ADMINISTRATION OF THE INVESTIGATIVE FUNCTION --SPECIAI.IZATION WITHIN THE DETECTIVE UNIT Thesis for the Degree of M. S. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY CHARLES F. PETERSON 1968 4.. ‘‘‘‘‘ ‘ {KIN 2 6 1996 .238; as ' a ‘77 .- ‘_ F9, I 3 ADMINISTRATION OF THE INVESTIGATIVE FUNCTION--SPECIALIZATION WITHIN THE DETECTIVE UNIT BY Charles F. Peterson AN ABSTRACT OF A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE School of Police Administration and Public Safety 1968 APPROVED. ' /?0A1vaz’ quw Chairman flax/x" r" 7.) I {-1' l ,7‘ ~. :7 2/ I ' ' ABSTRACT ADMINISTRATION OF THE INVESTIGATIVE FUNCTION--SPECIALIZATION WITHIN THE DETECTIVE UNIT by Charles F. Peterson Certain criminal investigations are extremely com- plicated. The follow-up investigation in a felony case requires special training and personnel with special qual- ifications. It also requires carefully cultivated sources of information and the application of sophisticated, eth— ical, and lawful techniques of interrogation and investi- gation. It was observed that some administrators of muni- cipal police departments in the United States assign investigations to investigative personnel in accordance with the concept of specialization in case assignment, and some follow the generalist approach. This study involves an attempt to determine which of these two methods of case assignment will result in greater efficiency as measured by the percentage of cases cleared. The clearance statistics as reported to the Fed- eral Bureau of Investigation for inclusion in the Uniform Crime Reports are utilized as the standard of comparison. It was hypothesized that a police department which followed Charles F. Peterson the practice of assigning all crimes of a similar type to a specialist investigator would reflect a higher rate of clearance than would a department which assigned investi- gations in rotation or other generalized procedure. This study had as its objective the possible application of its findings in furtherance of the cause of specialization within the detective division of the New York City Police Department. The research methodology began with a compilation of a nine point profile of a selected patrol precinct lo- cated within the city of New York, and by use of this in- strument four comparable cities were located within the state of Michigan. The selected cities were Grand Rapids, Flint, and Saginaw, all of which followed the concept of specialization in the assignment of investigations, and Kalamazoo which generalized. Each of these cities was visited, detectives and supervisors were interviewed, relevant departmental forms inspected, and personal obser- vations were made. In some cases observations were made as a participant-observer. Data was gathered on the meth- ods employed in the selection, retention, and evaluation of investigators. The procedures followed in the receipt, assignment, and disposition of a criminal investigation are recorded and evaluated. Charles F. Peterson The clearance rate achieved for the index crimes as defined by the Uniform Crime Reports for the year 1967 is reported for each city. The clearance rates achieved by the two generalist jurisdictions are compared to the clearance rates achieved by the three specialist jurisdic- tions. An analysis of the clearance rate achieved for each crime is presented. No specific conclusions are drawn as a result of the analysis of the clearance rates. The evidence collect- ed and relied upon did not support the hypothesis; that is, the superiority of either method of case assignment could not be demonstrated based on the collected data. The rate of clearance achieved by the generalist jurisdictions was higher in some crime categories, lower in others, than that achieved by the specialists, and vice versa. The data available did not allocate the credit for a clearance specifically to either the patrol or investi- gative branches, therefore their relative efficiency could not be determined, nor could the investigative functions of different cities be compared. Additional research into the validity of the use of clearance statistics as a measure of departmental effi- ciency is indicated. ADMINISTRATION OF THE INVESTIGATIVE FUNCTION--SPECIALIZATION WITHIN THE DETECTIVE UNIT BY AC’J Charles F3 Peterson A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE School of Police Administration and Public Safety 1968 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my appreciation to the Attorney-General of the United States who, through the Office of Law Enforcement Assistance, provided this Oppor- tunity for me to continue my education. To The New York City Police Department, which pro- vided the leave time and financial support which made the acceptance of this fellowship possible, I gratefully ex- press my sincere thanks. The author is also indebted to Professor Raymond T. Galvin, Michigan State University, for his advice and as- sistance throughout this past year and especially during the period of this study. He achieved a happy balance of guidance and Opportunity for independent effort, and pro- vided encouragement which "made smooth the difficult path." Finally, my special thanks to my wife, Barbara, who I spirited away from her family and friends in order that my stay in bitter cold Michigan would be that much more tolerable, and to my children who I hope will long remember the happy times enjoyed during the past year. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 LIST OF TABLES O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 LIST OF APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter I. II. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . Sources of information . . . . Importance of the Study . . . . . Rising crime rate . . . The cost of maintaining the police function is increasing . . . . Lack of research in this area . Limitations of the study . . . Scope of the study . . . . . . Definition of terms and organization of remainder of thesis . . . . REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE . . . . . Specialization--in General . . . Speéialization in the Medical Profession . . . . . . . . . . . Specialization within the Legal Profession . . . . . . . . . . . Specialization in Federal Law Enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . Specialization within a Municipal Department . . . . . . . . . . . Police Factors influencing the degree of Specialization to be introduced . . . . Distribution of Manpower to Specialized Divisions . . . . . . . . . . . . Advantages of Specialization . Disadvantages of specialization . . . . iii Page ii vi vii 21 21 22 24 28 32 33 35 36 37 Chapter III. IV. Specialization within the Detective Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . Organization of the detective function as it affects specialization Specialization in the Assignment of Investigations . . . . . . . . . . THE DETECTIVE FUNCTION . . . . . . . Selection of Detectives . . Views of early writers . Current practices . . . . Evaluation of the Detective Evaluation of Investigators . . Generalists--how evaluated . . 0'11... CI :3... Other demeaning practices . Specialists--how evaluated . Improving assessment of arrest activity . . . . . . . . . . . . Written rating forms . . . . . . Supervision of Investigators . . . Supervision by Formal Authority . . Detective supervisors . . . . . By personal observation . . . By questioning . . . . Written records . . . . Submitted reports . . By "location log" . By radio contact . . . . . . By obtaining a case-time estimate ADMINISTRATION OF THE INVESTIGATIVE FUNCTION IN FIVE POLICE DEPARTMENTS . New York City--120th Police Precinct Introduction . . . . . . . . . . The patrol function . . . . . . . Crime reporting procedure . . The investigative function . Selection . . . . . . . . . . Assignment of investigations Evaluation . . . . . . . Grand Rapids, Michigan . . Introduction . . . . . . The police department . . Crime reporting procedure The investigative function . . . Assignment of investigations . . Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . Miscellaneous . . . . . . . . . . iv Page 39 39 43 50 51 51 54 61 66 66 69 70 71 72 75 78 78 8O 80 80 81 82 83 83 86 87 87 89 89 9O 90 93 94 95 95 97 97 98 100 101 102 Chapter Page Kalamazoo, Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 The police department . . . . . . . . . 104 The investigative function . . . . . . 105 Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Assignment of investigations . . . . . 107 Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Flint, Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 The police department . . . . . . . . . 110 Crime reporting procedure . . . . . . . 110 The investigative function . . . . . . 111 Selection of investigators . . . . . . 112 Assignment of investigations . . . . . 113 Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Miscellaneous . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Saginaw, Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 The police department . . . . . . . . . 116 Crime reporting procedure . . . . . . . 116 The investigative function . . . . . . 117 Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Assignment of investigations . . . . . 119 Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Miscellaneous . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . 121 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Summary of the literature on specialization . . . . . . . . . . 121 Analysis of the field data . . . . . . 123 Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Departmental clearance rates . . . . . 126 Crimes against the person . . . . . . . 126 Crimes against property . . . . . . . . 129 Conclusions and Recommendations . . . . . 132 Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Table 1. LIST OF TABLES Page A Profile of a Metropolitan Police Precinct and four Michigan Cities . O O O I O O O O O 7 Clearance Rates of the Index Crimes for five Selected Jurisdictions for the year 1967 O O O O O O O O O O O I O O C O O O O O 96 vi LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix Page A. Arrest Evaluation--Detective Arrest . . . . 138 B. A Summary of Investigative Administrative Practices for five Selected Cities . . . . 140 vii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Crime in the United States is presently at an all time high, and still climbing. Threatened most by the spreading incidence of crime are the seventy percent of Americans who live in cities. The most elementary freedom of a11--against arbitrary interference with one's bodily security and prOperty--is in growing jeopardy. As a re- sult, a deepening concern over law enforcement pervades urban society, as well as the nation as a whole. Public attention is being directed towards the police agencies; their resources, procedures and the quality of their ad- ministration, with the objective to improve them. There are many areas which need to be improved, and no one in the police field can deny this. The long standing feeling that improvements in a police agency can only be achieved by the interference of an outside power is not without foundation. Few police departments are led and directed by men who can be said to be "administrators" in the true sense of the word. All too often needed changes are post- poned until something happens to require a procedural over— haul, this "something" usually causes embarrassment to the 1 department and a consequent loss of prestige. Administra- tors who recognize the need for changes and because of budgetary or manpower limitations are unable to initiate them are not taken to task here. It is the high-ranking police administrator who, often being close to retirement, resists changes and adOpts a "do nothing" posture. This fairly common attitude is closely related to its predeces- sor "we've always done it this way." Most of the larger police departments are organized into a number of functional divisions, the patrol force being the largest and most important in terms of function. To the extent that the patrol force fails, by its prelim- inary investigation of a crime, to apprehend the perpetra- tor, investigators or detectives are required. This in- vestigative function is created by the assignment of men from the primary work of patrol, thereby weakening the patrol force, to the secondary task of investigation after the fact, a specialty. The creation of, and continuance of a detective division is no longer a questionable procedure in the modern era, however, there are a few experts who would abolish the detective. Most of these experts would agree with V. A. Leonard, who states: In cities of 150,000 population and under--perhaps higher--the presence of a detective division would seem to be a waste of departmental resources. In such jurisdictions there appears to be no sound reason for not lodging total investigative responsibility in the patrol division. One city, Port Arthur, Texas, did just that. It uses a "Patrolman-Detective" combination in that an officer is assigned for short periods of time to duty in civilian clothes to investigate specific crimes.2 However, its small pOpulation of 66,676 was an important decisional factor; to abolish detective divisions is not the trend today. On the contrary, the trend is toward increased specialization, which is reducing the patrol officer to the status of a watchman. Clift writes: In evaluating specialization, it can neither be said that it is wholly bad or wholly good. Certainly, some specialization must be carried on, especially when duties can no longer be performed as a routine function. This is to say that we should never specialize when generalization is possible. Moreover, sound policies of coordination must be enunciated when divisions of work are made. It is a serious mistake for a police chief to allow his specialized activity to unduly weaken his general patrol strength. If anything, the general patrol should be strengthened when specialists are engaged, otherwise it becomes a merry-go-round with more specialists, fewer beat patrolmen, still more crime, and still more specialists. Specialization, meaning the assignment of patrol- men to detective status for the purpose of conducting 1V. A. Leonard, Police Organization and Management (Foundation Press, 1964), p. 194. 