273 lines
15 KiB
Plaintext
273 lines
15 KiB
Plaintext
June 1990
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FACILITY PLANNING IN COLORADO: FORM VS.FUNCTION
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By
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James D. Munger
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Chief, Colorado Springs Police Department
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Colorado Springs, Colorado
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and
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Edward Spivey, Ph.D.
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Supervisor, Research and Development Section
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Colorado Springs Police Department
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Colorado Springs, Colorado
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What determines the manner in which a police department
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operates--form or function? Surprisingly, this question appears
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in any number of contexts in any department--policy formulation,
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equipment selection, values orientation, or the design of the
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training curriculum. Whatever the case, the form/function issue
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influences decisively the nature of the organization and the
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agency's mission and goals.
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The Colorado Springs, Colorado, Police Department wrestled
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with this form/function question during the past few years in a
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number of ways, but particularly with regard to police
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facilities. This article will discuss how this police department
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recognized the relationship between its physical accommodations
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and its role in the community and how the department has been
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changed in the process. Of course, this process is not unique to
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this department, but examining it may help other agencies
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involved in self-assessment and future planning.
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THE PROBLEM
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Until the end of World War II, Colorado Springs was a rather
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sleepy, small town whose major claims to fame were its
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spectacular setting and its reputation as a health resort. But,
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the establishment of several permanent military facilities after
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the war led to rapid community growth. By the early 1960s, the
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police department outgrew its accommodations in the basement of
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city hall. A separate police headquarters was built next door,
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but agency functions remained relatively unchanged.
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As often happens with municipal facilities, budgetary
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constraints limited construction to immediate needs. And, no one
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was forewarned of the rapid population growth and the fourfold
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increase in area size that would take place within the next 3
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decades. Within 6 years after it was built, the police building
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could no longer house the police department. Leasing and
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occupying portions of several city-owned structures gained
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additional space in a piecemeal fashion.
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The physical fragmentation of the police department caused
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problems in communications and led to diffused supervisory
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responsibilities. At this time, form determined function. As a
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result, ``turf'' issues began to interfere with operational
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effectiveness, while the department's operating budget eroded
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because duplicate equipment needed to be purchased or additional
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support personnel had to be hired for units in remote locations.
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By the early 1980s, it became clear that organizational
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effectiveness could only be preserved by adequate facilities.
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The relocation of patrol services in temporary facilities on
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opposite sides of town alleviated the most pressing problems.
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This made it possible to reallocate office and parking space at
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headquarters. Patrol officers and sergeants were moved to the
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two ``outpost'' stations but continued to report to a single
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command structure at headquarters.
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Administrators recognized that this fragmentation posed
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organizational problems. Numerous attempts were made to
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reorganize the existing facilities and to redefine operational
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responsibilities more functionally. Planning for new facilities
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continued, and by 1984, the department was committed to the
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construction of permanent patrol substations. Up to this point,
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any recommended changes were consistent with the department's
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mission and remained within the department's traditional
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centralized structure.
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THE PROCESS OF CHANGE
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The appointment of a new chief of police in 1985 coincided
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with the national awakening of interest in redefining law
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enforcement missions in terms of community involvement. The
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department's new administration began an assessment of all agency
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divisions. Task forces, composed of civilians and officers,
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evaluated all aspects of the department both structurally and
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functionally in light of these new ideas.
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After approximately 3 months of study, the task forces
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recommended a major reconfiguration of the department, along with
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a schedule to phase in the changes. An essential element of the
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reconfiguration was to decentralize line operations through three
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divisional substations, while keeping a centralized component for
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citywide functions, such as major crime investigations and
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support services.
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After city authorities accepted the concept, the department
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initiated major planning efforts on several fronts. Budgeting
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was, of course, the first priority. In the past, the department
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made few funding requests for capital improvements; therefore,
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the municipal authorities were more easily persuaded of the need
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for major investments in police facilities. Because of
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additional appropriations and departmental economizing measures,
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the construction of two substations began. The long-range
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strategy was to put these substations into operation, coordinate
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new service delivery methods with a strong emphasis on community
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policing, and then propose a bond referendum to finance a police
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operations center that would include a third substation. During
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the interim, the third patrol division occupied temporary
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quarters that became available when the new substations were
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opened.
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Simultaneously, the department created another captain
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position to serve as station commander, thus permitting the
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reassignment of an experienced captain as a full-time facilities
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planner. The facilities planner and the department's civilian
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Director of Management Services shared the overall responsibility
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of the project, but worked under the direction of the Deputy
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Chief of Administration.
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Early in the process, the department contracted for services
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with an architectural and engineering firm experienced in
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designing law enforcement facilities. The resulting combination
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of operational experience, conceptual innovation, fiscal
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prudence, and technical expertise proved beneficial.
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Departmental planners also took care to coordinate closely with
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the city's administrators and technical agencies to ensure that
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all processes worked smoothly.
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COMMUNITY-ORIENTED OPERATIONS
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New facilities were the glamorous part of the process, but
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laying the groundwork for a decentralized and community-oriented
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operational mode proved more arduous. Computer programs and
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hardware had to be modified so that the transition could be
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smooth. Months before the physical relocation, reporting systems
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were reconfigured to the new geographical patterns. This allowed
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employees to become familiar with the new technical foundations.
