Managing and understanding the community and police department needs is important to being successful. Having the proper organization and supervision in the right place is also beneficial to establishing a strong police agency and community relationship. Without the proper guidance and support from the administration and the community, the police department will fail. Six Basic Police Functions There are six basic police functions to management, which are: System building, Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, and Controlling. These six functions are often overlooked, but are very important when managing a police department (Cordner, 2019). System building requires a police administration to piece the puzzle together. For example, police …show more content…
Captain Ed Davis of the Lowell Police Department, who was appointed as Acting Superintendent, had some strong opinions regarding the location of the police department along with how the police department would be involved with the community. Captain Davis was very concerned as to how the community viewed the police department and how the police department only had a reactive stance. Captain Davis viewed this as a flaw within the community and the police department due to a reactive police department only responding when called and not being proactive, which can become a problem with the rise in crime. It seemed that the Lowell Police Department only acted when the community complained or had an issue arise. Captain Davis created a proactive community engagement that had a positive, lasting effect on the community and the police department. The vote for locating the police precinct in a high crime area through the Boy’s Club, also showed the community wanted the police present and started a positive bond with Captain Davis and the community, which in return, built a stronger police force. Captain Davis provided internal feedback, which led to a more proactive police department. He also gave great external feedback by providing a candid opinion to the community, which led to more proactivity and a safer community by providing a precinct in a high crime area in attempts to lower crime