by Chief Greg Savelli
Law enforcement is all about confronting challenges. Most businesses establish goals and objectives that reflect upon a consistent time-line, generally focused on productivity or profitability measures. Law enforcement also establishes goals and objectives, yet the only consistency in our business: our business is not consistent.
A multitude of factors will shape the future of law enforcement. The most obvious is the economy. As we recover from the worst economic downturn in over 80 years, law enforcement, and public service in general, will emerge much different from when we began to confront this challenge. We must be leaner, more cost effective and value driven. The challenge will be to do this while delivering the level of service that is the mainstay of our own existence.
In Hermosa Beach, we pride ourselves on providing “personalized,” front line law enforcement services through unmatched response time, (the time it takes an officer to get to your home or business when called), a stable workforce of employees who truly know our community, and a community that supports localized government.
Communities of our size can easily be part of a larger government entity; be it part of the county, annexed into a larger city or merged with neighboring agencies/cities. Yet our residents, and those of other like-communities demand their own identity and the ability to have an impact on their future through local government services. This continues to be true even in these tough economic times.
It comes with a price tag, but also enhanced services, including “quality of life policing.” For example, we continue to respond to calls for service, such as neighborhood nuisances or minor disturbances, which many police agencies abandoned years ago. Our officers and detectives conduct investigations for thefts, frauds and traffic collisions, which many larger organizations no longer provide.
For police departments like ours the challenge becomes how do we provide this service and ensure it is cost effective, knowing that if we were to give it up, we would lose what give us our identity and value.
To do this, we must continue to be up front with the community. We must listen to just what the community expects of their police department, while educating all as to the actual cost of providing these services. We must overcome the challenges created by recently published system abuses in some communities — the loss of trust and perceived value of public servants due to salary structures and retirement systems. We must repair this by ensuring the community can see and feel the value of its services and people, having an open dialog that explains the systems and ensure we are not squandering their tax money. We must demonstrate to the community our funding is an investment, nor merely a cost, in their community.
Another challenge we are dealing with is the fast pace of changes in technology, such as DNA collection and processing methods. Once reserved for major crimes, these technologies are now being used to solve property and lower level crimes, enabling us to catch criminals as they begin their criminal careers, not later when they advance to higher, more serious crimes.
The emergence of “social media” and its live, “happening now” interactions are also an ongoing challenge. “Point and Click” access to law enforcement is in high demand. Clearly we see its value, but technology does not come cheap. Although many see technology as a “device or a procedure”, the “people element” remains. Law Enforcement must seek out, train and maintain personnel who perform these functions. This means law enforcement may opt to fill more specialized positions in favor of the traditional cop on the beat, with the expectation that the new technology will compensate for the offset of personnel. Use of these technologies can make an organization more “user friendly” and provide cost savings, once established.
Another immediate challenge for law enforcement is the fact that jails and prisons are beyond capacity. Highly trained police officers and the technologies listed above are aiding law enforcement in becoming better at what we do. The result is a penal system exploding at the seams. Law enforcement will be forced to assume a more active role in dealing with these criminals. Literally tens of thousands of these criminals will be released into our communities at one of the worst possible times. Recidivism rates remain extremely high. In an economy where unemployment for law abiding, skilled workers is over 10 percent in state, what will these released criminals do when they cannot find work in order to return to being productive members of our society? Police will be required to engage in the oversight of those released. Technologies such as the electronic tracking of prisoners and the expanded use of “house arrest” will be required.
These are just a few of the challenges facing the future of law enforcement and our communities. These problems require us to work together in finding ways to overcome them. I am confident we are up to the challenge.
Greg Savelli is the Hermosa Beach Police Chief. ER
