FEBRUARY 2006 HOT TOPICS

Understanding the Future Workforce Needs of Police Departments?

Since 9/11, police departments have assumed new homeland security and intelligence duties, in addition to their traditional responsibilities for public safety, community relations, law enforcement, personnel recruitment and training, and information and fiscal management. As demands on police departments are expanding, many departments are facing serious challenges recruiting qualified personnel. RAND researchers examined these difficulties and identified several causes and solutions.

The supply of interested and qualified police candidates is changing, with trends indicating that such factors as prior drug use and poor physical fitness among youth may be decreasing the size of the pool. Police departments are experiencing a wave of retirements among aging baby boomers at the same time they are facing competition for recruits from an expanding number of federal and private security jobs. Finally, the call-up of reserves (who often are current police officers) has also cut into supply.

To deal with such challenges, the study recommends that police departments develop long-range planning strategies to help meet their future labor needs, and to build on the experience of the U.S. military, which has a long history of studying personnel trends. The armed services continually adopt force-management plans that estimate future demand for the size, seniority, and skill mix of military personnel and analyze how best to “grow” the kind of force they need. These lessons could prove valuable for local police departments.

Long-range planning is difficult for local police departments to undertake on their own, primarily because of resource constraints. The study concludes that federal leadership in forecasting and planning for police personnel needs would particularly benefit the thousands of small police agencies in the country. Furthermore, the changing homeland security requirements make national action more necessary.

READ SUMMARY: Police Personnel Challenges After September 11 »

Assessing Police-Community Relations in Cincinnati

The Cincinnati Police Department (CPD), the Fraternal Order of Police, and the American Civil Liberties Union entered into a collaborative agreement to improve police-community relations and asked RAND to evaluate progress toward the goals of the agreement. This is the most comprehensive analysis ever undertaken of police-community relations and the factors underlying those relations. RAND surveys revealed that, while there is broad community support in Cincinnati for the CPD, support in black communities is much lower. This is likely the result of the disproportionate impact of proactive policing, such as aggressive traffic enforcement and nuisance crime abatement, on the black community. Also, while there is no clear evidence of racial profiling in traffic stops or post-stop activity, there are clear racial differences in police-motorist interactions during traffic stops, problems that are exacerbated by differences in the communication styles between officers and suspects of different races. As a result of this evaluation, the parties to the agreement may make changes in outreach strategies, training, or policies. The impact of these changes will be addressed in subsequent years of the evaluation, which runs through 2008.

READ SUMMARY: Police-Community Relations in Cincinnati »

Combating Terrorism: The Role of Local Law Enforcement Agencies

How have state and local law enforcement agencies (LEAs) conducted and supported counterterrorism activities since 9/11? A new report finds a somewhat mixed picture. Intelligence activity is probably not as pervasive as feared among civil libertarians; that is, relatively few LEAs appear to be providing support for such activities. However, there has been a marked increase in intelligence activity among those departments that are engaged in it.

Four policing issues emerged from the study: (1) state and local LEA intelligence activity may not be sustainable, given that LEAs are typically paying for these activities “out of their hides” through internal reallocations of funding; (2) training of LEA personnel in intelligence activity seems insufficient; (3) scant doctrine exists for shaping state and local LEA intelligence activity; and (4) the courts—particularly the federal courts—will need to continue to provide interpretation of and guidance on what state and local LEAs should do with the information they collect, since many key aspects are not settled in the minds of state and local authorities.

READ SUMMARY: State and Local Intelligence in the War on Terrorism »

SUBSCRIPTIONS:

To unsubscribe, please write to wea@rand.org or call (703) 413-1100 x5180.

To request a FREE copy of any RAND publication, please write to wea@rand.org, or call (703) 413-1100 x5180.

RAND can also provide briefings, research assistance, testimony, and other services to Congressional offices.

Sign up for other RAND Congressional Newsletters.

The RAND Safety and Justice Program conducts research, analysis, and demonstrations that help policymakers, government agencies, and communities improve public safety. To access our research, please visit our website at www.rand.org/ise/safety/.

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world.

Learn More »

The RAND Safety and Justice Congressional Newsletter is distributed on an opt-in basis only by visiting us at www.rand.org. We respect your privacy. If you do not wish to receive this periodic newsletter, please email wea@rand.org or call (703) 413-1100 x5180.

This newsletter is also available on the RAND Congressional web site »