2International City Managers Association Yearbook, 1963, p. 413. 3Robert E. Clift, A Guide to Modern Police Thinkb' ing (Anderson Co. Publishers, 1956 , pp. 32, 33. investigations which will lead to the identity, arrest, conviction of perpetrators, and to the recovery of.stolen property in apprOpriate cases, is today used by all large police departments. It is the purpose of this study to attempt to illustrate how these men could be best organized within the detective organization in order to achieve max- imum efficiency. It is felt that a man assigned to inves- tigate crimes is more efficient if he is assigned respon- sibility for one class of crime; e.g.: all armed robberies, or all sex crimes occurring within that jurisdiction. This "specialist" (detective) is in effect specializing still further by devoting all his energy to the solving of one class of crime. The author's interest in the problem stems from over five years as a working detective on the New York City Police Department, assigned to a busy mid-Manhattan precinct detective squad. The New York City Police Depart— ment's detective division consists of two major subdivisions; a small number of specialized headquarters squads, and 79 decentralized generalist detective squads assigned to patrol precincts. The Operations of the headquarters specialist squads-will be discussed in Chapter II, at this point our concern is with the generalist squads. The New York City procedure at the precinct level is to assign investigations without regard to crime specialization, usually the number of men working together will divide the number of hours of the tour and agree that all cases reported during assigned periods are their individual responsibilities. For exam- ple, if four detectives are working a day tour consisting of 9 hours (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) the first man will be respon- sible for all crimes reported between 8 a.m. and 10:15 a.m., the second for those reported between 10:15 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and so forth. In effect the clock is assigning the investigations. This system characterizes the "gener- alist" concept used in many large cities today. There is no control over the workload assigned to any one individ— ual, it being in the hands of fate or chance; when the crime occurs or is reported. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that the above method is less efficient than the specialist concept. Restated, it is the basic hypo- thesis of this research that a police department that re- quires its' detective administrators to assign investiga- tions to a detective who is a specialist in that type of crime will be more efficient in that it will solve more crimes and identify more perpetrators. There are several questions that this study will attempt to answer: 1. Does a department which specializes in the assignment of follow-up investigations to detectives re- flect a higher clearance rate than a department similar in size and enforcement problems but which follows the detective generalist concept? 6 2. Does the utilization of the specialized case assignment procedure result in better control over the activities of the investigators? 3. Is expertise developed by the investigator assigned to and responsible for the solving of one class of crime? Methodology. After an analysis of several precincts in New York City, including the thirtyhsecond in Manhattan, the one- hundred fourth in Queens, the forty-fifth in the Bronx, and the sixty-fourth in Brooklyn, it was decided that the one-hundred twentieth precinct in Richmond (Staten Island) most closely resembled the cities in the midwest. Accord- ingly a nine point profile of the one-hundred twentieth precinct was prepared. This profile was used to select four cities in Michigan which most closely paralleled the one-hundred twentieth precinct to which the findings could be most validly applied. This profile appears as Table 1. Case studies of four cities were prepared; three cities which use the concept of specialization within the detec- tive branch and one city which did not. The findings as a whole were applied to the one-hundred twentieth precinct. This circuitous manner of proceeding was, under the circum- stances, necessary, but as long as the abstraction was carefully observed it was not found awkward.' Hafiuumsccw HMflHumsocH Hmwuumnccw a w Hafiuumsocfl Hafiuumscca w muflo mo umuom HMflucoUHmmu Hmfluampflmmu HMflDchHmmn lasso usmsafiovmum m G as am e coaumasmom mpflss lac: mo mmmgcmoumm ma m mm mm mm macanumflp no mnouowm Hm NH mm ha mm mm>HuomD0Q me mm NmH ma m mGMHHH>HU mum nma mmm mma mam Acuozmv . numswnpm medaom magmaflm>m magmaflm>m no: nos m¢.¢mm hm.mmm mma mumonum mo mmaflz m.~s «.mm a.mm sm.sa SH Span mo mmHHE mumsvm omo.aom ooo.om ooo.mom ooo.ooa ooo.m>a coaumaomom moflmmm oonEmme Dcwam Baswmmm .uom Quoma comma xuow Boz mmHBHU ZdOHmUHS mDOm 92¢ BUZHummm mUHAOm ZfiBHAOQOMBMS ¢ ho mQHmomm d H mam¢8 The case studies were supplemented by personal interviews with members of the police departments studied. An effort was made to interview detectives and their imme- diate superiors rather than higher ranking officers, when- ever possible. In all cities an actual investigation was followed from the time of its reporting to either a final or temporary disposition, and in several instances the in- vestigator was accompanied by the author, which provided an opportunity for first—hand observation of departmental procedures. Sources of information This study is based primarily on library research of available documents and a review of the literature, on the factual data collected during the semistandardized interviews described above, on the personal observations of the author, and on the author's own experience applied to interpret the data presented. In this report much rel- evant material is presented regardless of how well it could be validated. However care was taken to clearly differen— tiate those aspects of the study which it is felt are ade- quately validated by the field research and case study. The conclusions of this paper are restricted to these results. Importance of the Study Rising crime rate In the calendar year 1966, the latest year for which we have statistics, more than three million serious crimes were reported to law enforcement agencies, a national increase of eleven percent compared to the year 1965.4 The Uniform Crime Reports as administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation employs seven crime classifications to establish an index to measure the trend and distribution of crime in the United States. These crimes, murder, for— cible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny of $50 and over in value and auto theft. These crimes were selected for use in the Crime Index because, as a group, they represent the most common law enforcement problem, that is, they are the type committed within every state of our nation. In the preface to the 1966 edition of the Uniform Crime Reports, J. Edgar Hoover, F.B.I. director, wrote: The overall crime problem and the performance of criminal justice systems are subjects of deep concern. Recently, there have been many studies looking toward solutions to these problems such as the deliberations of the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice, as well as State and Fed- eral Crime legislation; which have generated many 4Crime in the United States, Uniform Crime Reports 1966, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Gov't Printing Office, Wash., D. C. 20402. 10 plans, theories, and action programs. One vital need remains clearly apparent; namely, meaningful informa- t1on for sound dec1s1on mak1ng. The report pointed out that crime, meaning the number of offenses committed had increased sixty-two per- cent during the years 1960 to 1966, the crime rate, the number of offenses per 100,000 population had increased forty-eight percent during the same period, while the pop- ulation had increased only nine percent. It is recognized that these increases are due in part to improved procedures in the reporting and recording of crime, however to attri- bute more than a very small portion of the increase to this cause is to avoid the issue. There are more crimes being committed today, and we must face facts. Police adminis- trators might well speculate the extent to which they un- wittingly contributed to this increase in crime by ineffi- cient methods. Within the context of this research it may be asserted that failure to adopt certain procedures which would facilitate the identification and apprehension of criminals, consequently allowing them to remain at large to commit additional crimes, maximizes both the number of . . 6 cr1mes and the cr1me rate. 51bid. ' p. v. 6In its March, 1968, preliminary annual release of uniform crime reports, the F.B.I. said major crimes for 1967 were sixteen percent higher than in 1966. Violent crimes rose fifteen percent with murder up twelve percent, aggravated assault eight percent, forcible rape nine per- cent, and robbery twenty-seven percent. 11 The cost of maintaining the police function is increasing Salaries of police have more than doubled in the decade 1958 to 1968, and the development costs of highly technical, sophisticated equipment used to combat crime has added to the already straining police budgets. One way to reduce costs is to make more efficient use of that which you have. The largest expense in any police budget is that disbursed as salaries. Administrators are engaged in a never-ending search for measures which will enable them to either reduce the number of specialists or to im— prove their methods to increase efficiency. One method by which police departments are evaluated is the percentage of crimes reported to the police which are solved, or "cleared." A procedure therefore which will enable more crimes to be cleared, resulting in a higher clearance rate, is a desirable course to follow. If it can be demonstrated that one method of case assignment will result in more efficient manpower usage, in this case more control over investigators and a higher percentage of crimes solved, then the suggested method should be adOpted. Lack of research in this area Extensive and thorough search of the extant police literature fails to reveal the existence of any research in this area. As the review of the literature will show 12 writers in this field merely state the advantages accruing to the police agency which adopts the theory of specializa- tion in case assignment. The police administrator is not provided with statistics supporting the recommendation that investigations should be assigned to a specialist who de— votes all his working time to the solution of such crimes. Alternatives are not discussed nor even pointed out. One of the few usable guides for evaluation purposes is the information provided by the Uniform Crime Reports. A po- lice administrator is able to obtain an imprecise but an operating evaluation of his agency by referring to the tables in the Uniform Crime Reports which contain the clearance rate for the seven serious crimes, both nation- ally and by geographic groupings of states. Much care must be exercised that comparisons be attempted only between localities which have similar ecological and demographic characteristics. Bruce Smith cautions: It cannot be denied that the size, training, and general efficiency of the police departments do have some effect on the local crime picture. On the other hand, there are other factors affecting the amount of crime which merit careful consideration. These include such matters as the composition of the population of the city as regards age, sex, and race, as well as the size and characteristics of the population of any adja- cent metropolitan area; the economic status of the pOpulation; the climate of the area; the general nature of the community, that is residential, agricultural, industrial, or resort; the educational, recreational, and religious facilities of the community; and the attitudes of public prosecutors, the courts, and the public in general towards the problems of law enforce- ment. 13 A comparison of the raw figures or even the crime rates of one community with another may not be partic- ularly significant. The important thing is the extent to which the local crime rates exceed or fall short of the average for cities of the same pOpulation group, geographic division, or state. Such a comparison sheds light on the relative size of the problem at hand. Limitations of the study This research was undertaken by the author in order to gather material which would further the concept and cause of detective specialization within the Detective Division of the New York City Police Department which, at the present time, does not specialize in the assignment of criminal investigations. It is believed that detective personnel could be more effectively utilized, supervised, and evaluated under the specialist procedure. To test the hypothesis properly the ideal situation would be to adopt specialization within one representative borough of the city, for example Richmond County, for one year. At the termination of the trial period the clearance rate of the test borough, as well as other indicators, would be com- pared. Precedent for this type of project exists, in re- cent years we have had the "Operation 25" project which demonstrated that when a precinct was assigned sufficient 7Bruce Smith, "Crime Reporting as a Police Manage- ment Tool," The Annals of the American Academ , Vol. 291 (Philadelphia: The American Academy of Pol1t1ca1 and Social Science, January, 1954), p. 132. 