PLEASE BE SURE TO WRITE DOWN THE QUESTION AS SUBHEADING
QUESTION 1 (1 FULL PAGE)
In Chapter 5 “A Primitive Theory of Police Organizational Structure” of his book Organizational Structure in American Police Agencies: Context, Complexity and Control (cited in APA format as : Maguire, E. R. (2003). Organizational Structure in American Police Agencies: Context, Complexity, and Control. Albany: State University of New York Press.) Edward Maguire recognized the potential changes the adoption of Community Policing, new technology, political activism, etc. may bring to a police department’s organizational structure.
I know this is difficult material to read and digest. Still, I believe it is important for police administrators to appreciate and understand that the structure of the agency can either support or frustrate effective and efficient operation. Adding a Unit to the Organization Chart is not a casual event. Beyond funding and personal there is a functionality that must be considered and addressed. Small changes, done poorly, can have major consequences and ultimately defeat was was otherwise a good plan.
Question: As Chief of Police for the Virtual Police Department you are considering the initiation of a cyber-crime investigations unit. Aside from the obvious issues regarding technology, how will the age and size of the agency influence the creation of this new unit?
Note 1: There is much you do not know about the VPD. (Descriptions of the VPD in other parts of the class do not apply to this question.) You are free to create agency facts to support your response as long as you indicate why these facts influenced your answer.
QUESTION 2 (1 FULL PAGE)
Some time ago I was involved with a rather large metropolitan police agency that was seeking to re-define its Mission, Vision and Values. After several days of facilitated discussion about the history and authority of this full-service agency, the fifty or so command staff members involved in this discussion came to an impasse. They could not decide if their police department was strictly and exclusively a law enforcement agency or if the police department was primarily a service agency, in which law enforcement was just one of its many duties.
Searching the Internet you will find numerous examples of police department Mission Statements; nearly all accompanied by photo/video depictions of departmental activities.
What is the Mission of the police agency? Is it:
1. Strictly and exclusively a law enforcement agency, or
2. A service agency, with law enforcement just one of its many duties.
Do the visual depictions depict (or proportionally depict) the department’s mission statement?
(For maximum credit, the Internet url address should be adopted to the APA citation format.)
