December 1996



           Community-Oriented Policing Means Business

                       By Kenneth Sissom

__________

Successful community policing initiatives serve the needs of both
business and residential communities.
_________

Chief Sissom heads the Merriam, Kansas, Police Department.

Police departments across the country profess the value of
community-oriented policing. Implementing this popular philosophy
requires establishing a closer relationship with citizens. Still,
the success and effectiveness of any police department's 
community policing efforts also depend on maintaining a good
working relationship with members of the business community.

Traditionally, police officers make two types of routine contacts
with businesses: summoned police responses and visits to popular  
establishments. Summoned police responses represent the most
common type. For example, thieves break into a local business,
causing the owner to summon the police.  Responding officers take
a report, investigate the scene, and leave. Although this
typically marks the end of the association, in certain retail
businesses, a stronger, more established relationship develops.
This occurs when the frequency of contacts escalates due to
increased robberies, shoplifting, or disturbances.

The second most common police-business contacts are more personal
than professional in nature. Every city has its share of
businesses that patrol officers visit regularly, such as
convenience stores, restaurants, and--the target of tasteless
jokes about the police--doughnut shops. While these visits may
improve relations between the department and the business
community, these businesses represent only a small portion of the
total number of establishments in any city.

What about the other businesses in the city? What type of
relationship exists between the department and those businesses
that have very little contact with the police? With its Business
Survey Project, the Merriam, Kansas, Police Department set out to
answer these questions.

THE BUSINESS SURVEY PROJECT

The police department in Merriam, a suburban city of 12,000 in
the Kansas City metropolitan area, implemented community-oriented
policing in 1992. Department managers decided to concentrate
first on the business community, after meetings with the city
administrator and the mayor revealed that several of Merriam's
nearly 600 business owners had voiced a desire for more positive
contact with the police.

In the months that followed, the department developed a method
that would compel line officers to make planned, official
contacts with all city businesses. In doing so, officers would
provide shopkeepers with information about the department, as
well as solicit feedback in an effort to determine how they
viewed the department and how the police could serve them better.

Phase One: Identification of All City Businesses

To ensure that the project included all local businesses, the
department retrieved a computerized listing of licensed
businesses from the city clerk's office. Using computer-generated
labels, the chief placed the name and address of each business on
the back of a 3-by-5 index card. Then, officers used these cards
to record their contacts with business owners or managers.

Phase Two: The Survey Tool

During this phase, the chief developed a mail-in survey form
using a standard desktop publishing program and a personal
computer. The department printed its address on the tri-fold form
to facilitate responses. This design allowed business owners to
complete the form, then fold it, seal it, and mail it.

The survey form first gave brief information about the police
department, including its address, phone numbers, and contact
persons. It described, in lay person's terms, the department's
community-oriented policing philosophy and its relevance to the
business community.

Then, a series of questions followed. The department designed
questions that would be easy for business owners to answer. The
first asked respondents to provide an overall rating (excellent,
above average, average, below average, or poor) for the service
that they had received from the department.

The second asked respondents to identify their biggest concern
with regard to crime. Merriam's experience has been that business
owners' perceptions of crime-related problems often differ from
those of the police. For example, while the police may believe
that business owners worry most about burglary or robbery, in
reality, they may list abandoned cars or loitering juveniles as
their primary concerns. Clearly, knowing business owners' true 
concerns results in a more accurate and appropriate police
response.

The third question requested suggestions for ways to improve the
department's level of service. The next, a four-part question,
focused on any direct contact the businesses had with the police
in the previous 12 months.

After inquiring about the reason for any contacts, the survey
asked if the responding officers had been courteous and helpful
and what the officers could have done to improve their
performance. Finally, the survey acquainted businesses with the
crime prevention analysis services the department provides and
asked if they would like the department's crime prevention
officer to conduct an analysis of their business.

Phase Three: Education and Implementation

This phase of the project focused mainly on training first-line
supervisors, although all officers received instruction on the
department's community-oriented policing philosophy and the
workings of the survey. As with most new projects, the support of
shift supervisors would help ensure the success of this program.
Furthermore, the chief made it clear that first-line supervisors
would share in the successes of the officers on their shifts. At
the onset of the survey, supervisors received a written, detailed
explanation of the project, including how it related to
community-oriented policing.

The department placed more emphasis on the day shift, because
more business owners and managers were available during this
time, and because the day shift could accommodate the additional
work more readily. As a result, day shift offi-cers were tasked
with contacting three businesses per shift, every workday. The
day shift supervisor's goal was one business per shift.
Officers on the evening shift needed to make one or two con-
tacts, depending on police activity. Their supervisors did not
have a set goal, but were encouraged to check a business when
time permitted. Officers on the midnight shift, although omitted
from the project, were required to make frequent routine contacts
with those businesses open during their shift.

Supervisors reduced the goals of individual officers once the
majority of community businesses had been contacted. At the end
of the year, the department recognized the officer with the
greatest number of contacts.

