As police administrators, we need to sense the changes in our environments and adjust our methodology to meet those changes. The line police officers are probably one of the most overlooked management resources in any police agency. No one is more familiar with the environment in which they must operate than law enforcement patrol officers, and no one is more capable of making effective suggestions to meet the demands for their service. Therefore, we must rethink the philosophy that requires unquestioned conformity to departmental procedures and discourages individualism. Instead, we should consider the input of those on the forefront of the criminal activity battleground.
Society demands no less.
As administrators, we must empower our employees to make the kinds of decisions that can be effective for specific problems in the community in which they serve and in which the officer is looked to by the citizen to solve the problem. We need officers who work with and for the community. We need police officers as community organizers who can serve as catalysts for positive action in the crime detection, suppression, and prevention. We need personnel who view members of the public as concerned, supportive, proactive assistants in the law enforcement function. Without an understanding, supportive community, the job of effective policing becomes increasingly more difficult.