CCAgendal_94Apr27 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City of Falcon Heights D Memorandum DATE: 29 March 1994 TO: Mayor and Councilmembers FROM: Susan Hoyt, City Administrator RE: Information related to RFP for police services I've attached sections of a book Beyond 9 1 1 (Basic Books,1990) by Malcolm Sparrow, Mark Moore, and David Kennedy. This book, along with Policing in a Free Society by Herman Goldstein, was recommended to me by the Minneapolis police officer who works on community policing. Both of these books are geared toward police management, typically in larger cities with larger police departments. Nevertheless, it is still applicable information, especially for an inner -ring suburb where the problems aren't so overwhelming that the officer assigned to the city must spend most of the time dealing with incidents and arrests. Perhaps the most valuable information in this work is its insight into the "visibility" component of policing that we keep hearing so much about. The authors point out that most "police 9 1 1 calls" are not serious crimes or crimes in action, and, if they are, they don't arrive in time to stop them or to arrest anyone. And, many 9 1 1" calls are made by the same parties. Yet, over the past thirty or more years the police establishment has made responding to "9 1 1 calls' its primary goal and measure of success. The authors believe that it is time to de- emphasize the hierarchical structure and specialization of police agencies, and to redirect resources and energy from a "response time" mentality. They suggest that a patrol officer, who is assigned to a geographic area and given the time and incentives to patrol a neighborhood(s), does much more than drive around a community to be visible. The officer has the responsibility of noticing potential problems and remedying them because the officer sees the community day -in and day -out. These problems may vary from possible "drug" houses, to teen loitering that, if left unattended, might lead to community misunderstanding, to "attractive community issues" (code enforcement), to selling liquor to minors from a local store, to traffic control /public safety issues. (This patrol would act very much like the mail carrier who contacted us three years ago because he was concerned about an elderly resident who was not picking up her mail.) The authors suggest that the patrol officer is not only responsible for community protection by observation. He or she can *directly communicate with community residents, business people and city officials outside the "police call" setting. By interacting in informal and formal neighborhood settings, the police officer escapes the response oriented relationship that a "call" creates between a police officer and an individual. Given the opportunity to have more direct contact with citizens and public officials in daily settings, the patrol officer doesn't need to rely solely upon other police personnel, who act as the administrative liaison or community contact person, to communicate to him or her what is important to the community. Although there are no guarantees, this approach should ultimately reduce the number of police calls. It may create a police force that is more willing to investigate and resolve a situation from the beginning rather than waiting until it is a documented concern or emergency.