14 manpower to cover all of its posts, arrests increased and crime declined; and the "Sixteenth Division" project which demonstrated the superiority of one-man motor patrol car Operation under certain circumstances. Currently, the "Twentieth Precinct" experiment is being conducted which is testing new administrative techniques within the pre- cinct. Since at the present time a project designed to ascertain the efficiency of specialization in the assign- ment of criminal investigations is not emminent, of neces- sity the research must be conducted elsewhere. It was theorized by the author that several New York City precincts were "cities" themselves, and that by the compilation of its characteristics it could be compared with cities in the midwest where the research was feasible. A further limitation is that the cities compared are relatively small in size and in police manpower. The fact that there is no large city which continues to apply the generalist method of assigning cases to investigators makes the evaluation of the New York City practice very difficult. Finally, it must be pointed out that this study> is being conducted in partial fulfillment of the require- ments for a Masters degree, and time limitations restricted the number Of cities visited and the duration of the visits. 15 Scope Of the study This study will concern itself with the method used by the cities studied to select and evaluate their investi- gators, how a case is assigned to an investigator and the reporting of the results Of the investigation. The research will concern itself with investigations that are criminal in nature and which are of the seven serious crimes re- ported in the Uniform Crime Reports and discussed previous- ly. The clearance rate Of detective branches which spec- ialize and those which do not will be compared and analyzed. Definition of terms and organization- 5f’remainder of thesis Case--for the purposes of this study, case will be used interchangeably with and as a synonym for "investiga- tion." C1earance--for the purpose of this study a crime will be considered to be "cleared" or solved when the po- lice have I 1) identified the offender, and 2) have sufficient evidence to take him into cus- tody, and 3) actually take him into custody. In view of the fact, however, that the statistics provided by the F.B.I.'s Uniform Crime Reports are relied upon in this study, the above definition will be expanded 16 to include as cleared or solved a crime where, in excep- tional circumstances, some element beyond police control precludes formal charges against the Offender. Examples of elements beyond the control of the police would be where the victim refuses to prosecute, or local prosecution is waived because the subject is being prosecuted elsewhere for a crime committed in another jurisdiction.. The arrest of one person can clear several crimes or several persons may be arrested in the process of clearing but one crime. Clearance rate--the percentage of crimes cleared of the total crimes known to the police.. This study will be limited to the analysis of those crimes serious enough to be designated as "Index Crimes" for the purposes of Uniform Crime Reporting. ~ Detective--a sworn member of the department who is assigned to investigative tasks at the discretion of the chief or police commissioner, or who has passed a civil service examination which entitles him to such aSsignment. This term is used in this study in preference to such titles as "investigator" because Of its greater specificity. Detective unit--the smallest unit which provides a follow-up investigative service; the function to which responsibility for the solving of a crime is shifted after termination of an unsuccessful preliminary investigation by the uniformed patrol force. 17 Follow-up investigator-~15 used in this study in— terchangeably with the terms "detective" and "investigator." Index crimes--those Offenses which are "index crimes" are: 1) Criminal homicide a) murder and non-negligent manslaughter: all willful felonious homicides as distinguished from deaths caused by negligence. Excludes attempts to kill, assaults to kill, suicides, accidental deaths, and justifiable homicides. b) manslaughter by negligence: any death which the police investigation establishes was primarily attributable to gross negligence of some individual other than the victim. 2) Forcible rape--rape by force, assault to rape and attempted rape. Excludes statutory Offenses (no force used--victim under age of consent). 3) Robbery--stealing or taking anything of value from the person by force or violence or by putting person in fear, such as strong-arm robbery, stickups, armed rob- bery, assault to rob, and attempt to rob. 4) Aggravated assault--assau1t with intent to kill or for the purpose Of inflicting severe bodily injury by. shooting, cutting, stabbing, maiming, poisoning, scalding, or by the use Of acids, explosives, or other means.- Ex- cludes simple assault, assault and battery, fighting, etc. 18 5) Burglary--breaking and entering. Burglary, housebreaking, safecracking, or any unlawful entry to com- mit a felony or a theft, even though no force was used to gain entrance, and attempts. Burglary followed by a lar- ceny is not counted again as larceny. 6) Larceny--theft (except auto theft) a) fifty dollars and over in value; b) under fifty dollars in value. Thefts of bicycles, automobile accessories, shoplifting, pocket picking, or any stealing of property or article Of value which is not taken by force and violence or by fraud. Excludes embezzlement, "con" games, forgery, worthless checks, etc. 7) Auto theft--stealing or driving away and aban- doning a motor vehicle. Excludes taking for temporary use when actually returned by the taker or unauthorized use by those having lawful access to the vehicle. Investigation--an investigation is interpreted to mean the process Of gathering evidentiary material relating to criminal Offenses for use in future judicial proceedings. It may or may not include the apprehension of suspects de- pending upOn the dictates of the situation, but always has as its aim the identification of suspects. Black's Law Dictionary defines investigation as: TO follow up, step by step, by patient inquiry or Observation; to trace or track mentally; to search 19 into; to examine and inquire into with care and accu- racy; tO find out by careful inquisition, examination, and the taking of evidence.8 When considering the role of investigations within a com- munity, a more precise definition views an investigation asra preliminary phase Of the judicial process, separate from it but at the same time providing a framework within which the judicial process is to be exercised. As such it is subject to all the rules of evidence which apply in the courts of the particular jurisdiction and the rulings of the United States Supreme Court. Specialization--as used in this study is defined as the restriction Of one's efforts to a limited branch or field Of activity within one's profession or business; where used concerning a detective division or sub-division thereof it refers to the assignment of criminal-investiga- tions of a similar nature to an individual detective for investigation and report. The remaining chapters of this study are organized as follows: Chapter II is a review of the available literature in the field as it bears on the subject Of this research. Chapter III is to be considered as background ma- terial deemed to be vital to a complete understanding Of 8Henry C. Black, Law Dictionary (St. Paul: West Publishing Company, 1951), p. 960. 20 how a detective unit actually functions; the selection, internal promotion, evaluation and supervision Of detec- tives. Chapter IV is a report on the field research con-_ ducted in the police departments of four Michigan cities. Chapter V consists of the summary and conclusions arrived at based on this research, and recommendations for further research. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Specialization--in General The concept of specialization is widely accepted in American industry, and in American life. It is not an ex- aggeration to state that the United States is the great industrial power it is today because of the ability of our business leaders to divide a complex task into manageable parts, allowing several trained employees to each pursue, and become expert in, one aspect of the overall task. The resulting efficiency manifests itself both.in-increased quality but also in greater quantity;more total work will be done if members of the group specialize in certain ac- tivities than if each member does varied tasks.1 The value of specialization was recognized as far back as 1776 by Adam Smith in his famous example of the making Of pins, in which he describes the great productive power which results from assigning to each man one task which he performs in. cooperation with others. He then points out that lFranklin G. Moore, Management; Organization and Practice (New York: Harper and Row, 1964). 21 22 In every other art and manufacture, the effects of the division Of labour are similar to what they are in this very trifling one; though in many Of them, the labour can neither be so much subdivided, nor reduced to so great a simplicity Of Operation. The division Of labour, however, so far as it can be introduced, occasions, in every art, a proportionable increase Of the productive powers Of labour.2 Smith was concerned with increased production, and little thought was given in those early times to quality as a result of specialization of tasks. It remained for the professions to recognize that specialization aided the providing of quality service to patients and clients. Specialization in the Medical Profession Specialization in the medical profession appeared at an early date. In Egypt, as early as the 6th century, B.C., each physician applied himself to but one disease- and in ancient Rome specialization within the medical pro- fession was also a common practice.3 At the time the American medical profession began to develop, specializa- tion had become accepted as prOper, and even usual, in Europe. The European universities continued to maintain leadership of medical education, and many of America's 'early physicians studied in the European medical schools. 2Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations (Oxford: Clar- endon Press, 1869), Vol. 1, p. 6. 3Cecilia C. Mettler, A History Of Medicine (Phil- adelphia: Blakiston Co. Publishers, 1947), p. 321. 23 As soon as circumstances permitted, the American physician OOpied the EurOpean example, and medical specialization 4 The trend in America appeared in the United States. towards specialization was well established by the time of the American Revolution, but it was not until 1864 that the House Of Delegates Of the American Medical Association adopted a recommendation to the effect that the subject of specialties be formally approved. Finally, in 1869, the following resolutions were adopted. Resolved, That this Association recognizes special- ties as proper and legitimate fields of practice. Resolved, That specialists shall be governed by the same rules of professional etiquette as have been laid down for general practitioners. Resolved, That it shall not be proper for special- ists publicly to advertise themselves as such or to assume any title not specially granted by a regularly scheduled college.5 These resolutions, having the effect Of Officially recognizing specialization, encouraged still further the trend away from general practice and intensified special- izing by medical practitioners. By 1962 there were ten major specialty fields and nine minor fields Officially recognized by the American Medical Association, with only twenty-one percent Of all physicians considered to be in "general practice." There is concern today over the 4Arturo Castiglioni, A History_of Medicine (New York: A. A. Knopf, 1940), p. 239. 5Glenn Greenwood and Robert Frederickson, Special— ization in the Medical and Legal Professions (Munde1e1n, Illinois: Callaghan & Company, 1964), p. 12. ' 24 increase in the number of specialists because many physi- cians feel that the recognition of specialists is reducing the prestige of the general practitioners. Specialists have been criticized for invading the territory of the general practitioner. Physicians are "certified" in their specialty after examination by a board consisting of those who are already specializing in the area. Some physicians have asserted that the specialty boards use their examinations as a de- vice to limit the size of the number practicing the spec- ialty, rather than to test the skill of the applicant, but this and other similar internal problems are administrative in nature and cannot be said to be a criticism of special- ization per se. The medical profession has, by specializ- ing, met the problems of keeping up to date with advanced techniques, of providing an outlet for individual interests and skills, and Of developing experts in areas of recurring need. Specialization Within the Legal Profession The tradition that every attorney can and should perform all functions of the legal profession came into being during the formative years of our country.6 The English system of separation between "barristers"; who 6Ibid., p. 49. 25 was the courtroom advocate, the one to whom requests for legal Opinions were directed, and who belonged to a group from which judges were nominated, and the "solicitor," who alone had direct dealings with the clients, did not develop in our country. There is some evidence that in the early years transportation, communication, and economic activity had not develOped sufficiently to support lawyers who wished to concentrate on one or even several branches of the law. As society became concentrated in the larger cities, the large law firm evolved and fostered the growth of Specialization in the practice of law. By the mid- twentieth century many lawyers had not only narrowed their practices to particular fields of law but even to the "side" of the cases they would handle. Today, we see this in the personal injury field where certain lawyers are known as "plaintiffs' lawyers" and others as "defendants' lawyers."7 The practice of law has not become as fragmented as that of medicine. There are only two specialties rec— ognized by the American Bar Association, although there has recently been applied much pressure to expand the list to include other branches of the law. In an opinion, NO. 175 (adopted February 19, 1938) it was stated 7Ibid., p. 51. 