A STUDY OF THE ATHTUDES 0F POUCE CHEFS TOWARD CGNSOUBATEON 0F POUCE SERVICES m METROPOLITAN AREAS ‘ Thesis fey the Creme of M. 8. mm»: STATE UNEVERSITY ‘ BARRY a. mums 1973 n‘bfififlu‘tvm. .. u». a... flux 3 . P ~ ... .. ”LO... .1 9 h ._ u... I ‘ .. , . a . L . W 6 ‘n n . o x . d u .. “ QANIJ Q In V a... W l J .. c. ”L. m “run“ WNI‘“ ~ m u-‘A. . . Au. ”s ‘w T .. . r M. Y . . pub ‘ - . \, a a I“ I o n _ a .. . I\ M L «than. .- .x. 1&A \ ,w -. .e .. . A“. w. s O. 53‘ is)“: ‘3‘ _... A STUDY OF THE ATTITUDES OF POLICE CHIEFS TOWARD CONSOLIDATION OF POLICE SERVICES IN METROPOLITAN AREAS BY ,\ Barry BI Billings A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE School of Criminal Justice 1973 Approved by: Umfm Dr. Victor . Strecher Yin/”h Ralph F. Turner Wadi Dr. Robert C. TrojanoWIcz 3/ . vii @‘b ABSTRACT A STUDY OF THE ATTITUDES OF POLICE CHIEFS TOWARD CONSOLIDATION OF POLICE SERVICES IN METROPOLITAN AREAS BY Barry B. Billings The traditional American concept of local government is vividly illustrated by the dozens (sometimes hundreds) of separate, independent governments found in almost any metropolitan area in the United States. This multiplicity of local governments has naturally led to the emergence of thousands of separate, independent police agencies which serve these autonomous governmental units. In our increasingly mobile society, this fragmen- tation and frequently overlapping of police services and authority is an expanding perplexity for officials charged with providing modern, professional, and efficient law enforcement services to the citizens of metropolitan areas. The lack of coordination among agencies which such extreme fragmentation often breeds offers the criminal a distinct opportunity to exploit jurisdictional differences for his own purposes and he has not been hesitant to do so. There appear to be two extremes to the complex issue of consolidation, i.e. total consolidation of all police agencies into one single national or state agency Barry B. Billings or maintenance of the thousands of separate agencies which now exist. Neither extreme is likely to be successful in that the concept of a single national police force is for— eign to the minds of most Americans and yet the present fragmented system does not appear to permit the full poten— tial of law enforcement resources to be employed in the most effective manner. Government and police officials and organizations are currently searching for viable alterna- tives which lie somewhere between these extremes. This study was formulated and conducted in order to examine some of the alternatives which are currently being considered or tried by local governments in the United States, and to determine what the attitudes of police chiefs are in relationship to the merger of police forces and the consolidation of police services which is inherent to most of these alternatives. In pursuing the study, it was postulated that some form of consolidation of police services was a viable con— cept acceptable to many police administrators as an alterna— tive to the present fragmentation and overlapping of police services and authority. An extensive review of the litera— ture was undertaken to gain a sufficient background on the subject which would permit meaningful conduct of the research. The questionnaire was used as the research instru— ment. In the questionnaire, key terms used in the study Barry B. Billings were defined and basic information concerning the respon~ dent‘s community was solicited as well as his attitude toward the consolidation of police services. The sample Consisted of a total of 115 police Chiefs from within the 25 largest Standard Metropolitan Statisti— cal Areas in the United States. In order to insure that any variance in attitude due to city size would be reflected in the results, respondents were randomly selected from cities in four population categories in addition to the central city: 50,000-100,000, 25,000n50,000, 10,000~25,000 and 5,000—10,000. A total of sixty-three completed ques— tionnaires were returned for a response rate of 55 percent. The findings of the study indicated that a majority of the respondents felt that there are too many separate police forces in the United States and that some form of consolidation is viable. The respondents generally favored the consolidation of functions or services over the total merger of agencies. This partial consolidation offers the advantages resulting from joint effort while retaining indi- vidual agency autonomy. They also generally favored the auxiliary type services for consolidation over either staff or field services. Training and investigations are notable exceptions. Training was the most favored function for joint performance by two or more agencies. From these findings, the conclusion was drawn that consolidation is not only feasible but is actually being Barry B. Billings accomplished in many metrOpolitan areas. This consolida- tion is generally taking the form of functional consoli— dation, as opposed to total consolidation. It was further concluded that the prognosis for the future is continuing acceptance of the joint performance of selected services by two or more agencies. Total consolidation may occur in a very few areas, but where it does, it is likely to be preceded by functional consolidation and, more likely than not, will involve city—county consolidation. Inter- agency coordination/cooperation in the performance of selected services on a regional basis is considered to be the form of consolidation which will receive the widest acceptance in the immediate future. A STUDY OF THE ATTITUDES OF POLICE CHIEFS TOWARD CONSOLIDATION OF POLICE SERVICES IN METROPOLITAN AREAS By W Barry B: Billings A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE School of Criminal Justice 1973 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LIST OF FIGURES o o o o ‘o o o o o o o o o o 0 Chapter 1. 2. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE PROBLEM . . . . . . . . . . . . Statement of the Problem . . . . . Nature and Scope of the Study . . Importance of the Study . . . . . Statement of the Hypothesis . . . METHODOLOGY 0 o o c o o o o o o o 0 DEFINITION OF TERMS . . . . . . . . ORGANIZATION FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE STUDY 0 O O O C O O O O O O 0 Chapter 2, Review of Related Literature 0 O O O O O O O O O 0 Chapter 3, Review of Alternatives Chapter 4, Research Findings . . . Chapter 5, Summary and Conclusions REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE . . . . . TYPES AND HISTORY OF GOVERNMENTAL CONSOLIDATION . . . . . . . . . . Consolidation and Annexation . . City-County Consolidation . . . . ii Page vii l4 l7 l7 l7 I7 18 l9 19 20 21 Chapter Federation . . . . . . . . . . . . . Council of Governments . . . . . . . THE BRITISH EXPERIENCE . . . . . . . . LEVELS OF POLICE JURISDICTION IN THE UNITED STATES . . . . . . . . . . . State Police . . . . . . . . . . . . County Police . . . . . . . . . . . Township Police . . . . . . . . . . Municipal Police . . . . . . . . . . Special District Police . . . . . . POLICE SERVICES COMMONLY CONSOLIDATED Staff Services . . . . . . . . . . . Auxiliary Services . . . . . . . . . Field Services . . . . . . . . . . . TYPES OF POLICE SERVICE CONSOLIDATION Contract Law Enforcement . . . . . . County Subordinate Services District Regional Cooperation . . . . . . . . 3. REVIEW OF ALTERNATIVES . . . . . . . . . PRESSURES FOR CONSOLIDATION . . . . . ARGUMENTS AGAINST CONSOLIDATION . . . COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVES . . . . . . 4. RESEARCH FINDINGS . . . . . . . . . . . iii Page 25 27 28 34- 35 36 37 37 38 39 39 4O 42 43 44 47 49 51 51 55 57 64 iv Chapter 3 _ Page 5. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . 105 PROBLEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . 106 IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE STUDY . . . . . . . 108 PROGNOSIS FOR THE FUTURE . . . . . . . . . . 109 BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 A. Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 B. Questionnaire Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 C. Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Table 10. 11. LIST OF TABLES Percentage Response to Questionnaire by Size of City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . High, Low, and Median Number of Police Employees for Each Population Category . . Percentage of Agreement That There Are Too Many Separate Police Departments in the U08. 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o c Q o 0 Percentage of Agreement That There Are Too Many Separate Police Departments Around Respondent's Community . . . . . . . . . . Percentage of Agreement That Some Police Services Are Duplicated by Another Agency in Respondent's Community . . . . . . . Percentage of Responses Showing Whether or not Total Consolidation Has Been conSidered O O O O O I O O O O O O O O O 0 Percentage Response Concerning Feasibility of Total Consolidation of Police Services in Some Communities . . . . . . . . . . Percentage Response Concerning Feasibility of Total Consolidation in Respondent's Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Percentage Response Concerning Feasibility of Contract Police Services for Some Communities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Percentage Response Concerning Feasibility of Contract Police Services for Respondent's Community . . . . . . . . . Percentage Response Concerning Whether Cooperation/Coordination Has Been Considered in Respondent's Community . . . Page 64 68 69 70 71 73 74 76 77 79 81 Table 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. vi Page Percentage Response Concerning Feasibility of Cooperation/Coordination of Some Police Services in Some Communities . . . 82 Percentage Response Concerning Feasibility of Cooperation/Coordination of Some Police Services in Respondent's Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Percentage Response Concerning Services Performed Under Written or Informal Agreements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Percentage Response Concerning Concept Offering Most Potential for Metropolitan Area Law Enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Percentage Response Concerning Concept Offering Least Potential for Metropolitan Law Enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Number of Respondents Reporting Ownership or Operation of Specialized Police Equipment/Facilities Listed in Rank Order of Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Percentage of Respondents Who Are Now or Favor Performing Specific Police Services With Another Police Agency . . . . . . . . 93 Percentage of Response Concerning Whether or not Total Consolidation Would Work in Respondent's Community . . . . . . . . 98 Percentage of Response Concerning Whether or not Cooperation/Coordination Would Work in Respondent's Community . . . . . . 99 Percentage of Respondents Who Have Participated in a Previous Survey on Consolidation of Police Services . . . . . 102 Figure LIST OF FIGURES Relative Degree of Favorableness Expressed by Respondents Toward Joint Performance of Functions Listed in Question 20 . . . Percentage of Police Chiefs in the Central City Group Who EXpressed Favorable Response Toward Consolidation as a Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Percentage of Police Chiefs in the 50,000— 100,000 Group Who Expressed Favorable Response Toward Consolidation as a Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Percentage of Police Chiefs in the 25,000— 50,000 Group Who Expressed Favorable Response Toward Consolidation as a Concept . . . . . . . .'. . . . . . . . Percentage of Police Chiefs in the 10,000- 25,000 Group Who Expressed Favorable Response Toward Consolidation as a Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Percentage of Police Chiefs in the 5,000- 10,000 Group Who Expressed Favorable Response Toward Consolidation as a Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Average Percentage of Respondents Who Expressed Favorableness Toward Consolidation to Questions 5-7,9-12, 14,15,17,18,22 and 23 . . . . . . . . . vii Page 96 134 135 136 137 138 139 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION The machinery of law enforcement in this country is fragmented, complicated and frequently overlapping. America is essentially a nation of small police forces, each Operating independently within the limits of its jurisdiction. . . . Coordination of activity among police agencies, even when the areas they work are contiguous or overlapping, tends to be sporadic and informal, to the extent that it exists at all. This serious obstacle to law enforcement is most apparent in the rapidly developing areas of the country. . . This statement, taken from the 1967 report by the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice, succinctly depicts the status of law enforcement agencies in the United States and aptly introduces the sub- ject of this study. It appropriately offers for considera- tion a complex issue that is contemporary and of mounting concern to citizens and public officials responsible for providing adequate police protection, especially in metro- politan areas. For many officials and agencies, the present fragmentation of police services is a continuing perplexity which presents an increasingly intolerable situation for law enforcement in the United States and they view the quest for suitable alternatives as imperative. 1The President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice, The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1967), 119. l THE PROBLEM Commerce, industry, culture, thought, and most of the other institutions of the country are centered in the metrOpolitan areas. These areas are facing a rising number of problems and are encountering increasing difficulty in solving their problems. Crime in the streets, pollution, and transporation tieups are but a few of the difficulties that city administrators now face with no easy solution readily apparent for any of them. Solution of these prob- lems is not made easier by the multiplicity of govern- ments in the areas. Local government itself is extremely fragmented, esPecially in metrOpolitan areas. A cursory glance at a map of almost any metropolitan area in the United States will reveal a multitude of independent, local governments. The 1966 Municipal Yearbook reported there were 91,236 governmental units in the United States in 1962'. The Committee for Economic DevelOpment reported in 1970 that the national average was ninety-one local governments per metropolitan area. This "average" jumps to a phenomenal 113 local governments in the Chicago metropolitan area; 871 in the Philadelphia area; 704 in the Pittsburgh area; and 551 in the New York area.2 2Committee for Economic Development, Reshaping Government in MetrOpolitan Areas (New York: Committee for Economic Development, 1970), p. 13. A citizen in any urban area will be served by at least four separate local governments: a municipality or township (or both, as in the author's hometown in New York State), a county, a school district, and one or more special districts such as water or garbage collection. Residents of Blue Island, Illinois, are served by thirteen separate, independent, local governmental units.3 In view of this multiplicity of local governments, with overlapping powers, it is not surprising that police services are equally divided among thousands of separate agencies. Police departments are, after all, an arm of government and as such reflect the image of the governments they serve. Police authority which ends at the city boundary has long been recognized as a serious problem for law enforcement but no real progress has been made in resolving it. Meanwhile, the perpetrators of crime take full advan- tage of the jurisdictional restraints placed upon the police, for as Vollmer said in 1936: "For the transgressor, geo- graphical boundaries have been obliterated."4 Unfortunately, for the police these geographical boundaries are very real and still exist. 31bid. 4August Vollmer, The Police and Modern Society (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1936), p. 4. Reith said that "The multiplicity of independent forces under local control produces chaos and impotence as the result of overlapping of functions and duties."5 Such fragmentation of police forces exists to such an extent in the United States that the duplication of effort and waste of resources is obvious to even the casual observer. Police services are provided by over 40,000 separate police departments ranging in size from 33,000 employees in New York City to only one part-time officer in thousands of small communities. Approximately 39,000 of these depart- ments consist of fewer thantxnimen.6 In the Chicago area alone, there are six sheriff offices and 201 municipal police departments (112 of them in Cook County). Ninety- . three of these communities around Chicago have fewer than 5,000 inhabitants yet maintain their own police force.7 Most police forces in the United States, despite the large-scale influx of money for increased personnel and equipment in recent years, would probably report that they are understaffed. Their individual claim would undoubtedly be correct, but the fact is that collectively 5Charles Reith, The Blind Eye of History (London: Faber and Faber, Limited, 1952), p. 104. 