Police Administration

Define the authority-level principle. ■ Define the principle of chain of command. ■ Define the principle of unity of command. ■ Define the principle of span of control. ■ Cite three criteria by which functions may be examined for similarity. ■ Explain why organizational guidelines are especially important in

policing, but also difficult to apply. ■ Compare policies, procedures, and rules and regulations in terms of

specificity. ■ Identify the four sources of organizational policy. ■ Identify the five key stages in the development of originated policy.

Principles and Policies in the Police Organization

CHAPTER 5

This chapter addresses two related issues: (1) principles that guide the struc- ture of the police organization; and (2) policies and procedures that guide police employees in their decision making and actions. The information in this chapter lays the foundation for the discussion of the functions of police management presented in Chapter 6.

AUTHORITY, RESPONSIBILITY, AND ACCOUNTABILITY Any organization in which someone has authority over someone else is a hierarchy. Governments, corporations, families, fraternities, universities, and police departments are all hierarchies. Most organizations are hierarchical in some respects; some are more hierarchical than others. The greater the num- ber of levels of supervisors or administrators an organization has, the more hierarchical the organization is. For example, Figure 5.1 shows that police

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CHAPTER 5: Principles and Policies in the Police Organization 112

department A is more hierarchical than department B, even though both have the same number of employees.

Typically, larger organizations are more hierarchical than smaller ones, sim- ply because more employees require more supervisors, more supervisors require more mid-level managers, and so on. If too many levels of hierarchy are created, however, many different kinds of organizational problems can arise, such as delays in communication from the top of the organization to the bottom and lack of feedback at the top of the organization. Many organi- zations today, including police departments, are trying to become “flatter” by eliminating unnecessary levels of hierarchy.1 As with most elements of organ- izational structure, balance is required – in this case, balance between the need for sufficient supervision and the desire to streamline the organizational structure as much as possible.

Chief

Lieutenant

Sergeant

Police Department A

Police Department B

Chief

Police Officer

Police Officer

Police Officer

Police Officer

Police Officer

Police Officer

Police Officer

Police Officer

Police Officer

Police Officer

FIGURE 5.1 Two Seven-Member Police Departments. Department A Is More Hierarchical Than Department B

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Authority, Responsibility, and Accountability 113

When we say someone is a person’s boss, we generally mean that he or she has the authority to give the person orders. In terms of authority, the boss is the supervisor and has the power to command the subordinate. If the boss has the power to command the subordinate, it follows that the boss has the right, as well as the responsibility, to command the subordinate.

Besides bestowing on the boss the right and the responsibility to command, authority also gives the boss the right to make decisions and take actions. A police sergeant, for example, has the right as supervisor to approve a patrol officer’s request to leave an assigned patrol area. The sergeant makes such a decision based on the responsibility to exercise delegated authority. The patrol officer, who by departmental policy is mandated to remain within a designated patrol area, has no authority to leave it without permission.

Authority and responsibility should be balanced in each position in the organization. It would not be fair to make an employee responsible for a function without also providing sufficient authority to make decisions and take actions in carrying out the function. By the same token, employees should not be given authority without commensurate responsibility, because of the possibility of abuse of that authority.

Police chiefs should never make the mistake of assuming that those to whom they have delegated authority will use it wisely. In order to minimize the ever- present possibility that delegated authority will be misused or abused, chiefs must institute a formal system for monitoring the activities of all officers who have been delegated authority. Such a system is based on the principle of accountability.

The principle of accountability means that all individuals to whom author- ity has been delegated must be held accountable for its use. It demands that action be taken if and when individuals exercise their authority improperly or irresponsibly. Further, it requires that a conscious effort be made to identify organization members who fail to use their authority, use too much author- ity, or use their authority improperly.

Standard 11.3.1 A written directive requires that:

a. responsibility is accompanied by commensurate authority b. each employee is accountable for the use of delegated authority.

BOX 5.1 AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY

Source: Standards for Law Enforcement Agencies: The Standards Manual of the CALEA Law Enforcement Agency Accreditation Program, Fifth Edition as amended. Gainesville, VA: Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., 2012.

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CHAPTER 5: Principles and Policies in the Police Organization 114

The police chief can monitor the use of authority by organization mem- bers in several ways. The basic way is through supervision within the chain of command. In addition, the inspections and internal affairs subsystem tasks described in Chapter 4 provide information (feedback) about the use of authority throughout the department. The organization’s information sys- tem should be designed to aid in monitoring performance, including use of authority. The performance appraisal process by which each employee’s per- formance is periodically reviewed and evaluated is another important source of information.

The principle of accountability is put into effect through swift and certain action that is uniformly and fairly administered. All individuals should be treated alike, regardless of rank or position, and no favoritism should be shown in implementing the principle. Therefore, an action must be taken in every instance in which authority is misused or when it becomes apparent that an individual is shirking responsibility or not doing the job as assigned. Distinctions must be made, of course, between intentional acts and honest mistakes made by employees trying to do their jobs properly.

If a chief does not use the principle of accountability as a control device and takes no action, everyone tacitly understands that the department will con- done certain improprieties and misbehavior. When officers realize that they can misuse their authority or neglect their responsibilities with impunity, authority will be misused and responsibilities will not be met on a continu- ing basis throughout the organization.

In departments in which functions are poorly defined and little or no authority is delegated, it is impossible to put the principle of accountability into effect. In such organizations, authority, which is the glue that holds an organization together, becomes an administrative tool by which friends are rewarded and enemies are punished. Personalities, rather than organizational principles, take over the department and become the focal point around which the organization is administered. In such departments, an officer gets ahead by siding with the right people politically, not by doing the job. The job becomes incidental to personal priorities and prerogatives. The depart- ment becomes self-centered rather than community-centered.

DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY In a properly organized police department, the chief delegates authority for decision making to people at all levels within the organization. Authority is the power to make decisions or to perform tasks. The ultimate authority in a police department lies with the chief, who must wisely and widely delegate authority to others so that decisions can be made and tasks performed.