26 We are of the Opinion that it is not permissible to include in a simple professional card language in- dicating that the lawyer restricts his practice to any particular class of work not generally recognized as a specialty. Obvious examples of the latter are "admir- ality" and "patents, trademarks and copyrights."8 However, we must keep in mind that the above, which is an application of canon 27 of the canons of Legal Ethics affects only the publication of information that an attorney restricts his practice to certain specialties. It does not restrict him from specializing. In today's complex society it would be impossible for one man to keep abreast of all the developments and daily changes in every branch of the law. One court decision by the United States Supreme Court has the effect of changing and/or establishing law simul- taneously in many branches of the law. An attorney will specialize for many reasons; because he has a particular interest in it, because he feels he can gain greater pres- tige or earn more as a specialist than as a general prac- titioner, or because there is a need for a specialist in the community in which he practices. The rise of the large law firm has contributed greatly to the specialization of the practice of law. Large firms are tailored to meet the needs of their clients, and usually a firm will represent clients who are engaged 8American Bar Association, Canons Of Professional and Judicial Ethics; Opinions of the Committee on Profes- sional Ethics and Grievances 391 (1957). This Opinion applied Canon 27. 27 in similar pursuits; stock brokers, banks, builders, manu- facturers, etc. The young attorney fresh out Of law school who is hired by one of these large firms serves for a per- iod of time in each specialized section or branch Of the law provided the firm‘s clients, for example, Estate Plan- ning, Corporations, Real Property, Taxation, etc. After several years he is assigned on a permanent basis to that section Of the law which best serves his own, and his firm's interests; he becomes a specialist. The law graduate who opens his own Office, the so- called "sole practitioner," must after a few years limit his practice to a few Specialties for the same reasons as stated before but with the additional one Of physical lim- itations imposed on him as an individual. It is not sur- prising that the number Of sole practitioners is declining; the economics of the overhead of running an Office, the impact of the knowledge explosion in the law, and impossi- bility of properly serving clients as an individual have all combined to make him one Of a vanishing breed. Specialization within the legal profession, not being a structured recognized subdivision as in medicine, is not subject to accurate analysis. Questionnaires mailed. from time to time by the various state bar associations attempt by the survey method to estimate the percentage and extent Of Specialization within the legal profession have proved unsatisfactory. Each year at the annual meeting of 28 the American Bar Association the proposal is renewed to recognize and certify specialists. The various advantages to the public and the practitioners are cited. In 1962 a prOposal was adOpted which established a "Special Committee on Recognition and Regulation of Specialization in Law 9 but Practice." The committee was discontinued in 1963, formal acknowledgment of the practice is not essential. It is clear from the material presented in this section that Specialization in the practice Of law is the rule, that expertise is thereby assured, that Specialization improves the quality and the quantity of professional practice. Specialization in Federal Lavanforcement In the preamble to the United States Constitution, the founding fathers stated their aspirations in broad terms. To achieve the flexibility they knew would be re- quired in order to provide for the future then unseen, great power was vested in the Congress. To Congress they granted the authority to make laws; to the executive branch the power to carry-them out; and to the courts, the auth- Ority to make certain that what the Congress legislated 9[Reportof the AmeriCan Bar Association] Special Committee on Recognition and Regulation of Specialization in Law Practice (August, 1963). 29 and the President ordered would fit within the bounds of the Constitution.10 As the Congress made needed laws, and as the President executed them, there followed the need for investigators to assure that the laws were properly admin-. istered and enforced. The history of the development of the Federal investigative power closely parallels the na- tion's growth and the problems that accompanied it.11 Early Federal investigators drew their authority directly from the Constitution itself. For example postal agents were needed to see that the mail went through soon after Congress established the Postal Service, and customs agents were needed to detect and prevent smuggling and other de- vices to cheat the infant nation out of the funds it needed to survive. The Secret Service was originally created solely to protect the nation's currency from counterfeiters. Historically, then, the Federal government recog- nized at an early date the need for specialization in its law enforcement agencies. Until the close of the nineteenth century, however, the Federal Guardians of the public welfare as visual- ized in the preamble to the Constitution still repre- sented only a handful of investigators in the Treasury- and Post Office departments.12 loMiriam Ottenberg, The Federal Investigators (Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1962), p. xii. 11Ibid., p. xiv. 12Ibid., p. xv. 30 Congress made up.for lost time in the first half of this century, creating hundreds of agencies and commis- sions and giving many of them investigatory powers within the scope of their jurisdiction. Each specialized in the enforcement of the laws affecting its sphere of authority. Congress has used its taxing power to expand the number of agencies which Operate under the Treasury Department, such as the F.B.I., the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Division and the Bureau of Narcotics.13 The power of Congress to reg- ulate interstate and foreign commerce led to the creation of the Federal Trade Commission which in turn has created numerous investigative units, all specializing in the en- forcement of a federal law affecting trade; wage-and-hour regulations, safety regulations, etc. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has perhaps the most general jurisdiction Of all the federal agencies, to enforce-all of the laws not specifically legislated to another agency. It is responsible for the investigation of all crimes against the Federal government, except, as noted above, those within the jurisdiction of another Federal agency. TO enable it to carry out its mission, the F.B.I.. maintains Offices throughout the nation manned by trained employees. Within each office the men are assigned to 13The Federal Bureau of Narcotics and other units have been recently reorganized, but this does not affect the rationale behind their original creation. 31 specialized units. In most large cities, there is.a unit which specializes in the investigation of violations Of the Selective Service Act, a "bank unit" which specializes in the investigation of thefts from banks insured under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, a "truck squad" which Specializes in the investigation of thefts of goods while in interstate commerce, and other specialized units.14 There is no such thing as a "generalist" in the F.B.I., all agents Specialize in the investigation Of a specific crime or.a closely related crime. Where a case arises involving a crime which rarely occurs,15 it is assigned to the agent whose area Of Specialization is similar. It is evident that Federal Law Enforcement agencies are specialists, and that within the agencies themselves the concept Of specialization is carried still further by assigning investigations of a like nature to a specific individual investigator who devotes all his energy towards solving that type of crime. The advantages of this type of case assignment can be observed by the high rate of crime clearance enjoyed by the Federal agencies, most notably the F.B.I. In the majority of the cases, the Offender is 14William A. Murphy, Specialization of Police Duty, The Police Chief (October, 1962), p. 18. 15Crimes against the government are of infinite variety. See Title 18, United States Code (revised 1948, St. Paul: West Publishing CO.). 32 apprehended and pleads guilty. Superior training isra contributing factor, but the Specialization in investiga- tion concept is the instrument which brings together the training, experience, and initiative of the investigator, maximizing the number Of successfully concluded cases. Specialization Within a Municipal ' Police Department The need for dividing the tasks which comprise the daily work Of the modern police department is clearly rec- ognized today. In creating functional units for the basic police services, 0. W. Wilson cautions the administrator to keep several things in mind: 1. The patrol force is the backbone of the depart- ment, the field army which is responsible for the basic police services; 2. special units are justified only when perfor- mance is definitely improved thereby; 3. the principal purpose of the Special unit is to assist the patrol force in the field of special in-. terest and to undertake tasks thatit is able to perform; substantially better than the unspecialized patrol ’ force; 4. special units Should not be used to relieve the patrol force of all responsibility in the field Of the special activity.16 Most large departments are organized-into function- al branches or divisions. The number of divisions depend- ing on the size of the department and the particular needs 16O. W. Wilson, Police Administration (New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, 1950), p. 23. 33 of the community which it serves. There is no hard and fast rule, but Wilson states that in departments of more than 100 men there should be created a separate division for each of the primary police tasks, i.e., patrol, traf— 17 fic, detective, vice, and juvenile. All of the cities- visited during this study were organized into Specialized branches.18 Factors influencing the degree of SpecializatiOn to be introduced In the police departments of today the question is no longer whether or not to Specialize, the question is where to specialize in order to provide the best service to the community. The degree of specialization to be adopted is based on the following determining factors. 1. The quality of personnel. The higher the. quality of police personnel the less the need for spec- ialization., In theory, if there existed an exceptionally efficient patrol force there would be no need for a detec- tive division. The greater the capabilities of the men of the patrol force the less need there is for Specialized units. Conversely, a poorly trained patrol force which consists of men of less ability creates the need for specs ialists to assist it. 17Ibid., p. 23. 18Specific information may be found in the case material in Chapter IV. 34 2. The need for special skill and ability. Cer-. tain police tasks require skills and abilities that can be Obtained only through specialization. Examples of this are the Operation of polygraph, the conducting Of chemical tests for intoxication, and firearms identification. The prOper investigation of certain types of crime requires Special skills and abilities. Homicide investigation is an example Of a crime requiring special skill to achieve success particularly in view Of recent decisions of the United States SupremeCourt.19 3. The importance of the task. Specialized units are sometimes established because a particular police ac- tivity is regarded as extremely important and it is singled out for Special attention. In most departments we find the normal specialized functional units to be those Of Patrol, Traffic, Detective, and Youth. In some police departments, however, the need to respond to the desires Of the commu- nity which it serves has required the creation Of addition- al specialized units. These units may actually serve a need or may be the result of pressure groups who stimulate creation to serve an artificial need. An example of the latter would be the licensing function Of many large de- partments which is maintained solely by public pressure 19Most notably the "Escobedo" and "Miranda" rul- ings. 35 and which concerns itself with the regulation Of conduct which is in most instances unrelated to the police mission. 4. The amount Of work to be done. Work which is concentrated in time and place, even though it does not require a special skill or ability may justify specializa- tion. Examples of this would be the enforcement of parking regulations within a small area, and in some cities the conducting Of investigations relative to applications for pistol permits. Distribution of Manpower to ._-‘ Specialized DivISions V. A. Leonard, among others, points-out that: The formula for the numerical distribution of men among the various divisions and units Of a police or- ganization is as yet unknown. There can be no doubt that the relative importance of assigning men to traffic duty or to the detective division is one Of the most difficult decisions to be faced by the police administrator. Of what social significance is a traffic death, a sexual assault on a child, or an adult mugging death? These are the subjective, qualitative de- terminations the administrator must make in balancing com- peting results for manpower. To aid him in making his decisions he must take into account operational costs, the 20V. A. Leonard, Police Organization and Manage— ment (New York: Foundation Press, 1964777p. 75. 