6David L. Norrgard, Regional Law Enforcement (Chicago: Public Administration Service, 1969). p. l. 7Daniel L. Skoler and June M. Hetler, "Criminal Administration and the Local Government Crisis: The Challenge of Consolidation," The Prosecutor, V (July-August, 1969), 263. there are over 500,000 policemen nationally, which aver- ages out to one policeman for every 400 citizens.8 Frag- mentation, uncoordinated effort, and ineffective manage- ment, however, often prevent the most effective utilization of these personnel resources. Small police departments, especially those in large metropolitan areas, are likely to be confronted with all the problems, on a smaller scale, of their big—city neigh— bors yet often cannot afford the means to combat them effectively. The small-city policeman needs professional training as much or more than his big-city brother. The need for modern supportive services does not diminish as the department size decreases, but the availability of such services is greatly reduced. I These smaller cities, with a smaller tax base, may find it difficult to support the high costs of personnel and equipment for even a very basic and modest police force. SOphisticated radio systems, modern records systems, crime laboratories, and an independently supported training academy are usually out of the question. Thousands of citizens in many of these smaller communities across the country, therefore, do not receive modern, professional police protection. State police forces are widely dispersed, 8Committee for Economic Development, Reducing Crime and Assuring Justice (New York: Committee for Economic Development, 1972), p. 30. their effort directed mainly at highway patrol (in some states this is their only authority), and therefore are usually unable to fill the gap. Fortunately, the necessity for some kind of regional planning and coordination is being increasingly recognized by business and political leaders. The 1972 Municipal Year- book reported that regionalism is being reflected in many fields such as airports, transit systems, etc., and that regional planning arrangements are occurring most frequently. It reported that the trend toward intergovernmental c00per- ation continues and is reflected in a growing number of intergovernmental ventures in cooperation, ranging from agreements on specific issues or services to complete con- solidation of all governmental functions. Some form of consolidation or coordination of police services may also offer an acceptable approach to meeting the rising demand for professional police protection and area-wide police jurisdiction. This study will examine this hypothesis. Despite much controversy on the matter of consoli- dation, it is interesting to note that 71 percent of the police administrators reSponding to the questionnaire in this study stated that they had never participated in a survey on this subject before. Statement of the Problem This study attempts to examine what has been accom- plished in the area of consolidation of police services, and to determine what the attitudes of police chiefs are in relationship to the merger of police forces and consoli- dation of police services. Nature and Scope of the Study This study reviews the history of consolidation efforts ranging from the complete merger of entire govern- mental units or police agencies to the consolidation of only specific police services or functions. Walter Kreutzer, in discussing new directions for law enforcement, said: In the United States, we tend to think of either a police state concept or a totally decentralized system. There must be a position in between where a number of our police forces can be consolidated for better man- agement. But how do we start and when?9 This study attempts to examine some of these "in between" alternatives currently available for consideration by police and public officials interested in offering the best possible police protection for the dollar spent. The British police have recently undergone a massive amalgamation effort, and their experience in this endeavor is also reviewed in the study. To obtain a first-hand indication on sentiments "in the field," the study included a query of operational police 9Walter E. Kreutzer, "New Directions for U.S. Law Enforcement," The Police Chief, XXX (October, 1972), 37. chiefs to determine their attitudes toward consolidation of police services as a viable concept. The study is basically exploratory in nature, and for reasons of time, expense, and a manageable research project, the empirical aspects of the study are limited to the twenty-five largest Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSA) in the United States. Importance of the Study This study is important in that it is timely and addresses a very real and practical problem which is cur— rently confronting officials in metropolitan areas. Every citizen, directly or indirectly, is affected by the frag- mentation of police agencies and its impact on the cost and quality of police services which they pay for and may or may not receive. The data in this study, compiled from many sources, may hopefully offer future investigators a launching pad from which to pursue the issue of consolidation of police services in more depth. Statement of the Hypothesis It is hypothesized that the consolidation of police services, total or partial, in metropolitan areas is con- sidered a viable concept by many police administrators as an alternative to the fragmentation among multiple jurisdictions which presently exists in most metropolitan areas in the United States. METHODOLOGY In order to gain background information on the sub- ject, considerable time was expended in browsing through numerous books and screening periodical indexes. All ref- erences to consolidation, intergovernmental or inter-agency c00peration/coordination, mutual aid, centralized operations, etc. were reviewed and evaluated. In an effort to gain the most up-to-date information available on the current thoughts and philoSOphies of peOple knowledgeable on the subject, letters were sent to the following organizations: 1. 'International City Managers Association (ICMA) 2. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) 3. The Public Administration Service (PAS) 4. The Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) 5. The Committee for Economic Development (CED) 6. National Association of Counties (NACO) 7. British Information Services (New York Office) 8. British Consulate General (Detroit) Five of the above addressees were kind enough to reply with information or references which were of immense value in establishing a foundation of knowledge upon which 10 to pursue the study. This research provided an apprecia- tion of the problems involved, philosphical arguments for Iand against consolidation, and some of the history of con- solidation. In order to obtain a feeling for the acceptability of consolidation as a viable concept by police administra— tors actively involved with meeting community pressures and supplying police services, it was considered necessary to query them directly to learn their attitudes toward con- solidation or c00perative ventures. The study was explor- atory in nature, and was not intended or designed to pro— vide statistically provable data which could be generalized to the nation as a whole. It was hoped, however, that the information obtained would be helpful in the evaluation of alternative means of providing police services and of atti- tudes held by Operational police chiefs in some of the larger metropolitan areas on the subject being studied. It would, of course, have been preferable to have conducted the reSearch through personal observation and interviews with a much larger number of police administra- tors. Restrictions imposed by the magnitude of such an effort, time, and limited financial resources precluded such an extensive undertaking. For practical reasons, therefore, the sample was limited to the police chiefs of 115 cities in the United States ranging in population from 5,000 to over 7,000,000 11 inhabitants. The sample was stratified according to popu- lation in order to obtain the opinions of large-, medium-, and small-city police administrators. It was felt that the size of the city and the size of the police department might affect the police administrators' perspective on the subject, and that this poSsible variance in outlook should be taken into account in the conduct of the survey. The twenty-five largest Standard Metropolitan Sta- tistical Areas (SMSA) in the United States, as defined by the U.S. Bureau of the Budget, were selected for the survey. In addition to the SMSA central cities, one other city within each SMSA was selected for each of four other popu- lation categories. The five population groups (including the central city) are listed below with the number of cities sampled in each group indicated in parentheses: 1. SMSA central city (25) 2. 50,000-100,000 (21) 3. 25,000-50,000 (24) 4. 10,000-25,000 (24) 5. 5,000 ‘10,000 (21) Total 115 Six of the SMSA's did not have suburban communities in all of the four population categories; hence, a total sample of 115 instead of the 125 which would otherwise have been obtained. This factor is not considered at all 12 detracting from the study, however, as some of the SMSA's may have experienced varying degrees of consolidation. All cities were selected according to the following criteria: 1. Arbitrary selection of the central city from the twenty-five largest Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas as defined by the Bureau of the Budget (1970 census). 2. Population categories for communities surround- ing the SMSA central city were selected to provide 1arge-, medium-, and small-city representation. The precise limits of the four population categories were arbitrarily selected, but do coincide with those categories used by the Inter- national City Managers Association in its Municipal Yearbook and with those used in the FBI Uniform Crime Reports. 3. Only incorporated cities or villages were selected. 4. The suburban communities were randomly selected from the metropolitan area of each SMSA as defined by the Number of Inhabitants series of publications prepared for each state by the Bureau of the Census. A questionnaire comprised of twenty—seven questions was mailed to the police chiefs of the 115 cities selected for the sample. The enveIOpes were personally addressed to the police chief, by name, except in nine cities for which the name of the police chief could not be ascertained. 13 The questionnaire was divided into three parts. Part I contained four definitions of terms used in the sur- .vey. Part II contained four questions requesting data on the community such as name of the community, number of police employees, and whether or not the respondent desired to have his community identified in'the survey. Part III contained twenty-three questions pertaining to consolida- tion. All except three questions were of the check-a-box type in order to facilitate answering by the respondent. Question #21 asked for respondents who had experienced consolidation in their communities to indicate the major benefit or disadvantage deriving from the consolidation. Question #25 asked respondents who felt that consolidation would not work in their community to state what they per- ceived as the chief obstacle to consolidation. Question #27 was an open—ended question which gave respondents an Oppor- tunity to make any comment they desired on the subject. Throughout the questionnaire, space was provided for com- ments if the respondent felt the structured answers were unsuitable for his response. A cover letter identifying the author and explain- ing the purpose of the study was included with each ques- tionnaire, along with a self-addressed return envelOpe. Two weeks after mailing the questionnaire, a reminder post card was mailed to those who had not yet responded to the 14 questionnaire. A copy of the cover letter and question— naire is in Appendix A. DEFINITION OF TERMS Consolidation-~In its broadest sense, consolidation refers to the merger of one governmental jurisdiction, or function thereof such as police protection, with another governmental jurisdiction, or function thereof. The merger may be complete or include only one function or even only a portion of one function. Total Consolidation-~The complete merger of all functions of two or more governments or police departments into one single government or police department with area— wide jurisdiction. COOperation/coordination--The partial consolidation of police services effected by merging specific functional units of two or more agencies. The merger usually involves a written agreement wherein participating agencies agree to jointly provide a common service such as training, radio dispatching, centralized records, etc. The participating departments remain separate but merge or pool their resources to jointly perform a certain service or function. Police Services--Those functions or activities which police agencies perform in the enforcement of the laws or in support of their law enforcement efforts. 15 Generally speaking, such services come under three cate- gories commonly called staff, auxiliary, and field services. Staff Services--"Non-line functions and activities used to develOp personnel and departments to effectively meet police responsibilities.“lo These services generally include recruitment, selection, and training of personnel, "planning, public information, and internal investigations. Auxiliary Services--"Non-line functions other than staff services, which provide technical, special or sup- portive services to other non-line or line elements of a ll 0 I I " These serVIces include records, communica- department. tions, crime laboratories, detention facilities, etc. Field Services--"Line functions and activities directly concerned with the fulfillment of primary police responsibilities."12 These services include patrol, crim- inal investigations, vice and delinquency control. Annexation--Means whereby a community absorbs area, usually unincorporated urbanized area just outside its boundary. Federation-—Essentially a two-tiered level of local government wherein some functions are performed by an 10The President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice, Task Force Report: The Police (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1967), p. 68. 11 12 Ibid. Ibid. 16 area-wide government while others are performed by a smaller local government. Council of Governments--Voluntary association of local governments aimed at coordinating resolution of area- wide problems. Regional Cooperation--Cooperation and coordination among various local governments or police agencies in a particular geographical area in the performance of one or more functions of law enforcement such as regional training academies or police information systems. City-County Consolidation--City and county govern- ments or agencies merge to form one single government or agency. Contract Law Enforcement-~The provision of all police services by contract with another government. Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area--Except in New England states, a Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) is a county or contiguous counties which con- tains at least one city of 50,000 inhabitants or more or "twin cities" with a combined population of at least 50,000. Contiguous counties are included in a SMSA if according to certain criteria, they are socially and economically inte- grated with the central city. In New England, SMSA's con- sist of towns and cities instead of counties. l7 ORGANIZATION FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE STUDY The remainder of the study is organized into four additional chapters. Briefly stated, these chapters address the following: Chapter 2, Review of Related Literature This chapter will focus on a review of the litera- ture pertaining to consolidation, and will include the history of governmental consolidation as well as police services consolidation. Varying forms of consolidation will be examined along with where they have been implemented. The chapter will also include a look at the British exper- ience in consolidating its police service. Chapter 3, Review of Alternatives This chapter will examine the more commonly expressed arguments for and against consolidation, and will offer comparison of some of the more frequently advanced types of governmental and police services consolidation. Chapter 4, Research Findings This chapter will describe in detail the findings of the study on a question-by-question basis. Chapter 5, Summary and Conclusions This chapter will briefly summarize the problem and basic findings, and will offer the author's conclu- sions and prognosis for the future. 18 Chapter 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE A comprehensive review of the literature pertaining to consolidation of police services was undertaken to develOp a knowledgeable foundation on the subject. This review extended to governmental consolidation, since gov- ernment fragmentation is as much responsible for the multi- plicity of police agencies as any other single factor. Types of governmental mergers, methods of consolidating police services only and where such consolidation has been effected (to include the British eXperience with amalgama- tion schemes) are examined in this chapter. TYPES AND HISTORY OF GOVERNMENTAL CONSOLIDATION Prior to discussing consolidation of police ser- vices specifically, it is felt that some discussion of over- all governmental consolidation must be undertaken because any consolidation of total government will necessarily) include police services in most cases. The total consolidation of existing governments reduces the number of governmental units and therefore has probably been the most attractive to reformers.' Total consolidation, however, has not been generally accepted as 19 20 a cure for metrOpolitan ills in the United States. Even among those who agree on the need for joint action on met- rOpolitan problems, there is considerable disagreement as to the nature and extent of consolidation or cooperation requirements. The greatest alteration to existing govern- mental units usually results from geographical consolida- tion, annexation, city-county consolidation, and federation. Consolidation and Annexation Total consolidation involves the complete merger of two or more existing governments. It has not been easy to achieve in this country because some state statutes do not permit it and others impose very strict requirements for implementation. The tradition of local self-government is highly prized in the United States, and the concept of home rule is very strong in many states. Advocates of home rule can usually be expected to resist any infringement on home rule powers. Annexation is one means of total consolidation in which a community absorbs area, usually unincorporated urbanized area, just outside its boundary. Annexation is difficult to achieve due to state prohibitions and stringent requirements. Numerous other obstacles, which will be dis- cussed in a later chapter, add to the difficulty of effect- ing consolidation or annexation. 21 City-County Consolidation City-county consolidation, to many, is presently offering one of the most promising forms of providing area- wide government when the urban area is situated within one county. It has the advantage of utilizing an already exist- ing government and most municipal functions can be trans- ferred to the county level. Two major hindrances to city- county consolidation are state restrictions and the fact that many metropolitan areas, eSpecially the larger ones, cover more than one county. City-county consolidations occurred in the nine- teenth century in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and New Orleans. After that, little interest was shown in this type of consolidation until Baton Rouge and Baton Rouge Parish merged in 1947. Other minor consolidations occurred in Virginia in 1952, 1962, and 1971, in which Elizabeth City County and Hampton formed the new city of Hampton (1952); Princess Anne County and Virginia Beach merged into the new city of Virginia Beach and Norfolk County and South Norfolk formed the new city of South Norfolk (1962). Nansemond County, in 1971, merged with two unincorporated towns to form the city of Nansemond (population 32,000). In 1969, Ormsby County, Nevada, merged with Carson City.1 1"Mergers Reviewed for Local Units," National Civic Review, LXI (September, 1972), 417. 