In sum, each regular district officer, working Monday through
Friday on the day and evening shifts, chose businesses to contact
during their shift, retrieving the businesses' index cards from a
file box in the squad room. The officers made contact with the
business owners or managers and introduced themselves. They
explained the department's philosophy of community-oriented
policing and the nature of the project. This served a two-fold
purpose. It required that the officers gain a reasonable
understanding of community-oriented policing, and it educated the
public about the benefits of this philosophy.

During the contacts, officers inquired about the business owners'
problems or concerns. At the end of the meeting, the officer left
a business card and a survey, asking the owner to complete the
survey and mail it back to the department.1

Officers also completed the front of the index card with their
name, shift, the date of the contact, the contact person, the
business' fax number, and the business type. At shift's end,
officers returned the index cards--whether completed or not_to
the file box. This system gave officers credit for their
contacts, while preventing duplication of visits.

Phase Four: Public Relations Considerations

Before implementing any program that might impact public
relations either positively or negatively, police leaders should
seek political support. From the start, the chief realized that
business owners might contact city officials immediately, so he
met with the mayor and the city administrator to gain their
support. Both officials expressed gratitude for being informed in
advance so that they could prepare a response to  questions or
comments that local business leaders might have.

In Merriam, an active chamber of commerce has long been an
excellent forum for police personnel to meet with leaders of the
business community. The police chief regularly attends the
chamber's monthly meetings. After meeting with the chief to
discuss the survey project, the director of the chamber of
commerce featured the program in an article in its monthly
newsletter. Later that year, the chief gave a short presentation
about the project at a chamber meeting.

Finally, the media can make or break a police program. In this
case, the media provided positive public relations for the
project. During the first month, the local newspapers ran
features about the project. A local television station sent a
reporter and camera person to follow a department officer while
contacting local businesses.

Phase Five: Project Followup

When initiating a new program, department managers must
incorporate steps to ensure its proper implementation. By
conducting followup measures, department administrators
communicate a strong message to line officers that their actions
during this important project will be monitored.
Each month, Merriam department managers audited the business
contact file in the squad room. As officers completed cards on
the businesses they had contacted, it became clear which officers
did not make regular contacts. Supervisors met with these
officers to encourage them to get more involved. After a few
monthly audits, most problems disappeared.

Phase Six: Compiling and Processing Returned Surveys
From January to December of 1993, officers of the Merriam Police
Department contacted 534 businesses. Thirty-three percent of
these businesses completed a survey.

The chief personally reviewed every completed survey. If a
business owner rated the department below average or reported a
past negative experience with the police, the chief immediately
contacted the owner to resolve the problem.

On the survey, business owners listed their biggest crime
concerns as robbery, burglary, theft, vandalism, and loitering.
Shift supervisors received this information and responded with
changes in routine patrol techniques. For example, although some
businesses listed robbery as a primary concern, department
records indicated that only a few actually had fallen victim to
robbers.

This finding identified the real problem as one of perception and
fear, not one based on the business' history of robbery. After
this discovery, officers targeted these businesses for frequent
walk-in checks; soon, business owners reported feeling more
confident in the police, and as a result, less fearful.

Some businesses voiced concern over traffic problems. Traffic
officers handled any obvious problem. In cases where business
owners  only perceived a problem, department officers studied the
situation and reported the results to the owners. This approach
changed their perception.

Each business that took the time to complete and mail in a survey
received a personal thank you letter from the chief.  The crime
prevention officer contacted each business that requested a crime
prevention analysis, 81 in all. This officer also compiled survey
responses, which administrative personnel studied in January
1994.

Results

The survey results revealed that, overall, the Merriam business
community had a very favorable opinion of its police department.
Forty-eight percent of respondents rated the department
excellent; 37 percent, above average; 7 percent, average; and 2
percent, below average. Six percent of the businesses did not
provide a rating.

Although respondents' answers most likely were influenced by the
positive publicity the survey generated, the department still
achieved its goal: to improve basic relations between the police
and the business community by opening a line of communication.
The survey became a tool to do just that. This enhanced
relationship fostered an environment of cooperation that built
upon the community-oriented policing philosophy.

As an added bonus, the officers involved in the project also
discovered its value. Faced with the survey results, they changed
their initial perception that business owners considered the
police a hindrance instead of a help. In addition, officers
believed that they were making a greater difference in the
business community, rather than merely responding to calls for
service. Indeed, their efficiency at routine patrol had increased
with the new flow of information about criminal or suspicious
activity now coming from their new business contacts.

FUTURE PLANS

The Merriam Police Department currently is conducting its second
Business Survey Project. Results so far show not only a greater
rate of return for the surveys but also higher ratings for the
department. In the future, the department will conduct biennial
business surveys, focusing on neighborhood programs in
intervening years.

CONCLUSION 

While this project was completed in a small suburban city, the
concept can work in any community, large or small. As police
departments institute community policing in their jurisdictions,
many focus almost exclusively on programs aimed at residents.
But, just as increased contact with citizens enhances the ability
of a department to fulfill its mission, so too does a positive
relationship with business owners. With its Business Survey
Project, the Merriam Police Department proved that community
policing also means business.

Endnote

Some departments may want to pay for postage to save the business
the expense and to encourage a greater return. Due to budget
constraints, the Merriam Police Department chose to let each
business pay for postage.