36 caseload, the frequency of the various types of crime, and the severity of punishment provided for the particular crime by the penal law. This latter can be said to be the attitude Of the public as expressed through their elected representatives, however this is_not always the case. A more reliable guide for the administrator would be the pub- lic sentiment expressed locally by newspapers and letters to his department. Kirk, after discussing with approval the policy of specialization within the medical profession in order to better serve the public, writes This is also the answer to the police administra- tors problem. His is not a task Of limiting Special- ization, but of balancing generalists and specialists so that crime and disorder will receive treatment best fitted to reduce it. This is not an organizational problem whereby ratios are abstracted and rigidly fol- lowed. Rather, it is a question Of administration de- voting attention to the soundest control and work meas- urement devices available.21 In the final analysis the distribution of manpower is very Often the subjective expression Of the administra- tor's philosophy of law enforcement. Advantages of Specialization There was found to be substantial agreement among the authors of police literature that certain distinct advantages accrue to a police department which specializes. 21Paul L. Kirk, "Progress in Criminal Investiga- tion," in The Annals, Vol. 291, pp. 9, 10. 37 The major advantages are briefly listed below:‘ 1. Responsibility is definitely fixed for the prOper performance of a task, 2. Expertise is developed, 3. Training is improved,- 4. Esprit de Corps encouraged, 5. Interest of Personnel stimulated. Disadvantages of specialization There was also found to be general agreement that specialization could have its drawbacks. Some authors stressed one or another disadvantage which to him seemed the most undesirable result of specialization, but the following briefly-lists disadvantages presented by all of them. It must be mentioned that these objections were not made against specialization per se, but were the result of "over—specialization," a condition to be avoided. 1. It has a tendency to divide the department into separate forces that sometimes act independently of each other. Murphy gives this as the main drawback, stating: The principal disadvantage is that officers so assigned have a tendency to form departments within a department. They lose sight of the general responsi- bility of the organization and are only interested in the matters within their own unit. 22William A. Murphy, "Specialization Of Police Duty," The Police Chief, October, 1962, p. 22. 38 This tendency has come to be described as "compart- mentalization"; the inability or unwillingness Of special- ists to recognize the importance of other units and the necessity of OOOperating with them. This causes friction, competition for staff, facilities and equipment, and re- stricts executive development. Compartmentalization also leads specialists to ignore work that is the primary re- sponsibility Of some other unit, lowering the efficiency of the entire department. 2. Problems Of administration are increased. The increase in the number of branches, each with its own hier- archy, complicates the integration and coordination of the department, hinders the communication process, and inten- sifies problems of control. One text explains it this way: Specialization in planning and control is essential for effective Operations. It must be provided if the department Objectives are to be attained. The error arises in concluding that, because there is need for specialization in planning and controlling, there is equal need for special Operating personnel. The police chief should avoid unnecessary specialization at the level of execution. . . . The best rule is to assign to the patrol division all police tasks that do not. interfere with regular patrol duties and that patrol- men are able to perform substantially as well as spec— ialized personnel. Disregarding the above guideline has led to much of the criticism heard today whenever the concept of 23Institutefor Training in Municipal Administra- tion, Municipal Police Administration (Chicago: The Inter- national City Managers' Association, 1954), Fourth Edition, p. 69. 39 specialization is discussed. It is the misuse Of special— ization, rather than its use, which has prolonged the controversy. Specialization Within the "Detective Function But in the detective force, if nowhere else in the police administration, we must have thorough adminis- trative efficiency or we might as well abolish the detective force entirely.24 Organization of the detective function as it affects Specialization The organization of a detective division or bureau greatly affects its efficiency. Improperly organized divi- sions increase the already existing problems Of recordkeep- ing, of fixing responsibility of supervision, and other measures of control. In reviewing the literature the ear- liest reference located which had a specific recommendation as to how a detective division should be organized was found in a book by L. E. Fuld. Fuld points out that munic- ipal detective forces are of three kinds: central Office squads under a chief of detectives, precinct detectives, . . . and temporary detective details. He quickly dis- courages the use of the latter method, saying: 24Leonard F. Fuld, Police Administration (New York: The Knickerbocker Press, 1909 , p. 179. 40 This system is an exceedingly bad one, because it is impossible for the detective officers under such a system to obtain that expert and specialized knowledge which it is absolutely necessary for the efficient de- tective to possess.2 Fuld also disapproved of the precinct detective theory Of staffing, citing that the rapid means of commu- nication made possible by the telephone, and the ease with which a detective could be summoned to the scene by auto- mobile made the stationing of a detective at a precinct unnecessary. The best system, according to Fuld, is that of the squad Of central office detectives under the command of a chief of detectives. He does not mention by what method investigations should be assigned to these detec- tives but this method of organization facilitates special- ization in the assignment of investigations. Raymond B. Fosdick, writing in 1920, wrote that there were only two prevailing types Of internal organiza- tion Of detective bureaus in American cities: the central- ized bureau, Operated at headquarters, and the decentralized bureau working largely from precincts or other sub-units. He merely lists the merits and drawbacks of each system, and remarks: There has been much discussion regarding the rela- tive merits of centralization and decentralization, and no general conclusion can be reached as to the super- iority of either of these plans. 251bid.. pp. 173-175. 26Raymond B. Fosdick, American Police Systems (New York: The Century Publishing Company, 1920), p. 334. 41 However, he points out that those who favor centralization contend that there is'a need for specialization in criminal investigations which cannot be effected when detectives.are distributed throughout precinct units, and that better con- trol over the detectives results when Operations are cen- tralized.27 Graper, writing in 1921, merely restated the views Of Fuld, Observing: There are three main methods Of organizing detec- tive divisions in municipal police departments--the centralized system of central Office squads; the de- centralized system of having detectives attached to a 'police district or precinct and subject to the Officer in command of that district, and in the smaller cities, the system of temporary detective details.28 Graper later warns that, regardless Of the method of organization selected: Unless properly supervised, detectives, like most 29 other persons, become slack in the performance of duty. The system used at the present time in New York City is a compromise of the above systems.30 Each patrol precinct has a squad Of detectives assigned to it whose task is to undertake follow-up investigations of all crimes 271bid., p. 335. 28Elmer D. Graper, American Police Administration (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1921), p. 197. 29 30This material is provided at this-point for in— formational and orientational purposes only. A more de- tailed account will be found in Chapter IV. Ibid. ’ p. 184. 42 committed within the geographical boundaries Of the precinct and which are unsolved. An Office is maintained within the precinct building, however the detectives are not under the command of the precinct commanding officer. They are com- manded by a detective lieutenant who is in turn under the supervision Of a detective district commander located in another area of the city. The precinct detective assigned to a follow-up investigation, or "case," remains responsible for its proper management at all times. There also exists several specialized detective units that Operate from police headquarters and which pro- vide assistance to precinct detectives on important cases without, however, assuming any responsibility for the out- come. This assistance is not automatically provided on request Of the precinct detective, but rather is forthcom- ing only when in the Opinion of a headquarters superior the investigation is of sufficient importance that a prompt solution is desirable. Examples of cases of this kind would be those generating pressure from the newspapers, those which are embarrassing to the department, and those investigations having political significance.31 These 31When, in 1962, the safe in the office Of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored PeOple in New York City was burglarized, no less than 14 members Of the Safe and Loft Squad promptly responded to the scene. 43 headquarters specialized units also have original juris- diction in investigations referred to the department by outside agencies, such as the F.B.I. or the district attorney. Specialization in the Assignment of Investigations In the reviewing of the pertinent literature, no support whatever for the generalist method of case assign- ment could be located. In support of the concept of spec- ialization in the assignment of criminal investigations, however, much is written. The advocates of specialization are in substantial agreement as to the benefits which accrue to the individual investigator and to the department through specialization. The advantages are similar to those listed in the prior discussion concerning functional specializa- tion in a municipal police department generally, but are much more specific. V. A. Leonard wrote the following in a chapter headed "Internal Organization": Functional specialization within the detective division is to a considerable extent the expression of organization by clientele. The establishment of hom- icide, robbery, burglary, check and automobile theft de— tails.isin recognition of the gains to be made through the highly specialized study Of the Operational char- acteristics and modus Operandi of a particular type or class Of criminal offenders. 32V. A. Leonard, Police Organization and Management (New York: Foundation Press, 1964), second edition, p. 72. 44 In the same volume, under the chapter entitled "Supporting Line Elements," Leonard becomes more specific: Specialization in a detective division permits the investigator to concentrate his time and energies in the investigation Of a particular type of criminal ac- tivity and through continuous work in a specific crim- inal area, he gradually builds up a fund of skills and information that is indispensable to departmental ef- ficiency. He comes to know personally the offenders who Operate within the specific criminal specialty which constitutes the functional area assigned to him for investigation; he becomes familiar with their me- thods of operation, their habits, friends, relatives, and close associates. Not infrequently an experienced detective is able to narrow the investigation and search down-to a single individual after a careful study of the crime scene and recognition of the salient features of the modus Operandi. Leonard again, writing in a book primarily directed at young people in order to interest them in law enforcement careers, points out that as a police organization grows larger the need for specialization becomes clear. In dis- cussing the detective division he states that the department benefits by men who do specialized work for which they have special skills or training, and that: The men assigned to these specialized squads or details work constantly on the investigation of a par- ticular type Of crime. As a result, they become highly skilled in the solution Of cases assigned to them.3 In one of the most widely read texts on police ad- ministration, Municipal Police Administration, a convincing 33Ibid., pp. 216, 217. 34V. A. Leonard, The Police of the Twentieth Cen- tury (Brooklyn:. The Foundation Press,Inc., 1964), p. 7. 45 argument is presented which favors investigative special- ization The case for complete specialization in the detec- tive division is clear. . . . The assignment of cases in rotation, thus avoiding any possibility of special- ization, is an undesirable practice. After asserting that the reason for specialization was obvious it was pointed out that criminals themselves specialize and that they do not usually change their line. Detective divisions should therefore be organized into Special groups or bureaus to cope most successfully with the criminal specialties, allowing the members of these bureaus to become expert in their particular line.36 In a sense, law enforcement is contradicting itself when it recognizes that criminals do develop individual methods Of committing a crime,'a modus Operandi, and then to neglect to specialize in case assignment to take advantage of the criminal's human weakness of habit. The personal charac- teristics Of one criminal are likely to differ from those. Of other criminals and often influence him in the selection Of his specialty. A confidence man has a different person- ality than does a robber or a burglar. It is reasonable 35Institute for Training in Municipal Administra- tion, Municipal Police Administration, International City .Managers Association, Fourth Edition (Chicago: 1954), p. 308. 