22 The Nashville-Davidson County merger in 1962, how- ever, was the first major city-county consolidation in the United States in this century. The county is divided into a "general services district" and an "urban district" for funding purposes, and residents of the county pay for ser- vices in accordance to what they receive. The general services district covers the entire county, and residents receive and pay for designated area-wide services including poliCe, courts, and jails. In the urban district, residents pay for an increased level of such services as police, fire, sewage, and street lighting. Nashville Finance Director Joe E. Torrence has said that the elimination of duplicating services cut costs and estimates that taxes would be 30 to 40 per cent higher under the old system of government than they are now. He stated that despite a recent prOperty tax hike (first since 1964), Nashville still has the lowest tax rate of any large city in Tennessee.2 C. Beverly Briley, Mayor of Nashville- Davidson County, estimated savings of $4 million in dupli- cated costs in capital outlay and $40 million a year in operation costs through consolidation of services.3 2“And a Look at Three Other Area Wide Governments, Business Week, LXXII (January 3, 1972), 36. 3"Seminar: City-County Consolidation," The American County, February, 1972, p. 7. 23 The Jacksonville-Duval County, Florida, merger received voter approval in 1967, and reportedly has experi- enced similar monetary savings in the cost of government. Jacksonville has held the line on property taxes while they have risen astronomically in other cities, according to city officials. Merger of separate city-county tax assessors' offices netted a savings of $350,000, and central- ized purchasing of police vehicles saved another $500,000.4 Other recent city-county consolidations that have received voter approval are Marion County and Indianapolis, Indiana (1969), and Muscogee County and Columbus, Georgia (1970). City-county consolidation is being considered in Savannah-Chatham County, Georgia; Lexington-Fayette County, Kentucky; Lincoln-Lancaster County, Nebraska; Albuquerque- Bernalillo County, New Mexico; and Utica-Oneida County, New York. In Niagara County, New York, consolidation of three cities, twelve towns, and five villages into a single government is under study.5 The Municipal Yearbook, 1972, reported that 11 per— cent of the counties in the United States reported that they were studying consolidation in their area. Nineteen per cent of these believe that a proposal for consolidation 4"A Cure for City Blight--The Jacksonville Story," U.S. News and World Report, LXXII (January 3, 1972), 34. 5"Mergers Reviewed for Local Units," op. cit., pp. 417-18. 24 will be put before the voters in a referendum within two years. Not everywhere, however, has the call for consoli- dation received enthusiastic approval. Many urban areas simply are not considering such a proposal, and in others the proposal has been flatly rejected by the voters. City- county consolidations have been attempted in twenty-seven instances in the United States since 1947, mostly in the southern states. Only twelve of the twenty-seven attempts have received voter approval in the last twenty-five years.6 Since 1969, voters have turned down consolidation preposals in Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida.7 The first defeat of a consolidation prOposal in 1973 has already occurred in Wilmington-New Hanover County, North Carolina, where the vote was nearly 3 to 1 against consolidation.8 Some officials believe that a step-by-step consol- idation of city and county functions is feasible, and in some cases preferable to a full consolidation. Monroe County, New York, for example, performs nineteen functions for the city of Rochester and several municipalities and 6Richard L. Black, "Contract Services--A Plan of Government for Charleston Co.," New County_Times, February 2, 1973. 7 p. 418. “Mergers Reviewed for Local Units," 0p. cit., 8"First Consolidation Try Defeated," New County Times, II (March 9, 1973), 5. 25 townships within the county.9 With few exceptions, in fact, those jurisdictions viewed as being closest to total consolidation underwent functional consolidation prior to . . 10 reorgan121ng to a new form of government. Federation The federation plan involves the creation of a new level of government which is above the existing local gov- ernments but below the state government. It is essentially a two-tiered government in which some functions are per- formed by the area government, some by the local government, but most are shared. Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is generally recognized as the first city in the Western Hemisphere to experiment with the federation form of government. Originally estab— lished in 1954, Metropolitan Toronto consisted of thirteen municipalities which were later reduced to six in 1967.11 One metropolitan police force organized in five districts covers the entire metr0politan area without regard for local boundaries.12 Leonard supported this concept for 9"Recipe for Better Local Government," New County Times, II (March 9, 1973), 8. lOIbid. lMetropolitan Toronto Planning Board, Metropolitan Toronto, 1967 (Toronto: Miln-Bingham,Limited, 1967): P. 2. 12Committee for Economic DevelOpment, Reshaping Government in Metropolitan Areas, 0p. cit., p. 76. 26 police consolidation, and stated that the continued exis- tence of multiple police jurisdictions in a single metro- politan area is incompatible with any reasonable concept of efficient police administration. He offered the "fed- erated" system of police organization as an acceptable alternative in that it encompasses the advantages of a single police authority without abolishing the principle of local autonomy.l3 In the United States, Dade County (Miami), Florida, is probably the most notable example of federation. Metro- politan government for the county was created in 1957, with the goal of improving standards and ending duplication of services among twenty-seven municipalities in the county. It has moved slowly, consolidating services rather than the municipalities themselves. The metrOpolitan government controls area-wide functions and the cities retain control over strictly local matters. Federation has been turned down by voters in Oakland, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, San Francisco, Boston, and Cleveland.14 13V. A. Leonard, The Police Enterprise: Its Organi- zation and Management (Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher, 1969), p. 38. 14Brett W. Hawkins, Nashville Metro (Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 1966), p. 13. 27 Council of Governments Another approach to solving area problems which is receiving growing attention is the council of governments. The council of governments is a voluntary association of local governments within a region which desire to partici— pate in planning and coordinating actions aimed at resolv- ing region-wide problems._ The council of governments is not a government and is not intended to become one. Its goal is to aid local governments to perform better and to help them c0pe with problems which are of a regional nature. Opponents generally attack the council of governments con- cept on the basis that its voluntarism is a built-in weak- ness which precludes true effectiveness. Others feel that voluntarism is actually the strength of the concept. It is apparent, however, that many people view the council of governments as the up-and-coming method of attacking regional problems without relinquishing local control. The 1972 Municipal Yearbook reported that the council of governments concept of regional planning and coordination continues to grow. Over five hundred regional councils of government were formed in the United States between 1966 and i970.15 15"Where Regional Planners Call the Shots," Business Week, February 21, 1970, p. 72. 28 THE BRITISH EXPERIENCE The first paid, organized police force in Great Britain was established in London as a result of the Metro- politan Police Act of 1829.16 Toward the close of the nine- teenth century, it was already recognized that many of the police forces being formed were too small for effective administration, and two acts were enacted limiting the establishment of new forces. The Municipal Corporations Act of 1877 stipulated that no new borough of less than 20,000 population could form a separate police force.17 The Local Government Act of 1888 further limited the num— ber of separate forces by requiring the police forces of all boroughs with populations of less than 10,000 to con- solidate with the appropriate county force.18 Nevertheless, by 1938 there were approximately 1,100 police forces in the country.19 Limited consolidation of police forces was effected following World War I, and as a result of the Police Act of 1946. Following the amalgamations initiated as a result of l6James Conlin, Local ang_Central Government: Police Administration (London: Cassell and Company, Limited, 1967), p. 82. l7British Information Services, The Police Service in Britain, Publication No. RF.P. 5598/69 (London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1969), p. 5. 18Ibid. 19 Skoler and Hetler, loc. cit. 29 the Police Act Of 1964, the number of separate police departments was reduced to 124.20 In 1966, the Home Secretary announced a scheme of amalgamations which reduced the number of police forces in England and Wales to forty-seven by April 1, 1969. These forces are: The Metropolitan Police, The City of London Police, county police (five), county borough police (six), and combined police (thirty-four).21 The combined police forces serve two or more counties. In contrast to police forces in the United States, there are no police forces with any overlapping authority in Britain. Each force is given sole responsibility for the performance of police services within its own geograph- ical area, and there are no national or other law enforce- ment agenCies superimposed by any level of government upon the forty-seven local police forces in Britain. The 'British police closely coordinate matters of intercity or national consequence, and benefit from the elimination of problems created by overlapping jurisdictions.22 Although there are significant differences between the police systems in the United States and Britain, there 20Conlin, 0p. cit., p. 99. 21British Information Services, 0p. cit., pp. 6—7. 22Samuel G. Chapman, The Police Heritage in England and America (East Lansing, Michigan: MichIgan State University, 1962), p. 17. 30 is one common principle which both nations share--each community is responsible for its own law and order.23 This democratic approach to control of the police is exercised in vastly different ways, however. In the United States, local control is characterized by over 40,000 separate police forces, overlapping police authority by varying levels of government, the absence of uniformity, and a lack of standards for performance established by the national or even the state governments. In Britain, however, the local community exercises direct control over the police through a local police authority but the central government also influences the police in that the Home Secretary must approve the appointment of the chief and assistant chief constables, the establishment of the force, and the provi- sion of buildings, vehicles, and equipment. The police authority for the county and county borough forces is a committee of the appropriate council, two thirds of whose members are elected councillors and one third local magistrates. For the combined police forces, the police authority is composed of representatives of the councils of the counties and county boroughs which were amalgamated for that purpose, and magistrates from the local area. The Home Secretary serves as the police author- ity for the MetrOpolitan Police and the police authority for 23Ibid., p. 8. 31 the City of London Police is the city's governing body, the Court of Common Council.24 Although the Home Office does not exercise Opera— tional control over local police forces, it does exercise a moderate degree of influence and guidance in a variety of ways. Established goals of the Home Office in relation to police services are to (l) ascertain compliance with standards established for all police forces in England and Wales, (2) offer advice and assistance to local police, and (3) stimulate local police as individual forces to recogé nize and meet prevailing problems.25 One of the ways the Home Office influences police matters is in approving appointments to chief constable. Chief constables for the local police forces are very care- fully selected, and when a vacancy is anticipated, the position is advertised throughout the country. The local police authority submits a list to the Home Office of the six or seven candidates it considers most eligible, and the Home Office certifies the names of those candidates deemed suitable. Following consultation between the Home Office and the police authority, a chief constable is appointed by the police authority with approval of the Home Secretary. OnCe appointed, the chief constable may be 24British Information Services, op. cit., pp. 7-9. 25Chapman, op. cit., p. 18. 32 dismissed only for cause.26 Lateral transfers among departments of different jurisdictions is extremely rare in the United States (except occasionally at the chief level). In Britain, however, the importance of a broad-based back- ground obtainable in part through transfers within the police service was recognized in 1964 when it was ruled that a candidate for chief constable must have had at least two years experience, in the rank of inspector or above, in another police force.27 Another means of control or influence exercised by the Home Office is through inspection of local units. Six men with no command responsibility serve as Her Majesty's Inspectors of Constabulary.28 These men are selected for their understanding of the overall police functions and conduct detailed inspections of local forCes. They report their findings to the Home Secretary and certify that the police force is or is not considered suitably efficient to receive grants from the national government. Further uniformity and coordination is obtained by centrally Operating, through the Home Office, certain com- mon services which facilitate better COOperation amOng the 261bid., p. 19. 27T. A. Critchley, A History of Police in England and Wales 900-1966 (London: Constable and Company, Ltd., 1967), p. 246. 28 British Information Services, op. cit., p. 12. 33 various forces throughout the country. These common ser- vices are (1) training Of recruits and senior Officers, (2) laboratories, (3) police radio networks, (4) regional crime squads, (5) criminal records, and (6) mutual aid schemes. Cost of these common services is shared on a per capita basis.29 A further interesting aspect of the British police system which is frequently, if not completely, lacking in the police agencies in the United States, is the concept of continuing education and training for its policemen. The recruit initially undergoes thirteen weeks Of training at one of the eight regional training centers. His training continues in his local department and after fifteen months service, he returns to the regional academy for a four-week residential course. Training for most policemen in the United States stops at the recruit level. For the British policeman, how- ever, it continues and is geared to aid him to meet the vary— ing requirements Of increasing responsibility and the administrative nature Of work he will perform in later stages Of his career. Higher level training is carried out at the National Police College, which was establiShed in 1948 at Reyton-on-Dunsmore in Warwickshire and later moved to Bramshill House, Hartley Wintney in Hampshire in 1960. 291bid.. pp. 14-17. 34 Initially, two courses were offered:- a six-month course for sergeants eligible for promotion to inspector and a three-month course to prepare inspectors to be superinten- dents.30 Four courses are now Offered, ranging from three months to one year in length. Three of the four courses are for senior officers in the rank of inspector and above.31 Several aspects of the British police service which appear attractive to the author are lateral transfers among departments, centralized training of recruits and central- ized training for senior officers of all departments, uni— form standards of performance, and the absence of overlapping authority. LEVELS OF POLICE JURISDICTION IN THE UNITED STATES In the United States, police organizations function at five distinct levels of government: federal, state, county, township, and municipal. In a few instances, there is another level Of police jurisdiction called special police districts. There is no identifiable uniformity in training, organization, equipment, responsibility, or com- pensation among these various organizations and all nat- urally, therefore, also vary markedly in effectiveness. Some states are currently acting to establish some 3OCritchley, op. cit., pp. 247-48. 31British Information Services, op. cit., p. 26. 35 uniformity among their local police departments, particu- larly in the area of training. Chapman's views on overlap- ping authority are nicely summed: All the evils Of overlapping jurisdictions exist in American system of police organization, and all the pitfalls brought about by man's desire for competition may be found, also, when two (and often more) forces find themselves investigating the same Offense.32 A brief review of the agencies found at the varying levels of government may offer insight to the complexity of the police "system" in the United States. This discussion will exclude the federal government agencies which, although they certainly overlap in many areas with the others, are not as closely associated with the everyday law and order activities as the more local agencies. State Police Organization of state police forces is a product of this century. Some states have forces with general police powers, while others limit their state agency to highway patrol duty. As of 1970, twenty-six state police agencies were assigned highway patrol duty as their main responsi- bility, and only twenty-eight of the state forces had statewide investigative powers or provided laboratory 33 assistance to localities. Being relatively new and not 32Chapman, Op. cit., p. 38. 3Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, State-Local Relations in the Criminal Justice System (Wash- ington: Government Printing Office, 1971), p. 14. 36 bound by tradition, state police forces have not been so subject to mistakes of the past and generally possess a professional quality found in few law enforcement agencies at other levels Of government.34 County Police In most of the over 3,000 counties35 in the United States, the sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer. The sheriff usually Operates in the unincorporated areas of the county and frequently Operates the county jail. The sheriff is usually an elected official and appoints his own deputies. With some very notable exceptions, there are fre- quently few physical or educational requirements, and knowl- edge Of the law is often unnecessary. In 1967, 65 percent Of all county forces were comprised of fewer than eleven men.36 In a few states, some counties have established a county police force which is organized and operated very much like a municipal police force with county-wide juris- diction. These departments are not under the control of the sheriff, and frequently have very high training and performance requirements. County police departments 34Chapman, op. cit., p. 36. 