Strategic Plan

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Needs Assessment for Strategic Plan

Criminal Justice

JUS 650: Strategic Analysis and Organizational Planning

Needs Assessment for Strategic Plan

In the United States, law enforcement is at times viewed as a troublesome function associated with excess bureaucracy, underfunding, and disorganized collaboration among agencies. The police department in Portland is dealing with similar issues that are interfering with service delivery. This department's police officers have been operating with little oversight and in disarray, especially when it comes to long-term plans. The majority of the inherent challenges facing the Portland Police Department will be addressed by developing and implementing a strategic plan.

Community Needs

When it comes to crime prevention and law enforcement, several studies have portrayed a negative picture of Portland. Because the Portland area is so large, it's necessary to come up with a broad set of standards that can meet the police department's needs. Portland is Oregon's third most violent city, according to the ratings. While the state is relatively safe in comparison to the other cities, it is by far the largest and most hazardous. According to statistics released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the region is rife with a variety of crimes. Property crime, such as arson, grand theft auto, and extortion, is the most common crime reported in the city. The offenders rarely attack the owners in most of these crimes (Prenzler et al., 2016).

Robbery and assault is the second most common crime in Portland. While the police are to take responsibility for all of these issues, other government departments, such as social services, are also falling short in Portland region. Health services  and shelters provide basic and minimal options for homeless people, which increases the likelihood of them turning to crime. Given Portland's current security situation, it's critical to develop a set of requirements that can address these issues.

The Portland Police Department must recognize that meeting law enforcement and security objectives necessitates implementing the following strategies. The Portland Police Department is in desperate need of control tactics. Patrol officers  need to study and learn more about crowd control, arresting people, and apprehending recalcitrant suspects. This crucial skill lowers the risk of injury and even death for both the public and the law enforcement officers. The acquisition and use of conducted electronic weapons is the departments second most pressing need (CEWs). These are also commonly known as taser devices. Officers in the district must deal with rapidly escalating situations and receive training on how to use these tools (Prenzler et al., 2016). Scenario training is beneficial in containing aggressive individuals in a real-world simulation reduces the likelihood of mistakes while circumventing the problem. The detachment from the community is the department's third need. The Portland Police Department has a strained relationship with the public, which has hampered their ability to work together to reduce crime. In such an environment, initiatives like community oriented policing are a struggle to implement.

Findings

Several useful findings can be derived from the needs assessment section, which can help improve the department's effectiveness. Furthermore, it is commonly found that the Portland region's collaboration with federal security agencies needed to be improved. According to the findings, state police did not provide direct support to their districts, which limited their scope and overall effectiveness. The Oregon State Police recently withdrew their officers from Portland, which had a negative impact on their duty (Rushin, 2017). Deserting the city at a time when it was desperately needed for civil disobedience control. The Portland Police Department also suffers from a severe lack of consistency. The administration has failed to devise a succession strategy to ensure continuity when older officers leave the force. Roughly 45 senior officers were looking to retire from the Portland Police Department in 2019, leaving a void. Failure to find a solution to this issue will lead to long-term staffing issues. Many related agencies, according to More et al. (2012), lack the experience and training to provide advanced support in times of emergency, such as regulating mass demonstrations (More et al., 2012). They can handle low-profile protests, but when the crowd grows larger, the Portland Police Department is unable to control the situation, resulting in chaos. Part of the issue with this jumbled collaboration is that the department's performance suffers as a result. The Department's understaffing was exacerbated by the Reserve Unit's disbandment.

Conclusion

The Portland Police Department is a very important agency in terms of law policing within the city, according to the analysis. Grand theft, burglary, and murder are the most common crimes with assault involved in at the same time.  Creating a strategic plan to address these and other issues is required. Portland's strategic plan's needs assessment revealed issues such as poor communication and cooperation with the public and other government bodies, gross mismanagement, and understaffing. The city requires a great deal of services to actively suppress sporadic public protests. Portland is a large city, and the police force needs to hire more officers to make up for the shortfall. By putting these ideas into action, the Portland Police Department will be able to weather the storm.

References

More, H. W., Vito, G. F., & Walsh, W. F. (2012). Organizational behavior and management in law enforcement (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall (Pearson)

Prenzler, T., Cawthray, T., Porter, L. E., & Alpert, G. P. (2016). Reducing public complaints and use of force: the Portland Police Bureau experience. Journal of Criminological Research, Policy, and Practice.

Rushin, S. (2017). Police Reform during the Trump Administration. U. Ill. L. Rev. Online, 1.