36 Ibid., p. 308. 46 for law enforcement administrators to assign detectives to Specialize, allowing them to become familiar with both the modus Operandi and the personality quirks which prevail in criminals of a certain type insofar as this is possible. Orlando W. Wilson, probably the best known of the present day experts on police administration has long been an advocate of complete specialization in the assignment Of criminal investigations. In an early work he takes for granted that such a system is in Operation when, in dis- cussing recordkeeping and case assignment, If it iS*a case to be handled by the detective division, he (the receiving clerk) assigns the detec- tive regularly assigned to such crimes . . . 7 It must have been brought to his attention that investigative specialization did not enjoy widespread ac- ceptance, for in later texts he was careful to spell out the concept and its advantages. Specialization in detective assignment should be the invariable rule. This procedure assures the as- signment of Officers in accordance with their special interests and abilities; it enables the investigator to become expert in the investigation of certain clas- ses of crimes and informed regarding the individual criminals and criminal types who Specialize in these crimes, their methods of Operation, associates, hang- outs, and methods for disposing of their loot. Spec- ialization also fixes responsibility and enables a more accurate measure Of accomplishment.38 37Orlando W. Wilson, Police Records (Chicago, Ill.: Public Administration Service, 19427, p. 55. 38Orlando W. Wilson, Police Planning (Springfield, Ill.: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher, 1952), p. 113. 47 This paragraph is an excellent summary of the ad- vantages to be obtained by specialization in the assignment Of investigations. Elaborating on this tOpic in his most recent text, Splice Administration, the views Of Wilson may be set forth as follows: 1. As a general rule all cases Of the same class should be investigated by the detective specializing in that type. 2. Specialization Of assignment a. fixes responsibility b. simplifies training c. permits selection of personnel for assign- ment on a basis of special interest and ability, and d. provides a more accurate measure of the accomplishment of the individual detective.39 The work of the follow-up investigator will be more efficient since frequent repetition of tasks will narrow the field Of attention and increase his skills. Where the number Of investigations become too numerous for one man to properly investigate additional investigators should be assigned, dividing the work on a logical basis. For exam- ple, if there developed an increase in burglary investiga- tions which necessitated an increase in personnel to that specialty, the work could be divided by assigning all com- mercial burglaries to one investigator, and all residential burglaries to another. When there are too few reports Of 39Orlando W. Wilson, Police Administration, second edition (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1963), p. 291. 48 a type of crime, or they are infrequently reported, they should be assigned to the detective who specializes in a closely related crime-~for example, a fraud case to the detective specializing in bad check investigations.40 It is a safe assumption that the impact of Wilson's contributions to the law enforcement field has been sub- stantial. Wilson was not the originator of many Of the theories and procedures in his books. However it is the author's Opinion that the field Of police administration owes him a debt Of gratitude for pointing out how business methods could improve police work and for presenting up- dated theories of Operating which had rested in texts long out of print, lost to the present generation of police administrators. It is unfortunate that Wilson, having had the opportunity to test many Of his theories during his tenure as superintendent Of the Chicago Police Department, has not thus far published an account of his experiences. The influence 0. W. Wilson has had on those who presently administer police functions, and on those who conduct surveys of police departments calculated to improve their methods, is not measurable, but is substantial. One example of the influence on this latter group is the report prepared by Donald S. Leonard, a Consultant in Police.Ad- ministration with Offices in Detroit, Michigan, for the 40Ibid., p. 292. 49 city manager of Little Rock, Arkansas. The report of the survey makes numerous recommendations, many tracable to Wilson's writings. Recommendation number seventy-three. concerns the subject matter of this study. Prior to making the recommendation the writer stated: Criminal investigation assignments are made on the basis of available officers on duty at the time the crime is committed or the assignment is made. Such an assignment in cases is not considered as conducive to the most thorough investigation and handling of a case. Naturally, type and degree of specialization among the various bureaus or units of a detective division is dependent on two factors, namely, the type and amount of crime investigated by the division and the personnel that is available for this purpose. . . . The advan- tages Of Specialized squads is quite apparent. Their members not only become expert in their particular line but because Of investigation of like offenses, are in a better position to identify the criminal activity of particular groups or individuals. This simplifies the work and results in a more efficient investigation.41 Leonard then continued his analysis of the prevail- ing practices, and praised the efforts of the detective superior to assign investigations to a detective whose experience and background made him the logical one to in- vestigate the case. This, however, was not always possible because of the workload and shift assignments. Accordingly, the recommendation was made that the detective division be organized into special units or bureaus, and that investi- gators be assigned cases in a manner conforming to the concept Of specialization.42 41Donald S. Leonard, A Surveyyof the Little Rock Police Department (printed privately, 1959), p. 169. 42 Ibid., p. 170. CHAPTER III THE DETECTIVE FUNCTION A detective division is created for the purpose Of assisting the patrol force to accomplish its mission and therefore the goals of the patrol force and the detective division are identical. However in order to carry out its work a detective division must have internal guidelines. The primary purpose or goal of a detective division is, by the conducting of investigation, to solve major crimes in order to identify, arrest and convict the perpretrators, and to recover stolen property. In order to accomplish this primary goal, the detective division must develop and. accomplish the following sub-goals: l. DevelOp eXpertise in the techniques essential to the accomplishment of their primary goal. 2. Assist and advise the Patrol Division; coop- erate with other branches of the department. 3. Maintain accurate records regarding their work; update records as required; centralize records compiled by the entire department with free access to all branches, but maintained by the Detective Personnel; organized crime information should be separately filed. 50 51 4. Maintain cordial relationships with other de- partments and agencies; receive and reply to out-Of-juris- diction-correspondence. 5. Effect arrests for other authorities where warrants are forwarded, conducting related extradition/ rendition proceedings. 6. Development Of plans to be used by investiga- tive personnel in the event Of a serious disorder, as compilation of vulnerable locations; places susceptible to burglary or sabotage. 7. Planning in relation to the protection of im- portant visitors to the city. 8. Obtain a final disposition on those cases re- ferred for investigation by the patrol force where their "preliminary investigation" did not succeed in apprehend- ing the criminal. 9. PrOperly perform such other investigations as may be directed by higher authority. Selection of Detectives Views of early writers Early writers did not have a high opinion of detec- tives, considering them to be beneath the uniformed patrol- man but necessary-for the accomplishment of the departmental goals. Fuld wrote: 52 The detective is a policeman who is detailed to duty in citizens' clothes for the purpose Of discover- ing and arresting the criminal responsible for a par- ticular crime. The work of the detective is essentially that of the spy and the class of men that are attracted to this work is such as one would naturally expect to find there. In the historical development of the police force the detectives were generally and almost invar- iably criminals who considered spying more profitable than the commission of felony. In a discussion of the qualifications to be posses- sed by a detective to be effective he placed great impor- tance on personal knowledge of the criminal class which could be Obtained only by associating with them on intimate terms. But even Fuld had to admit, albeit grudgingly, that the detective's life is not easy. He allows that: The detective's work is a combination of mystery and hard grind. Mystery is a valuable assistance to the detective in his work and besides is impressive; anything that is not understood is bound to be more or less impressive. Fuld is also the earliest writer to advocate that selection to the detective division should be on the basis Of demonstrated ability only, and selected only by the police chief. He states that a written examination will not uncover the necessary qualities, and the experience gained while on uniformed patrol will prove invaluable in the discharge of his detective duties. He continues: lFuld, Op. cit., p. 171. 2Ibid., p. 172. 53 Furthermore the tenure Of the_detective should not be permanent. His tenure should be dependent on the pleasure of the chief . . . which . . . should mean . . . that the chief can reduce a detective to patrol duty whenever his work is inefficient.3 Much Of the literature that is predominant today has been written by men who were greatly influenced by. Fuld. However, despite the many contributions he has made to detective administration, Fuld could not mask his aver- sion for detectives in his writings. Perjorative statements. concerning detectives occur repeatedly. For example: Men who have made a careful study of the lives and methods of Operation of professional criminals tell us unhesitatingly that the detectives in many of our lar- ger cities share with these thieves the plunder which the latter succeed in Obtaining.4 Fosdick, another early writer, suggested that the detective division be staffed by the selection of men from the uniform force or from outside the police department altogether.5 The former is the rule in most cities of the United States, however in some jurisdictions elected pros- ecutors maintain their own staff of civilian investigators rather than rely completely on information supplied by police detectives.6 Fosdick agrees that observation Of a 3Ibid., p. 179. 41b1d. 5Raymond B. Fosdick, Op..cit., p. 328. 6Most notably would be the District Attorney's Ofe fice of King's County within the city of New York; an in- stitution perennially at Odds with the New York City Police Department. 54 patrolman's performance of his patrol duties is a valid indicator of success as a detective, and that nO written . examination can fairly test the peculiar qualifications Of a successful detective. "Philadelphia experimented with detective selection through the use Of written tests," reports Fosdick, "and the head of the detective bureau stated that 'Men are appointed detectives who might make good clerks or school teachers but they do not know how to catch crooks.”7 The new image of the detective is due in part to better selection-and retention methods, and increased supervision which has reduced the corruption which was once prevalent. Today both the police profession and the public look upon the position of detective as one of the top glamour spots in police work. Current_practices In order to achieve stated goals the personnel Of the detective division must be carefully selected. One cannot disagree with the statement that the desirable char- acteristics of a detective differ in degree rather than in- kind from those stipulated for members of the patrol force.8 7Fosdick, Op. cit., p. 329. 8Institute for Training in Municipal Administra- tion, Op. cit., p. 282. 55 NO one has been able to isolate the factor or combination of factors.which make a patrolman into a detective, or. which makes a detective outstanding as compared with other detectives. One strong possibility is job satisfaction, but no research has been done. Some of the desirable traits of a detective can be learned by training or exper- ience, others are innate and should be looked for in the selection process. A list of these would include a healthy skepticism, a wide range of interests indicative Of an in— quiring mind, a personality which enables him to get along with peOple, a retentive memory, and some interrogative skill.9 Wilson would add the following qualities: "an abundance of physical and nervous energy; considerably more-than-ordinary persistence; imagination and ingenuity, with the initiative and force to apply them; and a broad background of experience. . . ."lO Wilson, commenting on how best to uncover such exceptional individuals within the ranks Of the patrol force, writes: Psychological and physical tests may one day be developed to measure these qualities, but at present the most satisfactory basis for selection appears to. be that of Observation Of individual patrolmen for the 91bid., p. 282. 10Wilson, Op. cit., p. 289. 