35Skoler and Hetler, Op. cit., p. 261. 36 loc. cit. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, 37 currently exist in Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia.37 Township Police There are approximately 17,00038 townships in the United States which vary widely in the types of services they provide. Police operations in these townships range from no police agency or a one-man Operation to one resem— bling a municipal police department. The usual informality of township policing often results in police personnel who are frequently neither carefully selected nor fully trained for the difficult requirements of police work.39 Many Of the rural townships do not have police agencies and rely on the sheriff or state police (or both) for police protection. Municipal Police There are over 18,000 separate and distinct munici- pal police forces in the United States today.40 These forces perform similar duties but Operate within specified jurisdictions. Referring to these many separate, Often bordering, jurisdictions, August Vollmer said that "NO 37Based on personal correspondence between the Pub— lic Administration Service and the writer, 10 January, 1973. 38Skoler and Hetler, loc. cit. 39Chapman, Op. cit., p. 33. 40 Skoler and Hetler, loc. cit. 38 marked improvement can be eXpected from the present police setup. . . . Law enforcement necessarily suffers when it is halted at every political boundary line."41 Municipal departments range in size from one man to several thousand men, as in New York City. The salaries, equipment, and training vary considerably, with the larger departments usually having the edge on higher salaries, a greater variety Of equipment, and the more formalized training program. Special District Police Although there are more than 18,000 special dis- tricts in the United States, indications are that there are few (about nine) Special police districts among them.42 These special police districts may be formed without regard to existing political boundaries. Special districts usually become a government unit unto themselves with taxing power and are unanswerable to other governmental units. They function largely unnoticed and uncontrolled by the public, and their programs Often are independent of and uncoordi— nated with other programs of general government. Norrgard felt that law enforcement is a function which should not 41Vollmer, Op. cit., p. 4. 42Norrgard, op. cit., p. 48. 39 be performed by an independent special district because of its "lack of visibility and public awareness."43 POLICE SERVICES COMMONLY CONSOLIDATED Some police services have traditionally tended to adapt themselves more easily to consolidation or cooperative arrangements than others. As will be discussed, the auxil- iary services have historically been those most readily accepted by administrators for cooperative accomplishment. Some staff services, such as training, are next in order of acceptance. Field services are probably those least found to be performed jointly by two or more departments. Staff Services The pooling of resources to provide consolidation of staff services Offers promise but has not been as widely accepted as consolidation of auxiliary services except in the training field. Many states now have, and most will probably have in the near future, some form Of statewide minimum requirements for police selection and centralized or regional training academies, attendance at which is required before commencing duties as a policeman. Pre- viously, most small-town policemen received no formal train- ing prior to assumption of their duties. In some instances, a department might send some of its policemen to a nearby 43Ibid., p. 49. 40 large-city police academy, but this practice was the excep- tion rather than the rule. Only the very large cities and state police forces can afford to operate their own training academies. This regional or statewide approach to training Offers law enforcement one of its greatest opportunities to improve the training and preparation of individuals to become policemen. Joint purchasing is often a fertile area for economic benefits of intergovernmental OOOperation. Most equipment used by the police in one community is the same as that used in another and bulk purchasing has always Offered an Oppor- tunity for substantial savings. As noted earlier in the study, the Jacksonville-Duval County merger is said to have resulted in a savings Of $500,000 on the joint purchase of police vehicles. Auxiliary Services Generally Speaking, where some merger Of police functions has been attempted, auxiliary services have proven to be the most adaptable to consolidation and coordination on an area basis. The high cost of equipment and expertise required for provision of laboratory services, detention facilities, modern communications systems, police informa- tion systems, and automated record keeping systems makes area-wide or regional cooperation the only way smaller departments can Obtain such services. Pooling of such 41 resources is becoming a common practice and in some areas is currently the "thing to do." In the Philadelphia area, 107 police departments in 5 counties have COOperative radio agreements.44 The Cincinnati-Hamilton County, Ohio, Police Information System serves forty departments.45 Numerous states are implement- ing or planning to implement statewide police information systems. Some states, such as Arizona, are planning to Operate a total criminal justice information system which will tie together data from the police, courts, and correc- tional agencies. This information will be available to all criminal justice agencies in the state.46 Ultimately, a nationwide police information system is foreseen. The nucleus Of such a system is already in being in the form of the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC). The potential for invasion of personal privacy threatened by these systems is frightening and is a subject unto itself. Perhaps this danger is best summed up by the words Of Senator Charles Mathias, Jr. (R-Md.): "If knowledge is power, this 44John R. Shrylocks, "Regionalization of Police Services," The Police Chief, XXXVIII (August, 1971), 8. 45"Cincinnati's Regional Law Enforcement System Revised for Use on Smaller Computer," The Police Chief, XXXVIII (September, 1971), 60-62. 6Jerome Lobel, "The Arizona Total Criminal Justice Information and Communications System," Jurimetrics Journal, X (March, 1970), 96. 42 encyclopedic knowledge gives government the raw materials of tyranny."47 Other COOperative ventures include use of jail facilities and joint dispatching. The author's home town of Owego, New York, has used the county jail facilities (located in the village) for years, thereby negating the need for constructing and staffing detention facilities Of its own. A recent plan to merge dispatching functions with the sheriff, however, collapsed just prior to the pro- jected implementation date of July 1, 1972. Field Services Police officials willing to cooperate on training or communications systems are often more reluctant to oper— ate joint field operations on a regular basis. There are, however, instances where this has occurred and has worked, particularly in investigations. In the Kansas City area, two hundred members from thirty agencies form the M-Squad for major investigations.48 Winnebago County Sheriff and the Loves Park and Rockford Police Departments in Illinois formed a "Metro Narcotics Unit" comprised of members of each department. This cooperative arrangement permits the collective utilization of resources and investigative talent 47 1971), 13. 48 "The Right of Privacy," Trial, VII (March-April, Shrylocks, loc. cit. 43 for drug enforcement in the multijurisdictional area in a more economical and productive manner.49 A similar situa- tion exists in the Lansing, Michigan, area where several police agencies have joined together to form a narcotics investigation unit. The foregoing examples of police cooperation illus- trate attempts to improve a particular service, to reduce the cost of providing a particular service to each agency, or to make available to smaller agencies services which they could not provide by themselves. TYPES OF POLICE SERVICE CONSOLIDATION Where total governmental consolidation occurs, all governmental functions and services, to include police services, are performed by the new government for the entire area. Centralized police services are performed totally by one police department for the area. Such a merger can typically occur through consolidation of two or more municipalities, annexation, or city-county consolida- tion. As previously noted, consolidation in its ultimate form, i.e. the complete political merger of City and sub- urbs, has actually occurred in its purest form in only one large metropolitan area in the United States and that is Nashville-Davidson County, Tennessee. 49Charles BishOp, "Metro-Narcs: A Collective Effort," The Police Chief, XXXIX (October, 1972), 60-62. 44 Where total governmental consolidation has not occurred but political and police Officials have recognized the need for and benefits to be derived from COOperation in the improvement of police services within the whole metro- politan area, other alternatives have been sought. Three promising alternatives, apart from complete governmental consolidation found in annexation, city-county merger, or federation, which still Offer total police coverage are contract law enforcement, the county subordinate services district, and regional cooperation. Contract Law Enforcement Contract law enforcement is perhaps the least complicated method Of providing police services to multiple jurisdictions by a single police agency. Under this sys- tem, a community merely contracts for police services from another municipality, the county or the state. Contract law enforcement is probably most commonly found in California where the Los Angeles County Sheriff provides complete law enforcement services to numerous incorporated municipalities within the county on a contract basis. In assessing charges for contract law enforcement, Los Angeles County uses the basic unit of one car on continuous round-the-clock opera- tion in three eight-hour shifts (one one-man shift and two two-man shifts). This system provides for twenty-four hour police coverage and contracting cities, of course, can request more than one of these basic units to police their 45 community. The cost of one patrol unit in 1966 was just over $104,000.50 Incorporated into this basic unit cost (salary, automobile, maintenance, etc.) is the proportionate share of other operating costs such as supervisors, detectives, and clerical support related to fielding this basic police unit. Each year the rate is updated to reflect salary adjustments for sheriff deputies. Overhead costs for Operating the sheriff's office itself and central support activities (crime lab, training, etc.) are considered part Of the sheriff's statutory respon— sibilities and therefore not chargeable to the contracting city. This arrangement recognizes that the sheriff main- tains county-wide responsibility for law enforcement and contracting cities should be charged only for those addi- tional costs incurred in providing them with the contract Services.Sl Leonard found that supporters of the contract system in the Los Angeles area feel that it offers these advan- tages:52 50Public Administration Service, Police Services in St. Louis County, Missouri: A Survey Report (Chicago: Public Administration Service, 1967), p. A-6. 51The President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice, Task Force Report: The Police, op. cit., p. 117. 52Leonard, op. cit., p. 44. 46 1. Economy. Police service at a lower cost than the city maintaining its own police force. 2. Professionally trained men on the job. 3. Immediate availability of emergency reinforce- ments at no extra cost. 4. Completely equipped radio patrol cars. 5. Unbiased, nonpartisan service free from local pressures and ties. 6. ‘Availability of a crime lab and technically trained investigators. A 1967 Public Administration Service report further indicated that contract law enforcement is less expensive and more efficient than each city providing its own basic police service. The report cited two cities in Los Angeles County, California, which are comparable in pOpulation and community characteristics. Norwalk contracts for police service from Los Angeles County, whereas Downey has its own police force. In 1963-64, the cost of law enforcement in Norwalk was almost $500,000 compared to Downey's costs in excess of $1 million, while service was approximately at the same level.53 In Orange County, California, Brea (pop. 18,500) is paid $329,164 by Yorba Linda (pop. 11,920) for eighteen months of police protection consisting of two one-man 53Public Administration Service, Police Services in St. Louis County, Missouri: A Survey Report, p. A-8. 47 patrols and detective and juvenile officer support. The contract also provides for extra units to Yorba Linda in an emergency. Nine extra Officers were added to the Brea force to handle the expanded service.54 In Connecticut, contract police services are fur- nished by the state police to local communities ranging from 1,000 to 17,000 in population. The state pays 40 per- cent Of the cost and the city pays 60 percent of the costs of maintaining the trooper in the community.55 Called the Resident TrOOper Plan, a state policeman is assigned Spe- cifically to the contracting community. The trOOper remains under the direct control of the state police, but performs his duties in the contracting community and works closely with the town council in order to be responsive to community needs. County_Subordinate Services District Under the county subordinate services district sys- tem, county police Operate in incorporated as well as in unincorporated areas. Municipalities cede law enforcement functions to the county and their citizens pay a special tax. Other elements of local government may remain inde- pendent of county rule. This arrangement permits contiguous S4"Contract Law Enforcement," The Police Chief, XXXVIII (February, 1971), 12 and 50. 55 Skoler and Hetler, op. cit., p. 265. 48 police jurisdiction and can promote a higher level of police services. Several advantages to be derived from a county subordinate services district are:56 l. The service district can include both incor- porated and unincorporated areas. 2. Utilization of an already functional county government. 3. Services received and cost of these services are directly correlated. 4. Police service can be provided to a large con— tiguous area without regard to political boundaries and jurisdictional problems can be lessened, if not eliminated, while maintaining a consistent level of law enforcement. Municipalities not joining the district can still benefit from some area-wide services. 5. The system provides for county control of the police and taxes can be assessed according to the degree of police service provided a particular area of the county. Suffolk and Nassau Counties on Long Island, New York, are currently employing the county subordinate ser- vices district plan. In Nassau County, complete police services are provided most of the municipalities in the county. The twenty-three governmental units which provide 56Norrgard, Op. cit., p. 41. 49 their own patrol services still receive benefit of county- wide services and equipment such as centralized records and investigations which are budgeted on a county—wide basis.57 The situation in Suffolk County is generally simi- lar. Communications in Suffolk County, however, are cen- tralized more in that a resident need call only one number when requesting police aid from the county department. In Nassau County, each of the eight precinct stations has its own number. Patrol cars are then centrally dispatched after the message is relayed by direct telephone from the precinct station.58 Regional Cooperation This concept of consolidating specific police ser— vices appears to be gaining in popularity and falls easily within the framework of activities envisioned by advocates of the Council of Governments approach to the local govern- ment crisis. This alternative permits police departments to retain their autonomy and identity yet enables them to benefit from regional planning and cooperative ventures such as police information systems, training academies, etc. which they could not Operate alone. Many of the examples 57Francis E. Looney, "A Modern County-Regional Police Department," The Police Yearbook 1971 (Washington: International Association of Chiefs of Police, 1971), pp. 30-31. .58Public Administration Service, Police Services in St. Louis County, Missouri: A Survey Report, p. B—8. 50 cited in the previous section on services commonly con- solidated resulted from such regional cooperation. One area where such regionalism has been formally coordinated through the Council of governments is in the Atlanta, Georgia, area. In 1965, forty area police chiefs, sheriffs, and the Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta office of the FBI met with representatives Of the Metro- politan Atlanta Council of Local Governments (MACLOG) and formed Metropol. Metropol acts as the law enforcement section of MACLOG and receives staff and financial support from it. Each participating agency, however, retains its independence but benefits from programs of mutual COOpera- tion and assistance aimed at increasing police efficiency throughout the area. Major areas of COOperation are in the establishment of uniform radio codes, a closed circuit teletype network which has since been extended statewide, a training academy, and overall planning.59 Each of the foregoing offers an alternative to the present fragmented system of providing police services. It is likely that each would not be adaptable to all communi- ties, but it is felt equally likely that at least one of them is adaptable in some form, to most communities, and that they are worthy of consideration. 9Eugene Dzikiewicz, "Atlanta Metropol: A Regional Approach to Police Problems," Traffic Digest and Review, XVII (October, 1969), 14-15. Chapter 3 REVIEW OF ALTERNATIVES Many people would agree that the present method of policing urban areas is nOt utOpia but not all of them would accept consolidation as the saving alternative. PrOponents and Opponents Of consolidation argue their views with equal conviction. Some of the more commonly advanced arguments for and against consolidation will be examined in this chapter, followed by the author's comparison of the more pOpular forms Of consolidation viewed with the arguments of both sides in mind. PRESSURES FOR CONSOLIDATION There are many factors which are applying pressure for consolidation of police services in metropolitan areas. Most of these can probably be included within five major categories: interest focused by recent crime commission studies and the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA), the need and desire for expensive equipment such as required for police information systems, desire for economy of manpower and funds, tax equity in relation to services received, and desired improvement in quality of police training and performance. 