectives depends on effective control. Control is the process of regulating organizational activities so that performance conforms to expectations. Maintaining a balance between undercontrol and overcontrol is a challenge. Police organizations are thought to employ excessive control because of their quasi-military nature. It is critical to decide how much control to have in the department.

4. Management by Exception The technique of reserving top executive attention for those few instances involving significant deviations from anticipated performance Police administrators must ensure the establishment of policies, procedures, and rules that allow and facilitate exceptional issues to surface for executive attention.

5. The Roles of Control Coping with uncertainty Detecting irregularities Identifying opportunities Handling complex situations Decentralizing authority

6. Levels of Control • Strategic Control • Ensuring strategic plans are implemented as intended • Assessing the effects of strategic actions and adjusting the plan when necessary • Tactical Control • Assessing the implementation of tactical plans at departmental levels • Monitoring associated periodic results and taking corrective action as necessary • Operational Control • Individual officers are responsible for carrying out the programs and policies decided on from above

7. Types of Control • Output control • Choosing a performance standard • Behavior control • Direct supervision • Management by objectives • Rules and standard operating procedures • Clan or employee group control • Unwritten and informal • Derives from training and socialization processes

8. The Control Process • Determining areas to be controlled • Establishing of standards and expectations • Policies • Procedures • General orders or rules and regulations • Measuring performance • Line supervision techniques • Staff inspections • Audits and research • Taking corrective action • Circle the problem, consult people and records with information about the problem • Write a clear statement of the problem • Analyze the problem, seeking out multiple solutions

9. Productivity Defined Productivity can be defined as the targeted level of activity. Increasing productivity means a greater return for a given investment. Productivity is the relationship between resources used and resources obtained. The level of police department productivity can be expressed by the ratio of outputs produced to the resources expended.

10. Increasing Police Productivity Improve current practices to the best level known, to obtain better performance without a proportionate increase in cost Allocate resources to the activities that give the highest return for each dollar spent Increase the probability that a given goal will be met Make the most of the police personnel’s talent

11. Uses for Productivity Measures Indicate the existence of particular problems Indicate progress or lack of progress Help identify areas in need of attention Establish performance incentives Provide accountability

12. Traditional Measures ofPolice Productivity Time spent at work Arrest rates/citations issued Percentage of arrests that lead to convictions Citizen complaints against officers

13. Contemporary Measures of Police Productivity Totally eliminate the problem Reduce the number of incidents (e.g., crime and disorder) that occur as a result of the problem Reduce the seriousness of the incidents Implement police procedures that handle incidents more effectively “Co-actively” deal with the problem by enlisting the assistance of an agency better suited to deal with it

14. Improving Police Productivity • Four criteria used to identify where productivity can be improved: • Operations that involve large numbers of employees who perform routine and repetitive tasks • Functions that require a large number of hours • Functions that normally result in work backlogs • High unit costs

15. Strategies for Improving Productivity Productivity bargaining Capital investment Management audit Sound application of management principles