56 purpose of discovering evidence of their investigative ability. A written examination intended only to meas- ure informational capacity is not the best method of selection.11 Once selected, detectives should serve at the dis- cretion of the police chief, and should not be frozen into their positions by civil service. W. Cleon Skousen, writ- ing on this topic, stated: No written tests will adequately reveal the best detective talent in a department. Assignments to the detective division should be kept on a highly competi- tive basis and the administrators of the department should have wide discretionary power in assigning per- sonnel to this division. After listing qualities desirable in a detective, Skousen continues: And a chief soon discovers that even officers who possess these qualities can lose them. Detectives can wear out or burn out. A chief needs to be able to make quick shifts when this happens.12 The great weight of authority and practice is against granting civil service tenure to detectives, but the use of the written test as an aid in the selection process has gained favor in recent years. V. A. Leonard writes: Extraordinary care must be used in recruiting de- tectives. . . . A deep interest on the part of the in- vestigator is essential for this phase of police work, and this interest must be supplemented by an intimate knowledge Of the arts and sciences. . . . Contrary to llIbid., p. 289. . 12W. Cleon Skousen, "Assign That Man to the Detec— tive Division," Law and Order, March, 1968, p. 10. 57 popular impression, a criminal case . . . is seldom solved by miraculous sleuthing powers . . . but by persistent, intelligent hard work. After thus outlining the problem, Leonard admits that the experience of some police authorities with the written test as a prerequisite to assignment to detective duty has been disappointing and that indications are that formal tests cannot finally determine detective aptitude or capacity. Leonard counters this with his belief that some Objective criteria is nevertheless necessary, and points out that: NO measuring device, whether written examinations or other forms of tests, should be overlooked in the effort to select men who are best qualified for this type of work.14 If promotional examinations possess validity at all, their use is certainly to be suggested in the attempt to identify men in the department who possess the qualities needed in successful detectives. The most recent attempt in this connection was made in Chicago in 1961. Prior to 1961, no standard procedure was used to select detectives in the Chicago Police Department, detective appointments were made based on the recommendations of commanding of- ficxers. It was recognized that a more valid method of selkection was needed. When, in 1961, authorization was l3Leonard, Op. cit., p. 218. 14Ibid., p. 218. 58 obtained for 200 additional detective positions, Superin- tendent O. W. Wilson was determined to fill them on as objective a basis as possible. Consistent with his previous writings, Wilson recognized that a written examination was an incomplete and imperfect tool, but because of limita- tions imposed by lack of time and the large number of can- didates it seemed to provide the most fair and practical method of selection. It was understood that men appointed on the basis of this exam would retain their detective status only if they performed satisfactorily on the job. Not having civil service status in the detective division, if they did not meet performance standards they would be returned to their former rank of patrolman.15 A four hour, one-hundred and twenty question test was administered. An eligible list was compiled, from which a total of one hundred and ninety one men were ap- pointed to the detective division. The performance ratings Of these men, as given them by their superiors were care- fully recorded. A validation study Of the test was under—, taken to determine whether this type of examination should be used in the future. The procedure was as follows: two lists of names were prepared, one listing by name the rank ordexr as achieved on the test, the other listing in rank 15Anna Marie Gambol, N. Slowikowski, and Chet Doyle, "Detective Selection Gets New Twist in Chicago," Public Peg-‘ionnel Review, January, 1965, p. 40. quv I 59 order the names of the men as rated by their superiors. Using the Spearman Rank Correlation Formula, the two rank orders were compared. The results indicated a lack of correlation between the two ratings. That is, grades re- ceived on the written examination were not related to job performance as measured by supervisor ratings. Various possibilities were expressed to account for the lack of correlation: a. the test and/or the questionnaire was not a sensitive measurement; b. supervisor ratings may have been biased; c. supervisors performance rating form may not have been constructed to measure what was intended; d. the method of validation may not have been adequate; (the comparing) e. a test of aptitude and ability might have been more valid than a test of knowledge.16 After a study Of these suggestions, a twelve week, one hundred sixty hour correspondence course was developed by the Training Division to be used to prepare men to take a new detective examination. This experiment has not yet- been reported on, and being the most ambitious yet attempt- ed must be closely Observed by all police administrators. 151b1d., p. 41. 60 Additional research in this area will be required, but the direction it will take is contingent upon the final report of this project. There are many men now serving in the rank of de- tective who are completely unqualified for the job. Despite the best efforts of the chief of detectives unqualified men are appointed, either because of a promising patrol perfor- mance or via written test as in Chicago. What can the po- lice administrator do to reduce the number of unqualified men in the detective division? Perhaps we had best stop concerning ourselves with the selectees past performance and place more emphasis on what he does when assigned to detective work. A more meaningful period of probation must be devised and applied to newly assigned detectives. There has been a failure to use the probationary device as a means to screen out those unable to do investigative work. Appointments to detective status should be for a six month self-terminating period. During this period he should be given close supervision and man-to-man instruction by his supervisor. Those for whom he worked should evaluate his performance, and the Opinions Of coworkers, so Often over- looked in this area, should be actively solicited. The probationary period, as stated above, should be self-expir- ing; that is it will have the effect of returning the Of- ficer to the patrol force unless prior to the expiration date a positive request for his retention is received by 61 the chief of detectives. This "positive request" statement is contrary to current practice in most cities, but has several advantages. The rejected candidate cannot feel animosity towards any individual as is possible where a candidate is retained unless written rejection is forward- ed. Also, the period Of probation would not be treated in as cavalier a fashion as done presently, the candidate would realize that he must be accepted, not rejected. The probationary period of a candidate who has not been as- signed tasks enabling him tO demonstrate his ability could be extended for a reasonable time. This procedure would also be followed where doubt exists as to a candidate's qualifications. It is the author's Opinion that if we agree with the statement that written examinations will not uncover those qualities we claim are essential in a detective, and agree further that patrol performance mer- ely indicates aptitude for detective work, then the adapta- tion of a meaningful probationary period is essential if we are to preserve competence within the detective function. Evaluation Of the Detective Function A survey of the Boston Police Department conducted several years ago revealed the following: 1. The "bureau of criminal investigation" was poorly organized, did not oversee all investigations of crime. K- 62 2. The ratio of the number Of patrolmen to detec— tives was increasing while court appearances, an increase in the amount of cases to be investigated, and extended hours Of coverage were further sapping efficiency. 3. Equipment provided was inadequate and poorly distributed. 4. There was too little supervision over detec- tives, and the amount there was depended.on the inquis- itiveness of the captain working. 5. Working hours were poorly used, wasted by hang- ing around offices, etc. 6. Records were poorly kept if at all; no written assignment of cases to investigate, detectives relied too much on memory, etc. 7. Coordination between uniformed officers and detectives was lacking, jealousy was thought to be bene— ficial as it "Spurred good work," each branch had their own set Of supervisors which had the effect Of blocking free and easy contacts.17 The similarity between the findings above and those contained in recent surveys of police agencies gives some measure to the amount of inertia within the police field, and within the detective function in particular. 17L. V. Harrison, Police Administration in Boston (Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1934). 63 One of the earliest attempts to evaluate the effi- ciency of the police function was done by Bellman.18 In the evaluation of the detective function he arrived at what was a ratable function, prepared lists of them assign- ing a value of two points to each. He stated that he "ven- tures to suggest a method that will accomplish a two fold purpose: the rating Of a police organization according to certain standards, and the improvement of the service." His system was based on the then available literature, discussions with numerous police Officials, and from the author's personal investigation of police departments in the United States. A "perfect score" for a detective func- tion involving the follow-up investigation of crime was given as 376 points, which were earned as follows: Number of Total Duties Possible Detail (unit) Listed Value PawnshOp 20 40 Fugitive 15 30 Forgery 17 34 Narcotics 19 38 Burglary 15 30 Homicide 15 30 Arson 13 26 Robbery 12 24 Auto Theft 18 36 Bunco-Pickpocket 13 26 Missing Persons 15 30 Post Office 5 10 General duties of all investigators ll 22 "Perfect" Score 376 18Arthur Bellman, "A Police Service Rating Scale," 26 Journal Criminal Law and Criminology, 74-114, 1935. 64 Bellman's approach was to look inside the agency itself in order to determine efficiency. Less than a year later the work of Bellman came under attack. Writing in the same journal, Spencer D. Parratt questioned the system of assigning values to these duties.19 He asked "to what extent is the Bellman instrument analogous to a yardstick, a balance scale, or a thermometer as a measuring device?" Pointing out that a high score would not necessarily mean quality, he said "a modern police department is as least as complicated as vegetable soup." Soup can be rated as to quality only if every ingredient is listed, and using Bellman's instrument as a formula for qualitatively de- scribing a complete department is Obviously deficient since it is a highly selective classification. He further ques- tioned what is "quality" in a police department? He point— ed out that external forces which Operate on a police or- ganization were the real determinants Of police quality, that even where a high score in an area is shown, this area may not be performing in a manner acceptable to the public, or other outside force. Parratt said the line of attack lies in isolating numbers Of significant variables involved in police functioning and treating them separately. Once 19Spencer D. Parratt, "A Critique of the Bellman Police Service Rating Scale," 27 Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 895, 1936. 65 this is done, "a foundation will be laid for a superstruc- 20 Another prob- ture balancing their relative importance." lem, said Parratt, was the assigning proper weight to the various elements (Patrol, Traffic, Detective, etc.) in terms of the total instrument. Bellman had arbitrarily assigned Traffic control a weight of fifty-six, Vice - eighty—six, patrol only one hundred fifty six while the detective function was assigned a weight of three hundred seventy six. Parratt was later to develop an instrument of his own, consisting of a group of three hundred forty-two ques- tions grouped under eight headings, with which he attempted to overcome the errors Of Bellman and obtain a more realis- 21 NO discussion of tic measure of police effectiveness. this effort will be attempted here. Suffice to say this instrument (a questionnaire) attempted to determine what the public judged to be approved and disapproved police practices and behaviors at a particular time. The foregoing material has been set forth for the purpose of illustrating the difficulty of arriving at a method that can be molded into an instrument with which to evaluate an investigative function. The Uniform Crime 20lbid., p. 900. 21Spencer D. Parratt, "A Scale to Measure Effec- tiveness of Police Functioning," 28 Journal Of Criminal Law and Criminology, 739, 1937. 66 Reports provide a modern method of evaluating effective- ness, subject Of course to the cautions contained in Chap- ter 1.22 Evaluation of Investigators Assessment of men involves the art of arriving at valid conclusions from insufficient data. The task of de- termining the value Of an individual to an organization is always difficult. It is even more difficult when the indi- vidual to be evaluated is a detective. Wilson states that: . In no other branch may the accomplishments and abilities of individual Officers be so accurately ap- praised as in the detective service, where percentage clearances by arrest and percentage property recoveries in one class Of crime reflect rather closely the abil- ity and effort of the investigating Officers. It must be noted that Wilson is presupposing that specialization in case assignment is departmental procedure, and the above was not applicable to generalist detectives. Generalists--how evaluated I How, then, are generalists rated? Basically, they are evaluated on the total number of arrests they make. The knowledge that this is the department's practice has an impact on the detective's overall attitude and 22Uniform‘Crime Reports, Op. cit., 23Wilson, Op. cit., p. 290. 