51 52 Several studies by independent groups have recom- mended consolidation, in varying forms, of police services. In citing that reported serious crime increased ten times faster than the population growth between 1960 and 1969, the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations further stated that "Organized crime exploits fragmentation in local governments and this requires significant inter— governmental arrangements for its control."1 It also noted that a police agency with general or special jurisdiction over area-wide crime does not exist in any of the 114 multi- county metropolitan areas in the United States.2 The Advisory Commission made these specific recommendations for consolidating police services:3 1. County governments assume police functions in metropolitan localities which fail to provide patrol and preliminary investigative service, and assess the locality for the costs involved. Where the county does not assume 'police services, the commission proposes that the state require consolidation in metropolitan jurisdictions where basic police services are not provided. 2. Counties perform staff and auxiliary police services for constituent localities. 1Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, op. cit., p. l. 21bid., p. 14. 31bid., pp. 17-23. 53 3. Creation of specialized task forces, under state or interlocal direction to Operate throughout multi- county or interstate metropolitan areas to deal with organ- ized crime. The President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice strongly recommended consolida- tion Of police services and proposed comprehensive reorgan- ization under a metrOpolitan type government as offering the best alternative for fully unifying police services on an area-wide basis.4 The Committee for Economic Development recommended the expansion and strengthening of state police forces to assure protection for those areas without effective local forces.5 The State Journal (Lansing, Michigan) has run at least two editorials in the last five months on the subject of consolidation or intergovernmental COOperation. On September 19, 1972, it encouraged renewed consideration be given a plan calling for creation of a single police agency to serve the three counties in the Lansing area.6 On 4The President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice, Task Force Report: The Police, Op. cit., p. 72. 5Committee for Economic Development, Reducing Crime and Assuring Justice, Op. cit., p. 31. 6Editorial, The State Journal [Lansing, Michigan], September 19, 1972, p. A-12. 54 February 20, 1973, another editorial hit the fragmentation Of governments in the Detroit area and the concept of each furnishing its own local services, including police.7 The National Conference on Criminal Justice recently held in Washington, D.C.,from January 23-26, 1973, strongly recommended consolidation of police agencies or services to effect organizations large enough to be effective but small enough to be responsive to the people. It specifically recommended that police agencies employing fewer than ten sworn Officers should be consolidated for improved effi- ciency. It urged every local government and police agency to study all possibilities for combined and contract police services ranging from total consolidation to sharing of services (normally support services) by two or more agen- cies. The rising cost of personnel and equipment to pro— vide even basic police services is forcing administrators to look for new ways of furnishing police protection in the most economical manner. Law Enforcement Assistance Admin- istration guidelines encourage regional planning and coop— erative projects as one criterion for receipt Of federal funds to upgrade law enforcement. Forty-five states, by 7Editorial, The State Journal [Lansing, Michigan], 8Based on COpy of summary Of working papers fur- nished by the National Association of Counties in personal correspondence Of March 2, 1973. 55 1970, had established regions for law enforcement and crim- inal justice planning.9 Varying taxation schemes frequently mean that the smaller city pays more and receives less in services. The quality of that service which is received in the smaller community is frequently correspondingly lower as well. Consolidation conceivably could Offer a broader tax base and help to equalize the quality of services received. ARGUMENTS AGAINST CONSOLIDATION In some states, consolidation is not permitted at all, and in other states restrictive requirements severely inhibit it. Some states require separate majorities in both the area to be annexed and the annexing governmental area. Annexation and consolidation of incorporated areas requires special legislative approval in some states, which in itself is not easily achieved. Some four decades ago, Smith referred to many of these state restrictions as a "network of legal fortifications long since proved impreg- nable to all but the most determined and sustained 10 assault." The difficulties usually mount when discuss- ing the larger metropolitan cities which are typically 9Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, op. cit., p. 247. 10Bruce Smith, Rural Crime Control (New York: Insti- tute Of Public Administration, 1933), p. 278. 56 surrounded by other large, independent cities not eager to relinquish their autonomy or lose control of their own police department. Personalities, Of course, enter into any consoli- dation attempt, and local officials who fear loss of their jobs are not the least obstacle which advocates Of consoli— dation must contend with. This argument is understandable human nature. A consolidation of five police agencies will necessarily put at least four chief administrators out of a job or relegate them to a subordinate position in a new department. . Smaller communities fear loss of local control and fear that they will be saddled with the problems of the large city. The general image of big government is frightening to many people. They fear consolidation will result in loss Of contact with their elected officials and police Officers and will diminish their voice in local matters and police policy. Some Opponents of consolidation feel that local police have a better appreciation of local problems, and that consolidation tends to create an impersonal atmosphere or relationship between the police and the citizens of the community. Exactly now "close" the police Of most cities over 20,000 population are to the citizens of the community is probably a debatable matter, however. 57 The question of taxation and who is going to pay how much for what services is not a small anxiety to over- come in the minds of many voters. Rural voters do not want to pay for what they consider services which only the urban resident will receive and vice versa. While the actual mechanics Of prorating the costs of services between rural and urban residents may be rather simple, it may not be so easy to convince a majority of the voters that it can be done equitably. Simple local pride may hinder consolidation efforts. Any incorporated municipality will undoubtedly have some history of which its citizens are proud. People who iden- tify with the community and its history may not want to see it swallowed up by some bigger government or even to lose "their" police department to a larger organization. The impact of some of these arguments is usually lessened when speaking only of consOlidating specific func- tions rather than an entire agency. This premise is sup- ported by the increasing number of interagency agreements and by the findings of this study. COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVES A discussion of consolidation of governments or certain functions of government immediately boils down to the critical issue of centralization vs. decentralization. American institutions have become increasingly centralized 58 throughout history as evidenced by the decline of small farms and businesses in favor of large corporate farms and businesses, cities annexing surrounding areas, and governments consolidating or agreeing to perform certain functions jointly. -Centralized government is blamed for being too unwieldy, unmanageable, impersonal, and out of touch with the needs and desires of its citizens. On the other hand, decentralized government is charged with inefficiency, dup- lication, waste, and being unable to COpe with the increas— ing number of area- or region-wide problems which popula- tion expansion and technology has wrought upon them. PeOple fear big government for reasons mentioned previously yet at the same time many realize that small communities, completely independent of their neighbors, politically and functionally, are no longer viable. As with most things in life we encounter, what is acceptable probably lies somewhere between these extremes of complete merger and the present fragmentation of author- ity among numerous independent units of government. Total consolidation offers the very attractive advantage Of reducing the number of governmental units or police agencies in an area and thereby providing a more coordinated approach to problems which can be attacked only on an area-wide basis. Total consolidation and annexation, however, have not received general acceptance in the United 59 States, especially in the very large metropolitan areas where the suburbs are very large cities themselves. The federation or twoetiered level of metrOpolitan government may be an acceptable alternative, but it also has not received general support in this country. This form Of government is recommended by the Committee for Economic Development, which claims that the two-tiered level of government provides the best of centralization and decen- tralization. Under this system, the area government per- forms area-wide functions and the local governments perform local functions and some functions are shared. The exist- ing municipalities frequently become the local units under the new area-wide government. The Committee for Economic Development suggests that planning, zoning, water supply, sewage, and transit be area controlled and that local com- munities control police patrol, fire, and education. Common police services such as communications, investiga- tions, purchasing, crime lab, etc. would be provided by the area government. The Province of Ontario, Canada, has been so satis- fied with the experience with federation in Toronto, that it plans, over the next 20 years, to further consolidate juris- dictions by reorganizing all 908 cities, towns, and villages . . ll of the province into 30 two-tiered metropolitan governments. ll"Ontario Maps the Way to Metro Reform," Business Week, November 21, 1970, p. 80. 60 Dr. Mel Ravitz, Chairman of the Southeast Michigan. 'Council of Governments, on the other hand, has said that the Committee for Economic DevelOpment proposal smacks of big government which is "utterly unfeasible because it is undesirable," and that it is not feasible at all in truly metrOpolitan areas like Detroit, New York, and Atlanta. He offered the council of governments as a more viable approach.12 A comparison of the two approaches, federation and council of governments, quickly reveals that the council of governments approach depends on the voluntary cooperation of participating members, whereas under the Committee for Economic DevelOpment proposal of federation, the area gov— ernment would actually possess the authority to initiate and enforce programs. Both approaches claim the ability to attack area problems while retaining local control over local matters. Under federation this is accomplished by creating a new level of government to handle area problems, whereas under the council of governments plan it is accomplished merely by drawing existing governments together into what is essentially a COOperative association. Federation places local government under the area government, whereas the 12"Regional Governance, A Dialogue." Proceedings Of a Seminar on "Reshaping Government in Metropolitan Areas" (Detroit: MetrOpolitan Fund, Inc., 1971), pp. 14-16. 61 council of governments plan leaves local control complete and absolute. Proponents of the council of governments approach claim that the massiveness of area-wide problems and state and federal pressures to do something about them will prod participating governments to reach mutually acceptable programs. Annexation, consolidation of adjoining communities, or city-county consolidation also all achieve unification of police services. Compared with consolidation of police services only, these governmental consolidations have the added advantage of placing the police in the position Of having to deal with only one governmental body as opposed to more than one under the contract system or the county subordinate services district plan. Although the police are usually "reSponsible" to only one government under all these systems, they must in fact satisfy the governmental bodies of all communities which have contracted for or requested their services. Both the county subordinate services diStrict and contract systems provide for rendering of police services without any change in local governmental structure. Both Offer police service without regard to political boundaries among those communities participating. Under both systems, however, true area-wide police service may not result, in that participating jurisdictions may not be contiguous. 62 The county subordinate services district and con- tract plans both provide for funding according to the level of services received. Under a county subordinate services district system, this funding would be accomplished by taxation, generally according to the urban or rural nature of the citizens' residencei Under the contract system, however, the receiving community simply pays a flat rate for the services it wishes to receive. The regional cooperation or coordination approach usually does not provide the degree of uniformity in police policy and performance as either the county subordinate services district or the contract system. Obviously, this is because each municipality maintains its own separate police department and merely COOperates with other agencies on specific programs. The regional approach usually involves the COOperation or coordination necessary to pro- vide certain staff or auxiliary services as Opposed to complete police services Offered by the contract system and the county subordinate services district system. The iregional cooperation approach does enable communities to derive the benefits of modern crime laboratories, profes- sionalized training and recruiting, modern communications systems, and automated records keeping systems, which they probably would be unable to afford on an individual basis. Regional COOperation can enable communities to Obtain and utilize this modern equipment jointly without relinquishing 63 control over the field operations of its own police force. Under the other systems,-contract and county subordinate services district, control of field Operations usually is maintained by the providing agency. Chapter 4 RESEARCH FINDINGS A total of 115 self-administered questionnaires were mailed to 115 police chiefs in cities located within the 25 largest Standard MetrOpolitan Statistical Areas (SMSA) in the United States. The cities were stratified according to pOpulation and randomly selected within these stratified pOpulation groups. A total of sixty—three (55 percent) completed questionnaires were returned and utilized in the compilation of data. The return rate among the five pOpulation groups ranged from a high Of 71 percent (25,000- 50,000 category) to a low of 38 percent (5,000-10,000 cate- gory). Table 1. Percentage Response to Questionnaire by Size of City ‘ City group Questionnaires Percent Mailed Returned return Central city 25 17 68 50,000-100,000 21 9 43 25,000- 50,000 24 17 71 10,000- 25,000 24 12 50 5,000- 10,000 21 8 . 38 All groups 115 63 55 64 65 Some agencies, by accident or design, did not answer certain questions, and a no response rate is given when dis— cussing questions for which this occurred. Since differ- ences in response occurred almost exclusively according to size of the city and no discernible difference could be observed according to seclion Of the country, there will be no discussion of responses according to geographical loca- tion other than to show the geographic distribution of the questionnaire. Geographic regions are those used by the FBI in its annual Uniform Crime Reports. Northeast (4 states) Massachusetts 1 SMSA 5 cities New York 2 “ 10 " New Jersey 2 “ 9 " Pennsylvania 2 “ _§_ " TSMSA 32 cities North Central (6 states) Illinois 1 SMSA 5 cities Michigan 1 " 5 " Ohio 2 " 10 " Wisconsin 1 " 5 " Missouri 1 " 5 " Minnesota ‘_l_ " _§_ " 7 SMSA 35 Cities South (4 states plus District of Columbia) Maryland 1 SMSA 4 cities Georgia 1 " 4 " Florida 1 " 5 " D.C. 1 " l " Texas _2_ " 19. " 6 SMSA 24 cities West (2 states) California 4 SMSA 19 cities Washington 1 " 5 " 5 SMSA 24 Cities Total: 16 states 25 SMSA 115 cities 66 Part I of the questionnaire contained four defini- tions of terms used in the survey. Part II comprised four questions seeking basic community data, and Part III con- tained twenty-three questions pertaining to consolidation of police services. MoSt of the questions offer a statement concerning consolidation followed by four responses: (1) I agree in principle, (2) I agree in principle and practice, (3) I disagree, and (4) Other. In determining support for a particular statement, responses Of I agree in principle only and I agree in principle and practice are combined and considered favorable responses in support of the state- ment. Where significant, a percentage response for each is given separately. All tables show responses for each reply individually. The term central city will be used to refer to the major city in the area for which the SMSA is named. Question #1 merely asked whether or not the respon- dent wished tO have his community identified in the study. Forty percent of the respondents requested their community not be identified, 57 percent gave permission to identify their community, and 3 percent did not respond to the question. gpestion 2: My community is: a. The largest or major city in the area. b. A suburb Of the major city in the area. c. Other 67 This question was included to determine how the police chief viewed his city in relation to the surround- ing area. Even though all communities selected for the survey were either a SMSA central city or suburbs thereof, seven cities selected by the author as suburbs of the cen- tral city were viewed by their police chief as being the major city in the area. This response is understandable, however, as some of the central cities such as New York and Chicago do in fact have large suburban communities which in turn may serve as the central city for smaller suburbs. One chief explained his answer by stating that his city was the largest or major city in the area within his state. His city was, however, a