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Consolidating Police Services: An IACP Planning Approach

NCJ Number
207077
Date Published
May 2003
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This guide presents a planning model for jurisdictions considering the consolidation of law enforcement services.
Abstract
The consolidation of law enforcement services presents both benefits and challenges. Part 1 of the guide discusses the benefits and challenges of consolidation and reviews the various types of consolidation. Among the benefits of consolidating law enforcement services are the possibilities of providing a higher volume of police services, lower response time, reduction of duplication, and lower overall operating costs. There are many types of law enforcement consolidation opportunities and communities should choose the model that best fits their needs. Part 2 presents the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) consolidation planning model, which begins with a 1-day retreat to explore the implications of consolidation and follows through to a comprehensive feasibility study that explores all the issues involved with consolidation. Retreat goals and key retreat components are enumerated. Goals include the provision of preliminary information regarding consolidation, the identification of relevant issues, and the identification of the steps necessary to successfully plan and implement consolidation. Retreat components include an issues panel with keynote presentations, breakout planning groups, and an action plan draft. Breakout group topics are provided and issues to discuss with retreat participants are listed. The IACP planning model encourages a series of post-retreat roundtable discussions in which stakeholders further consider the concerns of employees and citizens, as well as departmental values and traditions, legal challenges, government and funding concerns, operational plans, and facility requirements. If the final outcome of the feasibility study is to consolidate law enforcement services, the next “transitional” phase involves the development of action plans to deal with staff concerns, administrative concerns, and facility, vehicle, and equipment concerns. Pilot studies of this IACP planning process have proven successful in Illinois and Wisconsin.