Tier Approach to Investigations

I plan to provide material from chapter 10 regarding tiered investigations on a daily basis. Please read the content and determine if tiered investigations is good for you department.  

Chapter 10:

From a management perspective it does not make good business sense to remove an investigation from the primary component that originally investigated the case if moving the case adds nothing to the investigation.        

Introduction

Many of us have tossed around ideas to enhance police performance and streamline investigative processes for years. Police investigative systems are often impeded by multiple obstacles that, quite frankly should not occur, and that reduce quality and quantity of service. The tier approach to investigations can literally streamline many processes that are created by compartmentalization of police function. Police work is not assembly-line work, it is a complex process comprised of numerous inter-connected variables requiring an integrative process. Achieving an integrative process cannot occur unless patrol and basic detective units are on the same page, which means patrol and general detective personnel must operate at the same level of investigative skill, and mutually share in the investigative process. Patrol and generalist detectives must be cross-trained. There is still room to develop detectives that operate at an expert level, and this process will be described later in the chapter.  However, at this juncture insertion of a new investigative process is essential to create the proactive structures that are essential in creating proactive police organizations. 

Understanding Current Model of Police Investigations  

Several propositions are available for tiered investigations, and the police organization must choose the approach that best suits their situation. Police departments vary from region to region, and what works for one department may not work for another department. The basic concept is simple and most likely would move law enforcement toward a more effective and efficient model of policing. There are three tiers of investigative function, and tier I involves the patrol work group and generalist detectives. First, it is important to understand where the investigative process becomes bogged down and ineffective.  

In looking at the police investigative model provided in figure 10.1 it is immediately noticeable the model resembles a funnel. As with all funnels the top is wide permitting large intake, but if the intake process reaches full capacity the intake overflows at the top because incoming product is not processed quickly enough to exit out of the bottom spout (output). Second, the shape of the funnel has several mechanical or design challenges because the device is constructed in such a way it possesses a maximum capacity, and does not have the capability to expand or contract dependent upon the volume of intake. The funnel represents a closed system in which only a certain volume of product can pass through the system, and if capacity is reached, the intake reservoir will overflow. To fix the funnel to except additional volume, the designer must increase intake capacity, or increase the size of the outflow mechanism (more detectives), or create a new system. Police budgets have been reduced considerably since the “Great Recession,” and it is unlikely that police departments will gain additional personnel in the near future to fix the problem. 

There are many police managers that believe that a problem may be fixed by throwing manpower and money at it, when in fact, changing the system would relieve the problem, and more importantly it would create a better system of investigation. The problem with throwing manpower at a problem is the manager must deplete resources from other units to meet the needs of the struggling unit. In many cases, the unit is struggling because of poor management decisions accumulate for a decade, and the issues and concerns are never addressed. Moving detectives from other investigative details to the struggling detective unit to relieve the problem creates far more issues than what would have occurred if the department would have addressed the initial issues independently. One action produces multiple problematic outcomes. Throwing manpower and money (overtime) at a problem is a quick-fix solution to a procedural problem – address the procedural problem and the symptoms will go away. 

Police Investigative Model

There are several challenges related to the current model of investigations. First, patrol officers usually outnumber detective personnel five to one, and have the capacity to generate five times more work than the investigative units. This is an important consideration when creating proactive police departments because the quantity of work will sky-rocket. Second, detective components have a maximum capacity for workload, which is based on the number of cases assigned to detective groups, and the number of hours available to complete the work. If the workload capacity exceeds the maximum capacity of the investigative work unit, work is not completed timely, it is not completed at all, or the department creates excuses or justification to reject incoming cases. Rejecting incoming cases is a mechanism to control the work flow. When you read about police departments refusing to investigate certain cases this means 1) they probably should not have been investigating the cases in the first place, 2) they do not have sufficient personnel to investigate the cases, and 3) it is an attempt to reduce workload (input) because the department does not possess the capacity to provide the services (output) to customers. The citizen loses and the police department gets an alibi. Further, several police departments have created monetary thresholds for certain property crimes, which relieves them of their duty to investigate crime. From a political capital point of view, crime rates are reduced drastically because crimes which were reported previously are no longer reported creating an illusion that crime is reduced. Not only is this form of behavior an ethical problem, it prevents crime analyst to gain an accurate picture of crime and crime trends. Who is serving whom?    

The bottom line is if the department does not have sufficient personnel to complete investigations, it is essential to create a system capable of handling the workload through effective and efficient procedures and processes, or the department will fail as an organization. Much time has been spent on determining time analysis and workload studies for a reason in this book. Workload studies must be accurate if a new innovation is to be inserted into the organizations using change management strategies. Remember what Kotter writes, organizational leaders must create a sense of urgency that change must occur, and executive staff must come to the understanding that without change the organization will not survive or remain in its mediocre state.   

Excerpt from Proactive Policing Leadership (Hampton, 2016)