part of an SMSA whose central city is located across a river in another state. Question 3: My city and the immediate surrounding urban area is: a. Located within one county. b. Located in more than one county. c. In more than one state. d. Other Some alternatives to fragmented police services in metropolitan areas involve utilization of the county govern- ment as the consolidation focal point. This question was aimed at determining to what extent the metropolitan areas surveyed were located within one county and therefore the applicability of these alternatives from a strictly 68 geographical aspect. Forty-three (68 percent) of all respondents indicated that the urban area around their city was located predominately within one county, fourteen (22 percent) indicated more than one county was involved, and five (8 percent) indicated that more than one state was involved. One did not respond to the question. Question 4: .The total number of employees in my police department is Table 2 depicts the high, low, and median number of police personnel for each population category, and shows the variance in size of police departments in the survey. Table 2. Question 4. High, Low, and Median Number Of Police Employees for Each Population Category City group ' Number of police employees High Low Median Central city 33,000 356 1,800 50,000-100,000 242 78 138 25,000- 50,000 ' 118 50 74 10,000- 25,000 146 14 25 5,000- 10,000 130 7 18 Question 5: There are too many separate police departments in the United States: a. Agree b. Disagree 69 This question and the following two questions are related in that they were designed to elicit the respondent's general perception of the problem; that is, does he feel that police services are fragmented and duplicated among several separate agencies. Two thirds (fortyetwo) of the respondents to question 5 felt that there are too many separate police departments in the United States. Six (9 percent) did not respond to the question, and only fifteen (24 percent) dis- agreed with the statement. Over half of the respondents in each pOpulation category agreed that there are too many police agencies in the United States, with agreement ranging from a high of 83 percent (10,000-25,000) to 53 percent (25,000-50,000). Table 3. Question 5. Percentage Of Agreement That There Are TOO Many Separate Police Departments in the U.S. City group Agree Disagree ' NO response Central city 76 12 12 50,000-100,000 56 33 11 25,000- 50,000 53 35 12 10,000- 25,000 83 8 8 5,000- 10,000 62 38 0 All groups 67 24 9 70 Question 6: There are too many separate police departments in or around my community. a. Agree b. Disagree This question, which is directed at the respondent's own community, more evenly divided the responses but still over half (56 percent) agreed that there are too many sep- arate police departments in or around his own community. Twenty-six (41 percent) disagreed with the statement and two (3 percent) did not respond to the question. As might be expected, the greatest support for this statement came from the central city administrators (71 percent). The least support came from the 50,000-100,000 and 25,000-50,000 groups (44 percent and 47 percent, respectively). Table 4. Question 6. Percentage of Agreement That There Are Too Many Separate Police Departments Around Respondent's Community City group Agree Disagree NO response Central city 71 23 6 50,000-100,000 44 56 0 25,000- 50,000 47 53 0 10,000- 25,000 58 33 8 5,000- 10,000 50 50 0 All groups 56 41 3 71 Question 7: In my community, some police services are duplicated by at least one other police agency (e.g. state, county, or city police patrol the same stretch of roadway, etc.). a. Agree b. Disagree Thirty-nine respondents (62 percent) felt that some police services in their communities were duplicated by at least one other police agency. Again, over half in each pOpulation group felt this way, with the greatest agreement (88 percent) in the 5,000-10,000 population group and the least agreement in the 25,000-50,000 group (53 percent). Everyone responded to this question. Table 5. Question 7. Percentage of Agreement That Some Police Services Are Duplicated by Another Agency in Respondent's Community City group Agree Disagree Central city 59 41 50,000-100,000 67 33 25,000- 50,000 53 47 10,000- 25,000 58 42 5,000- 10,000 88 12 All groups 62 38 72 Question 8: Total consolidation of my police depart- ment with another police department to form one single department. a. Has never been seriously considered. b. Has been considered but rejected. c. Has been approved/accomplished. d. Is now under consideration. Only one respondent (2 percent) said that total con- solidation of police services had occurred within his com- munity. Only one other indicated that total consolidation was currently under consideration. Over one fourth (27 percent) of the respondents indicated that their communi- ties had rejected total consolidation and 65 percent said it had never been seriously considered. This finding is consistent with literature reviewed which expressed the limited acceptance of total consolidation efforts in the United States. 73 Table 6. Question 8. Percentage of Responses Showing Whether or not Total Consolidation Has Been Considered POpulation grOUPS* Central 50-100 25-50 10-25 5-10 All Options city gps a. Never considered 53 100 76 58 38 65 b. Proposal rejected 35 0 18 42 38 27 c. PrOposal approved 6 0 0 0 0 2 d. Now under consideration 0 0 6 O O 3 *In thousands of inhabitants (except central city). Question 9: Total consolidation of two or more entire police departments into one single department is feasible in gpme communities. a. I agree in principle only. b. I agree in principle and practice. c. I disagree d. Other This question deals specifically with total con- solidation of police services and the attitude of the administrator in applying the concept to a community other than his own. This and most of the following questions were asked to determine if the respondent supported the 74 concept in principle only, in principle and practice, or completely disagreed with the concept. The premise that police administrators generally favor consolidation as a viable concept is borne out by the overwhelming 93 percent who expressed approval of the concept, in principle or practice, and of its feasibility in some communities. Fifty-seven percent felt it was feasible in both principle and practice. Table 7. Question 9. Percentage Response Concerning Feasibility of Total Consolidation Of Police Services in Some Communities Population groups* Central 50-100 25-50 10-25 5-10 All Options city gps a. Agree in principle 12 56 . 41 33 63 36 b. Agree in principle - & practice 76 44 53 58 38 57 c. Disagree 1 0 0 6 0 0 d. Other 6 0 0 8 O NO response 6 0 0 0 0 *In thousands Of inhabitants (except central city). Only one out of sixty-three respondents (25,000- 50,000 group) disagreed with the concept Of total consoli- dation of two or more police departments into one single 75 department as being feasible in some communities. Of the two reSpondents who checked Option d (other), one stated that it was feasible only under a metropolitan form of gov- ernment while the other felt that not enough information was presented to render an Opinion. The 50,000-100,000 and 5,000—10,000 category responses were unanimously for the concept at least in prin- ciple. Respondents for all size cities favored the concept, in principle or practice, by 88 percent or more with the two categories just mentioned 100 percent in favor. Question 10: Total consolidation Of my department with another police department to form one single police department is feasible. a. I agree in principle only. b. I agree in principle and practice. c. I disagree. d. Other Since total consolidation has not occurred fre- quently in this country, it was expected that the response to this question might be less favorable than for questions 9 and 15. This premise was borne out by the survey. Although responses to the prior question indicated that most of the police chiefs considered total consolidation of police services to be a feasible concept for other commu- nities, the responses to this question Show that many of them are not ready to accept it for their own community. 76 Nevertheless, over half (55 percent) considered the concept feasible either in principle only (25 percent) or also in practice (30 percent). A high 35 percent disagreed com- pletely with its feasibility for their community. This com- pares with only a 2 percent outright disagreement in the previous question relating to communities other than their own . Table 8. Question 10. Percentage Response Concerning Feasibility of Total Consolidation in Respondent's Community Population groups* Central 50-100 25-50 10-25 5-10 All Options city gps a. Agree in principle 29 22 12 25 50 25 b. Agree in principle & practice 29 22 35 50 O 30 c. Disagree 24 56 35 25 so 35 d. Other 18 0 12 0 0 8 No response 0 0 6 0 0 2 *In thousands of inhabitants (except central city). 77 Question 11: Contracting for complete police ser- vices from another community, the county, or the state is feasible for ppge communities. a. I agree in principle only. b. I agree in principle and practice. 0. I disagree 1 I d. Other Since contract law enforcement was frequently men- tioned in the literature reviewed, it was decided to insert two questions to elicit attitudes concerning this specific alternative. As might be expected, the results somewhat parallel the relative responses for questions 9 and 10. Table 9. Question 11. Percentage Response Concerning Feasibility Of Contract Police Services for Some Communities Population groups* Central 50-100 25-50 10-25 5-10 All Options city gps a. Agree in principle 23 33 29 25 37 29 b. Agree in principle & practice 59 67 35 50 13 46 c. Disagree 6 0 l8 17 37 14 d. Other 6 0 0 8 0 3 NO response 6 O 18 0 l3 8 *In thousands of inhabitants (except central city). 78 Forty-seven (75 percent) of the respondents con- sidered contracting police services from another govern- mental unit as feasible, at least in principle, for some communities. Almost half (46 percent) approved of it in both principle and practice. Greatest support appeared to be in the 50,000-100,000 group (100 percent), followed closely by the central city (82 percent). Least acceptance was by the 5,000-10,000 group (50 percent). Only 14 percent Of the total sample disagreed with the feasibility of con- tract services for some communities. Question 12: Contracting for complete police services from another community, the county, or the state is feasible for py community. a. I agree in principle only. b. I agree in principle and practice. c. I disagree. d. Other Responses to this question were almost the reverse of those in the previous question. As with total consoli- dation, the reSpondents were much less receptive to employ- ment Of complete police services on a contract basis from another government for their own community. Only 11 percent favored contract services, even in principle, for their community as compared to 81 percent who disagreed outright that this concept is feasible in their city. Opposition to contract services for respondent's community appeared 79 fairly even among the population groups with the 25,000- 50,000 group expressing the least opposition (64 percent). The 10,000-25,000 group was highest in Opposition (92 per- cent), closely followed by the 50,000-100,000 group (89 per- cent), and central cities (88 percent). The literature reviewed indicated that some Opposition to consolidation efforts evolved from the fact that some department heads would necessarily lose their positions if consolidation were effected. One chief, in fact, responded favorably to ques- tion 10 but added that his response was conditioned upon him being in charge of the new department. Fear for their jobs as chief may at least partially eXplain the overwhelming acceptance of total consolidation and contract services for other communities but almost equal rejection of the concept for the respondents' own communities. Table 10. Question 12. Percentage Response Concerning Feasi- bility Of Contract Police Services for Respondent's Community Population groups* Central 50-100 25-50 10-25 5-10 All Options city gps a. Agree in principle 0 O 18 8 O 6 b. Agree in principle & practice 6 ll 0 0 l3 5 c. Disagree 88 89 64 92 75 81 d. Other 6 0 0 0 0 NO response 0 0 18 0 l3 *In thousands Of inhabitants (except central city). 80 Question 13: Cooperation/coordination by my commu- nity with another police agency in the performance of ppme police services: a. Has never been seriously considered. b. Has been considered but rejected. c. Has been approved/accomplished. d. Is now under consideration. This question is a natural continuation of questions 8—10. It was anticipated that many communities which, for a number of reasons, might not be inclined to accept total consolidation of police services in their community would be more likely to support cooperative efforts which offered an opportunity for improved police services but which did not infringe upon the autonomy of the local department. The responses to questions 13-15 seem to bear out this premise. Whereas only one respondent indicated that total consolidation had been effected in his community and only one indicated it was under consideration, a significant thirty-seven respondents (59 percent) indicated that cooperation/coordination had been effected in their commu- nities. Another eight (13 percent) indicated such a ven- ture was now under consideration. Three fourths of the central cities reported COOp— eration had been effected, with about half in each of the other population segments reporting such ventures had been approved or accomplished. One respondent from Washington 81 state indicated that nineteen jurisdictions were finalizing a joint services arrangement with April, 1973, as the target date for implementation. Table 11. Question 13. Percentage Response Concerning Whether COOperation/Coordination Has Been Considered in Respondent's Community - Population groups* Central 50-100 25-50 10-25 5-10 All Options city . gps a. Never considered 6 22 17 33 37 20 b. Considered but rejected 0 0 12 0 O 3 c. Approved 76 56 47 58 50 59 d. Under con- sideration 12 22 12 8 13 13 No response 6 0 12 0 0 5 *In thousands Of inhabitants (except central city). gpestion l4: Cooperation/coordination with another police agency in the performance of spme police services is feasible in pgme communities. a. I agree in principle only. b. I agree in principle and practice. c. I disagree. d. Other Responses to this question were similar to those for question 9, with an overwhelming approval, at least in 82 principle, of the feasibility of cooperation/coordination as a concept for some communities. Fifty—nine (94 percent) of the sixty-three respondents expressed support for this concept, with 75 percent expressing the opinion that it is feasible in both principle and practice. The two largest city groups and the smallest city group were unanimously in support of the concept, at least in principle. The middle city groups were 82 percent and 92 percent in sup— port. Significantly, no one expressed disagreement with the concept. Table 12. Question 14. Percentage Response Concerning Feasibility of COOperation/Coordination of Some Police Services in Some Communities Population groups* Central 50-100 25-50 10-25 5-10 All Options city gps a. Agree in principle 6 ll 29 17 38 19 b. Agree in principle & practice 94 89 53 75 62 75 c. Disagree 0 0 0 0 0 d. Other 0 0 O O 0 No response 0 O 18 8 0 *In thousands of inhabitants (except central city). 83 Question 15: Cooperation/coordination with another police department in the performance of spme police services is feasible in my community. a. I agree in principle only. b. I agree in principle and practice. c. I disagree. d. Other This question is a natural follow—up to the pre- vious question and is important as it assumes that a favorable response expresses a willingness to implement what is essentially partial consolidation in the respon- -dent's own community. Table 13. Question 15. Percentage Response Concerning Feasibility of Cooperation/Coordination of Some Police Services in Respondent's Community Population groups* Central 50-100 25-50 10-25 5-10 All Options city gps a. Agree in principle 0 22 12 8 50 14 b. Agree in principle & practice 100 78 53 83 50 75 c. Disagree 0 0 12 8 0 5 d. Other 0 0 0 0 0 O NO response 0 O 23 0 0 6 *In thousands of inhabitants (except central city). 84 In contrast to questions 9 and 10, in which respon- dents indicated much more acceptance of total consolidation in other communities than in their own, the results for this question and the preceding one are quite close. The same three segments (central city, 50,000—100,000, and 5,000— 10,000) were unanimously in support of the concept in prin- ciple or practice. The 25,000-50,000 group again expressed the least support (65 percent). Question 16: My community presently performs some police services jointly with another police agency in accordance with: a. Written agreement. b. Informal agreement. c. My community performs no services jointly with another. d. Other This question was designed to determine whether COOperation/coordination between different communities was generally performed in accordance with written or informal agreements. Only ten (16 percent) of the respondents indi- cated that their community performed no services jointly with another. There appear to be more joint ventures under informal arrangements (46 percent) than under written arrangements (38 percent). The 25,000-50,000 group indi- cated the least number of written agreements (18 percent) and the second highest in informal agreements. The central 85 city and the 10,000-25,000 groups had the most written agreements (53 and 58 percent, respectively). Everyone responded to this question. Table 14. Question 16. Percentage Response Concerning Services Performed Under Written or Informal Agreements Population groups* Central 50-100 25-50 10-25 5-10 All Options city gps a. Written agreement 53 '22 18 58 38 38 b. Informal agreement 41 44‘ 53 33 63 46 c. No joint services 6 33 29 8 0 16 d. Other 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 *In thousands Of inhabitants (except central city).' Question 17: Of the following, the concept offering the mppt potential for metropolitan area law enforcement is: a. Total consolidation within a specified metropolitan area. b. COOperation/coordination c. Maintaining separate departments as now exist. d. Other This question and the following attempted to elicit attitudes concerning concepts with the most and least poten- tial for law enforcement in metropolitan areas. This 86 question essentially places the issue of consolidation on a continuum covering both extremes, total consolidation and the status quo, with cooperation/coordination as the middle ground. Table 15. Question 17. Percentage Response Concerning Concept Offering Most Potential for Metropolitan Area Law Enforcement Population groups* Central 50-100 25—50 10-25 5-10 All Options city gps a. Total con- solidation 18 ll 29 42 38 27 b. Cooperation/ _coordination 65 78 47 50 25 54 c. Separate departments 6 ll 12 8 25 11 d. Other 6 0 0 0 0 2 NO response 6 0 12 0 l3 6 *In thousands of inhabitants (except central city). Overall, 27 percent favored total consolidation, 54 percent favored cooperation/coordination, and only seven (11 percent) favored maintaining the status quo as offering the most potential for law enforcement in metropolitan areas. Those who considered maintaining separate police departments were basically evenly divided among the five population categories in number of responses (one or two in each). Percentage wise, maintaining separate police departments 87 was favored by one fourth of the 5,000-10,000 group and only one (6 percent) Of the central city group. Heaviest support for total consolidation was from the 10,000-25,000 group (42 percent) and least support from the 50,000- 100,000 group. Most support for cooperation/coordination came from the central cities (65 percent) and least sup- port from the 5,000-10,000 group (25 percent). Question 18: Of the following, the concept offer- ing the leap; potential for metropolitan area law enforce- ment is: a. Total consolidation within a specified metropolitan area. b. COOperation/coordination. c. Maintaining separate departments as now exist. d. Other Twenty-four respondents (38 percent) felt that total consolidation offered the least potential for metropolitan area law enforcement, and thirty—three (52 percent) felt that maintaining separate police departments as now exists offered the least potential. No one felt that cooperation/ coordination Offered the least potential. Responses for total consolidation as having the least potential were evenly spread among the five population categories, with all within five percentage points (33-38) Of each other except the 25,000-50,000 group, of which 47 percent felt total consolidation offered the least potential for law 88 enforcement. Maintaining separate police departments offered the least potential for the 50,000—100,000 group (67 percent) and the 5,000-10,000 group was equally divided between total consolidation and maintaining separate depart- ments (38 percent for each Option). 