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This ``camping out'' period was sometimes hectic and required
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patience from operations personnel and administrators alike, but
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its inconveniences were repaid by the smooth physical transition
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that resulted.
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With the advent of community-oriented policing and
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decentralized service delivery, the department's written
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directives had to be thoroughly revised. The need to redesign
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policies and procedures had become critical because the
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department had also made a philosophical commitment to seek
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national accreditation. Now, facing a complete restructuring,
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this process could not be avoided. Therefore, considerable
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effort was devoted not only to revising manuals for policies and
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procedures but also to reviewing the process for ensuring
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accountability. A task force went through existing directives
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line by line to check for accuracy and adequacy, removing
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obsolete passages and outlining items to be added. The manual
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was then rewritten to bring it into accord with accreditation
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standards and to express policies and procedures more logically.
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Matters that were strictly procedural and subject to frequent
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change were removed from the manual entirely and given to a task
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force of patrol officers, who developed a code of standard
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operating procedures tailored to the new functional
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configuration. By doing so, authority for revising this type of
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directive was moved closer to the operating level.
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THE FINAL PHASE
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Actual construction of the stations began in 1988, after
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exhaustive planning that involved not only administrators and the
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consulting firm but also task forces of patrol officers who would
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be using the new facility. In March 1989, the new stations were
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opened and public tours were conducted for several days. Each
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station contained a large community room, which was open to the
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public for scout meetings, homeowners' association meetings, and
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similar events. Opening the stations to nonpolice activities
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helped to quickly integrate the stations into the neighborhoods,
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and this nonthreatening contact between citizens and officers
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improved significantly the public's view of law enforcement.
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More surprisingly, officers welcomed this contact with
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law-abiding citizens as a healthy influence on their
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perspectives.
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During the final months of construction, the department
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prepared a bond issue proposal to build a police operations
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center, which was approved by the city council for a referendum.
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A ``Police Bond Action Plan'' was developed to saturate the
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community with facts about the importance of the operations
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center to the delivery of effective police services. The plan
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included a comprehensive media awareness effort, coordinating
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presentations to the general public and to community service
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groups, and the development of a citizens' support group, which
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added ideas and raised money for campaign publicity.
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THE RESULTS
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The results of the police department's movement toward
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community policing became evident when a better than two-to-one
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majority of voters approved the police operations center bond.
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The department interpreted these results to be a resounding
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endorsement of a winning combination: Good service delivery,
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thorough and innovative planning, and a strong effort to
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recognize and satisfy the needs of citizens.
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The Colorado Springs Police Department is now moving toward
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developing the operations center. As with the substation
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development, a task force approach again has been adopted and an
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experienced architectural consulting group has been retained.
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This close involvement during the design and construction stages,
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as well as continued involvement by other branches of municipal
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government, provides facilities and services that foster other
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program innovations.
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The most difficult part was not putting the bricks and beams
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into place but initiating the operating structure. Although the
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new facilities and operations services have been shaped, the
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human and organizational engineering will never be completed.
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The department's role in the community has already changed to
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such an extent not believed possible several years ago, and it is
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anticipated that this change will continue as a result of
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intensified community involvement. This process has brought
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about new ways of thinking, acting, and achieving the
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department's mission and goals among all levels of personnel.
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New programs have been implemented, and more are on the way a
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number of them arising from the line units. Having worked
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through the fear and discomfort of escaping traditional molds,
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the department has found a dynamic concept of police work that is
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both stimulating and enjoyable.
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Indeed, the focus must be on function rather than form. As
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long as a police agency is locked into traditional molds,
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innovation is limited to merely rearranging things. Law
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enforcement will always be tasked with necessary chores, such as
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manpower scheduling and allocating vehicles, from which there is
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no escape. And, although a certain sort of creativity is
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involved in these activities, focusing on the overall mission
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brings much more into play. It is essential, however, that the
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definition of mission be derived from the interaction of the
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agency with the community. A definition arising completely from
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within a department is usually less comprehensive.
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Finally, the process can be done only through action.
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References to planning have been made often in this article and
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with good reason. In one sense, everything is a part of
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planning. However, planning consists of much more than academic
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exercises. It must include proper execution, as well as
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reintegrating the results of execution.
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CONCLUSION
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What the Colorado Springs Police Department has learned
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throughout the last few years was certainly aided by research.
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But learning came more by putting the results of the research
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into practice. This requires an organization to work toward a
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major goal.
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This department's goal was to develop more adequate police
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facilities, but other goals would serve as well, providing that
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they are challenging and can involve the whole organization or at
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least a major part of it. The elements within this department
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that benefited most from this reorganization were patrol and
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planning personnel.
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Form and function, product and process, are dull and rather
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abstract terms that are certainly not the everyday topics of
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police discourse. Even though there is no guarantee that another
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agency would reap the same rewards and benefits, enormous gains
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can be made, even at the cost of some psychological and physical
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comfort. The Colorado Springs, Colorado, Police Department has
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shaped its new facilities and will shape those to come. More
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importantly, however, it is also shaping itself in the process.
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