Criminology

This article discusses the makeup of the departments within a police force.  It tells of the many disciplines contained within the walls and how the key to their effectiveness is good management.  Good management is recognized in how management treats personnel.  Police personnel management is totally committed to the police force in dealing with all departmental operations.  The entire process is overseen with a fine tooth comb by both managers and supervisors in the selection of recruits, the training that is provided, and the continuance of support that never wavers.

Introduction
Police personnel fill many diverse departments within the force.  These departments
include the areas of public safety, community relations, law enforcement, human resource management, and information and fiscal management.  In order for these various departments to run effectively takes good management and supervision, which consists of those having good people skills.  It is vital to the success of the department that the management team is totally committed to the entire process starting with recruiting, training, and the provision of ongoing support to all police personnel.

Recruiting and Budget Cuts
The importance of management and supervision within a police department is what makes the system work. This in itself is monopolized by the many budget cuts that impact in light of recruiting efforts within local areas.  Federal grants help to meet the costs of new recruits and training however the ability to locate qualified applicants is another issue that must be met.  One of the screening criteria is that of indebtedness, an applicant cannot be in debt, nor can they have any history of drug use.

The staffing efforts are also impacted due to military need, such as officers who are in the reserves and National Guard.  This short staffs a probable already limited staff in supplying communities with the services they are to receive.  A reason that the infrastructure is so hard to maintain is due to short term budgeting practices.  This strategy is in effect because of the annual and biannual planning of government departments in which the police force budget derives.  The costs of recruiting, and training police personnel takes most of the budget that it allowed annually for the entire site to run.  This makes it extremely difficult for managing expenses and it is customary to be hit with budget cuts.

Inability to Meet Force Management Objectives
Complications with budget cuts and inadequate strategies are directly affecting at the local, state, and federal level.  The use of the militaries system in budgeting and training expenses may well be an example that local police forces could adopt.  The centralized planning structure used by military personnel has a proven track record of success.  Their strategy is built on a long term scope, that allows for beneficial staff planning and estimations of future personnel needs.

The way the military works in meeting management objectives is to assess anticipated demand for military personnel.  They then specify their anticipated need for future staffing needs tying this data into a projected need for resources.  Taking this information they use force shaping to meet the organizational demands.  This strategy would be cost effective for recruitment expenditures of police personnel and could ultimately be tied into local government strategies in a unified effort.  The results would be an organized system that could support police management with regard to budgetary requests in strengthening relationships with legislative and executive planners.

Summary
The main points of the article as follows maintain that managers and supervisors in alignment with police personnel are constructed as a family unit.  Each individual is provided training and a commitment for success that is not taken lightly.  This assures the success of the departments amidst financial hardships that negatively impact, resulting in an overall strain to management in the ability to expand and grow as needed.  This limits communities in which they work from receiving the quality of service they well deserve.  It negates forces from acquiring recruits that meet the strict guidelines required, thereby creating a shortage of available police personnel in which to service the communities as required.

Serving on the front lines, personnel are a police departments most important and most valuable resource.

With personnel playing this critical role, the process of personnel selection, training,monitoring, and support is key to a successful police department.

Police departments today face many issues in recruiting and retaining high-quality employees.
The nature of policing has broadened to a more diverse range of missions requiring a complex set of skills from officers.

In addition, responsibilities for law enforcement agencies at all levels are changing in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In short, the expanded responsibilities for local police require an expanded set of police skills and perhaps a different type of officer.

The population from which police agencies recruit has also changed in the past Several decades. Some trends may restrict the potential labor pool while others may increase it.

The present study is an effort to identify planning tools that might be adapted by police agencies to address some of the recruiting and retention challenges they face.

Critique
My overall reaction to this article is that it is well written in describing the workings o
the police force and the importance of how the selection process mandates types of personnel defined as being police personnel material.  It defines the duties of police management and supervision.  The article makes it clear that without proper management skills in regard to those being managed the types of services expected from local police departments would be highly inadequate in regard to police personnel skills.  It points out that police departments are impacted frequently with budget cuts, and if it werent for the spending of the majority of budgets on recruiting and training, communities would be in a lot of trouble.

What could have been explained or examined in depth would be why police agencies do not incorporate the strategies of the military in regard to budgets and personnel.  The infrastructure of the military is a well organized and systematic process that ensures accountability and reliability.  It gains support within itself in provision of making financial budgets cover expenditures effectively without budgetary cuts.  They accomplish this by budgeting for future needs as well as current by using projected scopes and tying that into the process.  It sounds like they use a process in which they shave their budgets vs. cutting them like police enforcement does.

I agree that local police enforcement should take into consideration, how this process actually works.  A strategy should be developed by police personnel management in testing the ability for the military process, to see how it would work for police management and the benefits derived for police personnel.