1 Table 16. Question 18. Percentage Response Concerning Concept Offering Least Potential for Metropolitan Area Law Enforcement Population groups* Central 50-100 25-50 10-25 5-10 All Options city gps a. Total con- solidation 35 33 47 33 38 38 b. Cooperation/ coordination 0 0 O 0 0 0 c. Separate departments 59 67 41 58 38. 52 d. Other 0 o o o o o NO response 6 O 12 8 25 10 *In thousands of inhabitants (except central city). Question 19: Please check the boxes below beside those items which your department presently owns or Oper- ates. Training academy Crime lab Polygraph Automated records system 89 Helicopter Computerized Police Information System Closed circuit TV for traffic control Closed circuit TV for crime control Police boat Police ambulance}, Ti! Armored vehicle % i Police dogs 2 ( Police horses 3 Other ' The purpose of this question was to determine the type of facilities and equipment each department presently owns or Operates. As expected, the larger departments tended to own or operate a more varied assortment of equipment and facilities. 2 Only five items were owned by respondents in all population categories. Three of the five (polygraph, com- puterized police information system, and training academies) were also the three most frequently owned. The other two items found in each population category were dogs and police ambulance. Sixteen out of seventeen of the central cities reported having their own polygraph and training academy, while twelve in that group (71 percent) reported a police information system, automated records system, and police dogs. 90 Only two departments, both smaller cities (25,000- 50,000) reported Operation of television for traffic con— trol. Three items were written in under the "other" block by the central cities: bomb disposal, helmet radio, and rescue vehicle. Nine respondents did not check any of these items, and the assumption is made that they own or operate none of them. Table 17. Question 19. Number of Respondents Reporting Ownership or Operation of Specialized Police Equipment/ Facilities Listed in Rank Order of Frequency Population groups* Central 50-100 25~50 10-25 5-10 All gps city Item (N=l7) (N=9) (N=l7) (N=12) (N=8) (N=63) Polygraph l6 7 7 2 2 34 P01 inf sys 12 4 6 4 2 28 Trng acad l6 2 5 2 l 26 Auto rec sys 12 5 5 3 0 25 Police dogs 12 3 5 3 2 25 Crime lab 13 4 4 2 O 23 Ambulance 4 3 5 l 5 18 Boat 9 2 2 l 0 l4 HeliCOpter 8 1 0 l 0 10 TV crime 5 0 3 l O 9 Armored car 7 0 O 0 0 7 P01 horses 7 O 0 O 0 7 TV traffic 0 0 l l O 2 Rescue veh 1 O 0 0 0 1 Bomb disposal l 0 0 0 0 l Helmet radio 1 O 0 0 0 l *In thousands of inhabitants (except central city). Question 20: In the boxes below: 91 a. Under Column A check those services which your department now performs jointly with another police agency. b. Under Column B check those services which you would favor performing jointly with another police agency. Column A now perform Service jointly W , favor performing jointly Recruiting & selection Training Personnel records Purchasing Internal investigations Communications Crime laboratory Polygraph examinations Detention facilities Centralized records Centralized accident records Criminal intelligence Police information system Juvenile investigations Major criminal investigations Vice investigations All criminal investigations Traffic enforcement Police patrol Other The purpose of this question was to determine what specific functions police agencies are presently performing jointly or which functions administrators would be willing to perform jointly with another jurisdiction. Apparently 92 the list offered was a fairly complete one because there were only four write-in functions of one respondent each (narcotic investigations, helicopter, crime scene investi- gation, and k-9's for search operations). Functions are listed in Table 18 in descending order of percentage of respondents who indicated their departments are either now performing these functions jointly with another agency or who favor performing the function jointly. The overall response from all respondents indicated that consolidation of training was the most popular choice. It was also the most popular choice in each of the sep- arate population groups. In fact, fifty-eight of the sixty- three respondents (92 percent) indicated either they were now conducting training with another department or that they favored such an arrangement. Seventy-nine percent indicated they were ppm conducting training with another department. The increasing number Of states which stipulate training standards and are establishing regional training academies may explain the high position of this function. Those functions generally classified as auxiliary or supportive were clearly the most popular choice for joint performance, overall, among the respondents frOm all population categories. Five of the eight auxiliary func- tions listed On the questionnaire were listed among the top six choices and all eight were among the top eleven. Only training (ranked first), vice investigations (ranked 93 Table 18. Question 20. Percentage of Respondents Who Are Now or Favor Performing Specific Police Services With Another Police Agency Population groups* Service Central 50-100 25—50 10-25 5-10 All City gps Training 83 89 100 92 100 92 Criminal intell 71 78 88 83 88 81 Crime lab 76 78 65 92 88 78 Police inf sys 65 78 76 67 100 75 Detention 53 67 70' 75 100 70 Communications 53 78 71 83 63 68 Vice investigation 35 56 53 67 63 68 Polygraph 35 67 65 75 88 65 Maj crim invest 47 78 59 75 88 65 Centralized rec 41 67 65 67 88 62 Centralized accident records 35 44. 65 58 50 51 Purchasing 29 56 29 67 62 44 Juvenile invest 23 0 35 58 75 36 Internal invest 13 _ 33 29 25 63 30 All crim invest 11 ll 18 67 50 29 Recruiting 12 O 29 42 38 24 Traffic enf 29 0 6 50 38 24 Personnel records ' 6 ll 29 25 50 22 Police patrol l7 0 6 42 50 21 Other 24 0 0 0 0 7 *In thousands of inhabitants (except central city). 94 seventh), and major criminal investigations (ranked ninth) edged out any auxiliary functions. The inter—city nature of vice operations and the technical requirements of a major criminal investigation may account for these field functions rating high among the respondents' choices for joint performance. The remaining staff and field functions were evenly distributed according to overall pOpularity as they lit- erally alternated positions on the list in descending order of pOpularity. The four least popular services for consolidation were recruiting and selection, traffic enforcement, per- sonnel records, and police patrol (two Staff and two field funCtions). The most interesting aspect of the responses to the question is that the inclination for consolidation of specific services is least pOpular among the respondents from the central cities and most popular among respondents from the two smallest size city groups. ‘In every instance except traffic enforcement and police patrol, respondents from the central cities expressed less inclination toward consolidation of services than any Of the other population groups. The smallest size city group (5,000-10,000) con- sistently expressed the most inclination toward consolida- tion and in the eight instances where they were edged out it was only by the 10,000-25,000 group. The 5,000-10,000 group had the highest percentage of respondents supporting 95 joint performance of eleven of the nineteen functions listed. The central city group expressed the least support for joint performance of an equal number of functions. The performance Figure l by 5 according support for functions. relative degree of favorableness toward joint of these functions is graphically depicted in rating each population group on a scale of l to to the percentage of respondents who expressed the joint performance of each of the nineteen Scores were determined by awarding a 5 to the group with the highest percentage of respondents who were now or favored joint performance of each function with another agency. A 4 was awarded to the group with the next highest percentage of respondents favoring joint perform— ance, and so on with a 1 being awarded to the population group with the lowest percentage of respondents who expressed support for each function. In questions 14 and 15, which referred to cooperae tion in general terms, the central city responded equally high with the smaller cities. One possible explanation for this variance is that in most instances it is likely to be the larger city which has the more technical facili- ties and training and would be most likely to have to share their facilities and personnel with the smaller departments. On the other hand, the smaller departments are most likely not to have this expertise and facilities and in order to benefit from them must, of necessity, request that their 96 100 Degree of Favorableness* U1 0 I o e ' _. ‘1 T l 1 re Central 50,000- 25,000- 10,000— 5,000- City 100,000 50,000 25,000 10,000 Population Group Figure 1. Relative Degree of Favorableness Expressed by Respondents Toward Joint Per- formance of Functions Listed in Question 20 *The higher the score, the higher the degree Of favorable— ness expressed by respondents toward joint performance of functions in question 20. I ‘u. .' .qu _‘ Hag-.34 ., 97 big city neighbors share their facilities. This assumption is supported by the responses to question 19. The responses to this question fully support the views found in the review of the literature that the auxiliary services appear to be the most adaptable to con— solidation on an area baSis. The findings indicate that training is the one staff function which is highly favored for consolidation and that investigations are the most likely field service to be considered for consolidation. Question 21: If your agency has experienced con- solidation, total or partial, please indicate briefly the major benefit or disadvantage resulting from it. If con— solidation has not been experienced in your department, check here: Only five respondents offered comments to this question.) Of the five responses, all cited advantages and no one cited a disadvantage. Three of the five cited economic benefits and one cited the increased availability of additional resources, and technical and managerial eXper- tise. The fifth respondent cited a coordinated, inter- county enforcement effort against drug traffic as the major benefit. One of the respondents who cited economic bene- fits also cited more efficient use of personnel. 98 Question 22: Do you think that total consolidation would work in your community? a. Yes b. NO This question directly asks the police chief if he feels that total consolidation would work in his community. Overall response was over two to one against total consol- idation working in respondent's community. Only the 5,000— 10,000 group was even close in selection of the two Options and split evenly on the issue. Opposition expressed here was much greater than in the similar question 10. Table 19. Question 22. Percentage of Response Concerning Whether or not Total Consolidation Would Work in Respondent's Community Population groups* Central 50-100 25-50 10-25 5-10 All Options city 9P5 a. Yes 35 22 24 33 50 32 b. No 59 78 76 67 50 67 NO response 6 0 O 0 0 l *In thousands Of inhabitants (except central city). 99 Question 23: Do you think that cooperation/ coordination with another police department would work in your community? a. Yes b. No As anticipated, a much larger segment of the sample felt that cooperation/coordination would work in their com— munity. Strong positive responses were obtained in all population categories, and they are supportive of the responses to question 15 and the review of the literature. Throughout the study it has appeared that the joint per- formance of certain specific functions is generally more acceptable than the complete consolidation of all functions into a single department. Table 20. Question 23. Percentage of Response Concerning Whether or not Cooperation/Coordination Would Work in Respondent's Community Population groups* Central 50-100 25—50 10-25 5-10 All Options city gps a. Yes 88 100 100 83 88 92 b. NO 6 0 0 17 12 6 No response 6 0 O 0 0 2 *In thousands of inhabitants (except central city). 100 Question 24: If you answered "Yes" to question 22 or 23, when do you think that the consolidation could be effected? a. Within 1 year b. Within 5 years c. Within 10 years d. Within 20 years e. Within 50 years Twenty-one police administrators did not respond to this question. Of those forty—two who did respond, only eight felt that consolidation could be effected in one year, but fourteen felt it could be effected within five years. Another fourteen felt that it could be realiZed in ten years. Thirty-six respondents, therefore, foresaw consolidation as possible within ten years in their community. Question 25: If you answered "no" to question 22 or 23, what do you think is the chief obstacle to con- solidation? Thirty-six administrators commented on what they perceived as the chief obstacle to consolidation. Although the responses varied in detail, most fell into one of five general categories: politics, reluctance of individual communities or police agencies to lose their autonomy, loss of contact between citizen and police, legal Obstacles, and lack of a metropolitan form of government. Seventeen respondents expressed loss of autonomy as the chief obstacle. 101 This obstacle was offered mostly (eleven) by the middle— size cities (10,000-25,000 and 25,000—50.000 groups). The second most common obstacle cited was politics and the cen- tral cities led the way here with seven of the eight respondents who cited this factor. Loss of contact between the citizen and the police was cited by four respondents: two in the 10,000-25,000 group and one each in the 50,000- 100,000 group and the 25,000-50,000 group. Legal obstacles and lack of metropolitan form of government each were men— tioned by two of the central city respondents. The number of responSes in each of the five general categories are listed below: 1. Loss Of autonomy 17 2. Politics 8 3. Loss of contact between police and citizens 4 4. Lack of metropolitan 2 government 5. Legal Obstacles 2 6. Other ' 3 Qpestion 26: I have participated in a survey on this subject before. a. Yes b. No The purpose of this question was to determine to what extent this study may have duplicated other inquiries into this subject. Surprisingly, in spite of the increased 102 interest in consolidation 71 percent of all respondents indicated they had not participated in a survey on this subject before. At least three out of four respondents in every category except the 25,000—50,000 group indi~ cated they had not participated in a similar survey. Two conclusions may be drawn at this point. The first is that perhaps the police chiefs, men who must ultimately implement consolidation plans, have not been sufficiently solicited for input into the development of consolidation informational material. The second conclu— sion is that where consolidation surveys have been made, they have concentrated in the cities with 25,00-50,000 population. Table 21. Question 26. Percentage of Respondents Who Have Participated in a Previous Survey on Consolidation of Police Services Population groups* Central 50-100 25-50 10-25 5-10 All Options city gps a. Yes 24 ll 35 25 25 25 b. NO 76 89 53 75 75 71 No response 0 0 12 0 0 *In thousands of inhabitants (except central city). Question 27: Please make as many additional com- ments as you would consider helpful in this study. 103 A structured questionnaire generally provides lit- tle room for a response in depth, and therefore its ade— quacy is often questionable. Recognizing this shortcoming of the questionnaire technique, this final question was included as a means for the respondent to amplify or clar— ify any of his responses at to Offer any other additional information which he felt pertinent to the subject. Most of the comments received were meaningful and of considerable help to the study, and therefore are included in their entirety in Appendix B in order that- readers of this study can benefit totally from the respon— dents' expressed Opinions. For purposes of summarization, however, the comments are categorized into two general groups: Consolidation is feasible (total or partial) and Consolidation is not feasible (total or partial). Thirteen respondents gave comments favorable to consolidation. Generally speaking, more support was expressed for cooperation/coordination than for total con— solidation. The most common reason presented was that under the COOperation/coordination concept, each police agency could benefit from centralized services yet retain its own identity. One respondent, however, stated that small cities should merge to form one city if they border each other. One other respondent stated that Snohomish County, Washington, is currently studying a plan which 104 would consolidate or coordinate the staff and auxiliary services of a sheriff's Office and eighteen other juris- dictions. . Those expressing comments not favorable to con- solidation were five. Essentially, most of them were saying that bigger departments do not necessarily make better departments. One respondent was very specific in saying that his community's one experience with consol- idation was unsatisfactory in that he had no leverage to influence the quality, cost, or responsiveness of the joint data processing center. Two police chiefs felt that larger departments do not have the close relationship to the pub- .lic that the smaller departments do. One respondent felt that the interstate nature of his metropolitan area makes consolidation very difficult. Chapter 5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS This chapter is devoted to a brief restatement of the problem, a summary of the major findings and resulting conclusions of the study, a prognosis for the future, and some implicatiOns of the study which may warrant further study. PROBLEM A major issue confronting metrOpolitan areas today is the provision of basic police services. The emergence of multiple police jurisdictions has resulted in the extreme fragmentation and often overlapping of police services and authority. This study attempted to examine what is happening in the area of consolidation of police services and to determine the attitude of those public officials most directly concerned with administering police services, the municipal police chief, in relationship to the merger of police forces and the consolidation of police services. 