Many law enforcement agencies are facing an increasingly problematic shortage of police officers due to management difficulties that have been worsened by the existing police subculture, politics, power struggles, and organizational conflicts.
Problems at the CVPD
You are a recruitment officer at the Centervale Police Department (CVPD). There is a new problem being faced by your police department and those around the country. However, the problem seems to be more pronounced in the CVPD. There seems to be a huge difficulty in recruiting new officers. This is because there are very few applicants for the job and a large number of vacancies. This has never happened before.
It appears as though officers are reluctant to join the CVPD. LA has a high rate of crime and not enough staff to control the crime. The superintendent of the CVPD appointed a research team to find out why individuals were opposed to joining the CVPD. This is what the team found:
In an effort to restructure the police force, there is a sudden absence of well-defined roles. New members of the department are confused about the roles they are required to play. Most of the time, there is too much work pressure because they are required to perform functions beyond their expertise. Sometimes, there is no work at all. This causes low morale and low job satisfaction within the employees.
Another significant finding of the research done was that there is an abuse of power in the police force. Recent employees have reported that the sergeants tend to misuse the power they have. Not only do they expect the new employees to obey them blindly, but they also make unfair demands. For instance, three new police officers were put on night patrol duty for three months. During these three months, they were made to do 72 hour shifts on many occasions.
A very crucial finding was that the new employees who have joined the police force as part of the family tradition are disillusioned with the changes in policing. They are not prepared for the new attitude toward policing and the new policies that have developed.
For this assignment you are the recruitment officer in the Centervale Police Department (CVPD), you have been given the responsibility of helping CVPD solve the problem mentioned above. The empty positions in the department need to be filled as soon as possible. To do this, changes have to take place within the organization.
You have to come up with a plan to solve the problem. You need to conduct an analysis and present a report. Your analysis and conclusions should focus on solving the recruitment problems in the CVPD. Your analysis should explore how the CVPD posts can be filled with new and aspiring police officers. In your analytical report, include the following:
What strategies for socialization would you implement to increase the probability of new recruits joining the CVPD? What problems would you anticipate with the proper socialization of the new employees?
What types of power would you attempt to implement within the CVPD to improve the administration of the police department? Why would you choose these types of power over others?
What plans would you put in place to reduce the intraorganziational and interorganizational conflict in the CVPD?