105 .-.-fl2- sun l: .L .ma'“ “a :y l “an 106 FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS There is probably little argument against the fact that multiple jurisdictions in metrOpolitan areas are con— tributing to severe problems for the area and that they hinder adequate resolution of other problems. Moreover, many responsible leaders realize that something must be done about it, but Opinions as to exactly what is to be done and how vary considerably. The findings of the study lead the author to the following conclusions: 1. Consolidation Ofppolice services is considered a viable concept by many police chiefs. The results Of the study clearly show that the majority of the sample recognize the existence of multiple, overlapping police jurisdictions in their area. This recognition of the mul- tiplicity of police agencies and the high support given to the principle of consolidation implies an awareness of the problem which may lead to increased experiments in varying forms of consolidation efforts. The responses to the questionnaire clearly support the hypothesis that many police administrators consider some form of consolidation of police services to be a feasible concept for metropoli- tan areas. 2. Cooperation/coordination is the most pqpular form of consolidation. Throughout the study, it was clear that cooperation/coordination was well received in prin- ciple and practice by the sample. Most respondents 107 indicated they favored this concept for their own communi— ties and most, in fact, indicated that their agency was already employing this concept in some way. A basic con- sideration, then, appears to be not so much whether consol- idation is necessary or beneficial, but rather, what kind of area-wide or regional system can best serve the police pro— tection needs of metropolitan residents. The answer to that question is likely to vary from community to Community, but the prevailing factor is that many police chiefs are exploring the possibilities offered by partial consolida— tion of some police services. ReSpondents also chose this concept as Offering the most potential for law enforcement in metrOpolitan areas. 3. Training and auxiliary services are those most favored for consolidation. The numerous articles read by the author invariably indicated that this conclusion could be expected. The results of the study are completely con- sistent with the literature reviewed. The growing number Of states setting mandatory training standards and the fact that consolidated auxiliary services Offer an Opportunity for improved police services without posing a direct threat to an individual agency's autonomy may at least partially explain these services being those which are most fre- quently favored for consolidation. 4. Pressures for consolidation are mounting. The numerous interested government and private agencies which 108 have released studies encouraging consolidation, the recent National Conference on Criminal Justice which recommended consolidation of all police agencies employing fewer than ten sworn Officers, the guidelines issued by LEAA which must be met to receive federal funds, the establishment of mandatory training standards in many states, the rising cost of providing personnel and equipment, public demands for tax equity and quality police service, police informa— j tion systems, and the increasing mobility and complexity J of our society are all factors which are influencing a mounting trend toward consolidation. These influences can be expected to gain momentum and more consolidation efforts, Of some type, can be expected to result. IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE STUDY The police chiefs sampled in this study generally accepted the premise that consolidation of police services is a viable concept. In order to Obtain a more in-depth understanding Of this finding, future researchers might consider exploring the following implications of this study: 1. Why, specifically, do police chiefs consider that cooperation/coordination offers the most potential for law enforcement in metropolitan areas? What are the specific advantages? 109 2. At what level (inter—city, county, regional, state, national) is consolidation considered the most feas- ible and why? 3. Is state-wide consolidation of police services feasible? 4. What are some of the possible related effects of consolidation of police forces and what are their impli— cations? (Inter-agency transfers, lateral assignment at what levels of authority, pension plans and financing thereof, etc.) PROGNOSIS FOR THE FUTURE Any prediction for the future is always a dangerous venture. Neverthelessfl based upon the literature read and the findings of this study, the author feels confident that the consolidation of police services is a feasible concept which will be effected increasingly in more areas of the country. County consolidation seems to Offer one of the more promising approaches where the urban area lies within one county and where the county has organized an efficient, professional police force. The author feels that as more counties establish effective police forces, the new com- munities which have not yet organized their own police force but now feel that they have grown to the extent they 110 need full-time police protection, are likely to look to the county to provide these services for them. Those larger communities which already have their own police forces can be expected to increasingly resort to regional COOperation in order to obtain the benefits of police information systems, training academies, crime labs, and other services which they could not operate individually but which do not threaten their identity if operated jointly with another agency. The study results indicate that the police function is still considered a local matter, but there appears to be a shift toward the performance of many police services on an area—wide basis. The gradual consolidation of functions is very likely to lead eventually to total consolidation as the pressures mount for quality police service for the minimum tax expenditure. LEAA guidelines, police information sys- tems, and the other factors mentioned which are applying mounting pressure for consolidation are likely to be used along with functional consolidation as stepping stones to total consolidation of police services on a county-, regional—,cm state-wide basis in the more distant future. BIBLIOGRAPHY lll BIBLIOGRAPHY A. BOOKS Booth, David A. Metropolitics: The Nashville Consolidation. East Lansing: Michigan State University, 1963. Chapman, Samuel G. The POlice Heritage in England and America. East Lansing: Michigan State University, 1962. Committee for Economic Development. Reducing Crime and Assuring Justice. New York: Committee for Economic Development, 1972. . Reshaping Government in Metropolitan Areas. New York: Committee for Economic Development, 1970. Conlin, James. Local and Central Government: Police Administration. London: Cassell and CO., Ltd., 1967. Critchley, T. A. A History of Police in England and Wales 900-1966. London: Constable and Company, Ltd., 1967. Edwards, George. The Police on the Urban Frontier. New York: Institute of Human Relations Press, 1968. Fosdick, Raymond B. American Police Systems. New York: The Century CO., 1920. ' Grumm, John G. Metrgpolitan Area Government: The Toronto Experience. Governmental Research Series, NO. 19. Lawrence: University Of Kansas, 1959. Hawkins, Brett W. Nashville Metro. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 1966. International City Managers Association. The Municipal Yearbook 1972. Washington: International City Managers Association, 1972. Leonard, V. A. The Police Enterprise: Its Organization and Management. Springfield, 111.: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher, 1969. . The Police of the 20th Century. Brooklyn: The Foundation Press, Inc., 1964. 112 71d 1' layer..- .. 113 Looney, Francis B. "A Modern County-Regional Police Department," The Police Yearbook 1971. Washington: International Association of Chiefs of Police, Inc., Marshall, Geoffrey. Police and Government. London: Methuen and CO., Ltd., 1965. MetrOpolitan Fund. Regional Goygrnance, A Dialogue. Proceedings of a Seminar on "Reshaping Government in Metropolitan Areas." Detroit: Metropolitan Fund, Inc., 1971. Metropolitan Toronto Planning Board. Metropolitan Toronto 1965. Toronto: Thorn Press, Ltd., 1965. . Metropolitan Toronto 1967. Toronto: Miln- Bingham, Ltd., 1967. Mid-West Debate Bureau. Law Enforcement in the United States. Normal, Ill.: Mid—West Debate Bureau, 1965. Millspaugh, Arthur C. Crime Control by the National Gov— ernment. Washington: The Brookings Institution, 1937. More, Harry W., Jr. The New Era of Puplic Safety. Spring- field, Ill.: Charles C. Thomas, 1970. Norrgard, David L. Regional Law Enforcement. Chicago: Public Administration Service, 1969. Olson, Bruce T. Patterns of American Law Enforcement: Research by Questionnaire. East Lansing: Michigan State University, 1968.- Reith, Charles. The Blind Eye of History. London: Faber and Faber, Limited, 1952. Saunders, Charles B., Jr. Upgrading the American Police. Washington: The Brookings Institution, 1970. Sengstock, Frank S., and others. Consolidation: Building a Bridge Between City and Suburb. St. Louis: St. Louis University School of Law, 1964. Smith, Bruce. Police Systems in the United States. New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1949. . Rural Crime Control. New York: Institute of Public Administration, 1933. 114 Sofen, Edward. The Miami Metropolitan Experiment. Garden City: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1966. ' Vollmer, August. The Police and Modern Society. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1936. The World Almanac and Book of Facts. New York: Newspaper Enterprise Association, 1973. B. PERIODICALS Bishop, Charles. "Metro-Narcs: A Collective Effort," The Police Chief, XXXIX (October, 1972), 56—57. Black, Richard L. "Contract Services: A Plan of Govern- ment for Charleston CO.," New County Times, February 2, 1973. "Cincinnati's Regional Advanced Law Enforcement System Revised for Use on Smaller Computer,” The Police Chief,, XXXVIII (September, 1971), 60-62. "Cities Outlook," Business Week, February 21, 1970, p. 71. "Contract Law Enforcement," The Police Chief, XXXVIII (February, 1971), 12 and 50. Costikyan, Edward N. "Cities Can Work," Saturdangeview, April 4, 1970, pp. 19-21, 39. "A Cure for City Blight--The Jacksonville Story,” U.S. News & World Report, LXXII (January 3, 1972), 34—36. "Delaware Departments Consolidate Communications," The Police Chief, XXXIX (January, 1972), 19. Dzikiewicz, Eugene. "Atlanta Metropol: A Regional Approach to Police Problems," Traffic Digest and Review, XVII (October, 1969), 14-15. Editorial. The State Journal [Lansing, Michigan], September 19, 1972, p. A-12. Editorial. The State Journal [Lansing, Michigan], February 20, 1973, p. A-lO. "First Consolidation Try Defeated," New County Times, II (March 9, 1973), 5 and 8. 115 "Interstate Pact for Aid,“ The Police Chief, XXXVIII (April, 1971), 90. Kreutzer, Walter E. "New Directions for U.S. Law Enforce- ment," The Police Chief, XXXIX (October, 1972), 34-37. Kuykendall, Jack, and James V. Gould. "Cooperative Police Services; A Study Design," Police, XVI (May, 1972), 40-47. Lobel, Jerome. "The Arizona Total Criminal Justice Infor- mation and Communications System,” Jurimetrics Journal, X (March, 1970), 95-100. ". . . And a Look at Three Other Area Wide Governments,"- Business Week, LXXII (January 3, 1972), 36. "Mergers Reviewed for Local Units," National Civic Review, LXI (September, 1972), 417-19. I "Ontario Maps the Way to Metro Reform," Business Week, November 21, 1970, pp. 80—82. Parsonson, R. T. "The Regional Trend in Law Enforcement," The Police Chief, XXXVIII (August, 1971), 26—28. "Recipe for Better Local Government," New County Times, II (March 9, 1973), 5-6 and 8. "Recommendations for Improving the Police Functions," The Police Chief, XXXVIII (June, 1971), 64'67. "The Right of Privacy," Trial, VII (March-April, 1971), 13. Schultz, Arthur A. "Regional Training for Professional Proficiency," The Police Chief, XXXVIII (March, 1971), 50-51 0 "Seminar: City—County Consolidation," The American County, February, 1972, p. 7. Shrylocks, John R. "Regionalization of Police Services," The Police Chief, XXXVIII (August, 1971), 83 Skoler, Daniel L., and June M. Hetler. "Criminal Adminis- tration and the Local Government Crisis: The Challenge of Consolidation," The Prosecutor, V (July-August, 1969), 261-69. "Where Regional Planners Call the Shots," Business Week, February 21, 1970, pp. 72-79. 116 C. GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. Alternative Approaches to Governmental Reorganization in Metropolitan Areas. Washington: Government Print— ing Office, 1962. . Factors Affecting Voter Reactions to Govern— mental Reorganization in Metropolitan Areas. Washing- ton: Government Printing Office, 1964. . State-Local Relations in the Criminal Justice System. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1971. British Information Services. The Police Service in Britain. Publication NO. Rf.P. 5598/69. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1969. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Reports for the United States. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1971. The President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Admin- istration of Justice. The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1967. . Task Force Report: Crime and Its Impact: An Assessment. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1967. Task Force Report: The Police. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1967. U.S. Bureau of the Census. U.S. Census of Popplation: 1970 Number of Inhabitants. Publication Numbers 4, 10, 15, 16, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 34, 40, 44, 45, 46, 48, 51. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1971. D. OTHER National Association of Counties. Personal correspondence between National Association of Counties and the writer March 2, 1973. 117 Public Administration Service (PAS). Personal correspon- dence between PAS and the writer, January 19, 1973. . Police Services in St. Louis County! Missouri: A Survey Report. Chicago: Public Administration Service, 1967. APPENDICES 118 APPENDIX A QUESTIONNAIRE 119 6067 Carriage Hill Drive E. Lansing, Michigan 48823 26 January 1973 Dear Police Administrator, I am a major in the U.S. Army Military Police Corps doing graduate study in Criminal Justice at Michigan State University. Having experienced the many demands which are placed on a police administrator's time, I fully realize that your time is premium. I have, therefore, designed the attached questionnaire so that it can be completed in 15 minutes (actual test). There are over 40,000 separate police departments in the U.S. with over 39,000 of them consisting of less than 10 men. Some reformers claim that such fragmentation Of police resources does not permit a coordinated law enforcement effort nor does it permit the full potential Of police resources to be utilized in the most efficient and economical manner. The consolidation of police services,totally or partially, has been suggested as one alternative. The attached questionnaire is being sent to a care- fully selected sample Of police chiefs throughout the United States to determine their attitudes toward the consolidation of police services in metropolitan areas. Your cooperation in the completion and prompt return of the questionnaire by February 20, 1973, in the enclosed, self-addressed return envelope will be greatly appreciated. Sincerely yours, Barry B. Billings MAJ , MPC 1 Incl as 120 121 CONSOLIDATION OF POLICE SERVICES QUESTIONNAIRE PART l-DEFINITIONS A. Total consolidation-the complete merger of all functions of 2 or more police departments into one single department with areawide jurisdiction. B. Contract law enforcement-a community contracts with another community to receive police service in exchange for a fixed sum of money. C. COOperation/Coordination-refers to an agreement, usually written, between 2 or more com- munities to jointly provide a common service such as training, radio dispatching, central- ized records or crime lab services etc. The participating police departments remain ESE? arate but pool their resources to jointly perform a certain service or function. D. Community-any town, village or city. May also include the county or state when referring to a police agency. PART II-COMMUNITY DATA Name of community In the questions below, please check the box which most accurately reflects your opinion. 1. In your study: Cla. Please do not identify the name of my community. CJb. You may identify the name of my community. 2. My community is: CJa. The largest or major city in the area. cab. A suburb of the major city in the area. D c . Other 3. My city and the immediate surrounding urban area is: D a. Located within one county. 0 b. Located in more than one county. D c. In more than one state. c)d. Other 4. The total number of employees in my police department (including civilian) is . PART III-QUESTIONS ON CONSOLIDATION Agree Disagree 5. There are too many separate police departments in the U.S. c) g 6. There are too many separate police departments in or around my community. [3 D 7. In my community, some police services are duplicated by at least one other police agency. (e.g. state, county or city police patrol the same stretch or roadway etc.). D D 8. Total consolidation of my police department with another police department to form one single department 0 a. Has never been seriously considered. Elb. Has been considered but rejected. Clo. Has been approved/accomplished. D