67 day-to-day work practices. He will, on receiving a case, quickly evaluate it in terms of the possibilities it may‘ offer for a prompt arrest. Any social or moral advantages which would result from its' solution is subordinated to this very real need to effect an arrest. This is one of the major disadvantages of the generalist concept. When the generalist is unable to cope with the volume of inves- tigations that are assigned to him he becomes frustrated. In order to appear efficient he will close out many of his assigned cases with little or no investigation to gain time to investigate those cases which, on the surface at least, hold the promise of a quick solution by an arrest. He will ignore an armed robbery where the perpetratOrs have escaped in favor of a case involving a dishonest employee whose whereabouts are known. An investigation which requires little actual work to solve; where there is a complainant willing to prosecute, and a defendant who can be easily apprehended, is known colloquially as a "ground ball." It is but human nature for the generalist investigator to give a large part of his attention to such cases; he is evaluated on quantity, not quality. The premature closing Of cases which do not lend themselves to prompt solution is the defensive technique developed by the investigator to avoid being burdened with cases requiring too much attention. Prior to the reforms in reporting and recording crimes which was made necessary 68 by the Uniform Crime Reports, many Of these crimes were not Officially recorded at all, and were "canned" (thrown into the wastebasket) by the detective receiving the report. A former police commissioner of New York City, writing in 1918 about this problem, stated: When a 'squeal' came in over the telephone the lieutenant at the desk wrote it down on a piece Of 44 paper and handed it to a detective. 'Here Bill,‘ he'd say, 'look that up.‘ Bill took the paper, put it in . his pocket, and when the paper wore out, the case was closed.24 It would be naive to believe that similar incidents do not happen even under today's stringent reporting pro— cedures, however they are becoming increasingly rare in today's urban police departments. Police administrators, realizing the importance Of Obtaining accurate crime sta- tistics, frequently revise reporting and recording methods to discourage "canning" of reported crimes. Typical of. these efforts was an order issued to the New York City po- lice department in March, 1966, by the newly appointed Chief Inspector Sanford Garelik. It explicitly directed that all crime was to be accurately recorded when received as reported by the complainant. To ensure compliance high ranking superiors attached to Garelik's Office would con- duct spot checks throughout the city.25 Measures such as 24Arthur Woods, Crime Prevention (Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press, 1918T, p. l7. 25General Order No. 10, March, 1966. 69 this are necessary because the police refuse to abandon the fallacy that they are somehow responsible for the amount of crime in the community. Striving to "look good," some departments will keep records in such a manner to re- flect a favorable image, concealing, even from themselves, the true state of affairs. Other demeaning practices In his efforts to acquire the number of arrests required to assure his continuance as a detective, the generalist investigator is forced to adopt practices that are not in keeping with his status.26 One very common practice in some departments is the arresting of vagrants, drunks, etc., by detectives who look upon these persons as "numbers" to be included on activity reports. The waste of departmental time and manpower caused by such arrests is immeasurable. Another practice is the acceptance of "handover" arrests from members of the uniform force. These are the situations in which an arrest is made by a. uniformed member of the patrol force who has apprehended the defendant at the scene. Upon arrival at the precinct the uniformed Officer, being unwilling to go to court 26The actual number of arrests to be made annually is not actually stated, but the number is generally known to the detective, and is based on the volume of cases handled by his squad. 70 either because of a prior commitment or simple disinterest, "hands over" the defendant to the detective who then re- cords the arrest as his own. It is small wonder then that active, efficient uniformed officers have little respect or regard for detectives, considering them to be "bum col- lectors" and scavengers. A less common practice is to charge a defendant with a felony with full knowledge that it will be reduced to a misdemeanor at the first court hearing. Since the arrest is recorded as a felony arrest on the detective's arrest activity report, the temptation to follow this prac- tice is strong. It must be made clear that no condemnation of in- dividual detectives is intended by the above, but that it is the system which fosters methods which are demoralizing to the man and detrimental to the department. Specialists--how evaluated Follow-up investigators who are assigned responsi- bility for a specific class Of crime are not required to make a minimum number of arrests. They are evaluated more in accordance with the recommendations Of Wilson that he be appraised on the basis of percentage Of clearance and the amount of property recovered within one class of crime.27 27Wilson, op. cit., p. 29. 71 This basis of evaluation will encourage the detective to develop expertise, encourage him to make acquaintances and contacts which will aid him in his work, and foster all of the other principles previously discussed in Chapter II. There is less reason tO encourage the non—reporting Of crimes, for the specialist will realize that this newly reported crime within his sphere of activity may contain a clue which will clear up several pending investigations. Also, realizing that he will receive credit only for arrests effected within his specialty there is little inclination to engage in the demeaning, self-preserving practices re- lied upon by the generalist. Improving assessment Of arrest activity Arrests under both systems will continue to have more or less importance. Cognizant of this the author Offers an arrest evaluation form (see Appendix A) which will hOpeuflly provide a method allowing for more accurate assessment of detectives. This form, to be prepared by- the supervisor, is an attempt to correct censurable prac- tices by examining each step in the arrest and assigning a value to it. This form is not complete in that many other factors could be added, but it suffices to illustrate the concept. The value assigned as the level of investi- gative difficulty is admittedly subjective, but Should be 72 based on the supervisor's own experience. A value is as- signed where warrants are used to effect the arrest in an attempt to encourage the use of warrants in compliance with recent Supreme Court decisions. The factors which relate to post arrest developments are included as a measure of the investigator's proficiency at trial preparation, evi- dence gathering, etc. A space for the comments of the supervisor where the case is dismissed is provided. The officer should be interviewed when a case is dismissed. Possible training needs will be revealed, it provides an Opportunity for helpful advice, and promotes the supervisor- supervised relationship. This form Should be retained by the supervisor and used as one Of the factors which aid him in evaluating the investigator semi-annually. The values assigned are admittedly arbitrary, but can be adjusted as experience is gained. It can be pre- pared in a few minutes yet remains as a permanent record. Written rating forms The majority Of police departments today prepare written forms which purport to evaluate their employees. The preparation and use of such ratings is necessary for the maintenance of an effective department, but is vital to brace standards within the detective division. The very fact that a large part of his work is performed out 73 Of the sight and immediate control of his supervisor makes periodic ratings of individual detectives mandatory. There are available many excellent formal rating systems but in police work, as in other fields, the raters are not sufficiently trained. Leniency is by far the most common rating error, and in a detective unit this Often manifests itself by the senior men being rated highest. The supervisor's desire to retain friendship, to avoid un- pleasant scenes, and the contradictory rationalization that "ratings do not really mean anything" are among the pres- 28 sures which produce leniency. The informality which characterizes much of the daily interplay between investi- gators and their supervisors makes Objectivity more diffi- cult. In a recent book, the writer--Obviously never having been a detective--overstates both the type and extent of familiarity by stating: Detectives are the upper class of police society and haughtily guard their Special status and privi- leges. Their quarters are separate from those of the uniformed force. Within this private domain democratic camaraderie eliminates the social distance that ordin- arily divides the various ranks of a bureaucratic hierv archy. A lower-ranking detective may call a detective captain by his first name without causing any surprise; he may walk arm-in-arm with a detective inspector (a very high superior Officer), while discussing an im- portant case.29 28Institute for Training in Municipal Adminis- tration, Supervisory Methods in Municipal Administration (Chicago: The International City Managers' Association, 1958), p. 202. 29Arthur Niederhoffer, Behind The Shield (New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1967), p. 79. 74 While this may be dismissed as gross exaggeration it does point up the arduousness of the supervisor's task. The traits which should be included in the rating process should be closely related to the nature of the work per- formed. A detective should be evaluated with reference to the following traits: 1. Work attitude 2. Judgment 3. Initiative 4. Personal appearance 5. Contacts with the public 6. Quality of work 7. Knowledge of work 8. Loyalty 9. Punctuality This list can be added to or otherwise modified to conform with the specialty being rated. For example, a detective who specializes in the apprehension of drug addicts would not be rated on his personal appearance since his contacts are not "jacket and tie" types.30 Ratings once obtained should be utilized. If they are to be merely filed away and no attempt made to improve 30Further information relative to categories and traits may be found in an article by George J. Dudycha: "Rating and Testing Policemen," Police, Vol. 1, NO. 39, September-October, 1956. 75 the performance of the individual they should be discon- tinued. However the supervisor must keep in mind that the evaluation of the performance of the entire detective divi- sion is but an extension Of the performance of each member; individual performance should be improved whenever possible. Written records, readily available for reference, can be invaluable assistance to the detective administrator. By purusing an investigator's arrest record and his formal rating form an accurate evaluation of his value to the de- partment may be Obtained. Supervision of Investigators The nature of the work of investigators makes supervision difficult, but all the more necessary. Many Observers have pointed out the problems encountered in attempting to oversee the activities of investigators. Westley outlines the work routine of a detective employed by the city he studied as follows: The individual detective looks over his assignments as he comes on duty, and if he has any assignments he figures out how to work on them, and leaves the station to follow this course of action. If he has no assign- ments he will either hang around the bureau waiting for something to break, or will cruise about the town checking upon various things and waiting for an assign- ment to come over the radio. When he is working on a case, he may go to the scene of the crime, search out witnesses and talk to them or just drift about the town, in and out Of bars and brothels, pool halls and gambling places, . . . Although the work frequently involves long hours, extra time in court, the detective can work at his own pace. He can loaf when he chooses, 76 without detection; he can spend a great deal of time over a leisurely drink in a bar, or a long dinner in a restaurant. He can always write these activities Off as 'Obtaining information.‘31 There is little reason to believe that things have improved very much since these observations were made. Many feel that to attempt to supervise detectives is folly. Representative Of this view is a quote from the Missouri Crime Survey: Although detective duty lends itself more readily to corruption and abuse of authority than any other type of police work, close and intimate supervision is all but impossible.32 Probably the best way to supervise investigators is to eliminate the need to supervise them by originally selecting only those prOperly motivated. One research paper concluded that TOO much control can restrict an investigator in his duties and . . . too little invites disastrous results. The question comes down to how much control can be exerted and still achieve maximum performance. Consequently . . . in view of the unique nature of investigative duties the most effective control will be achieved in an environment which emphasizes a posi- tive approach to motivation of personnel. 31William A. Westley, The Police; A Sociological Study of Law, Custom, and Morality (University of Chicago: Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, 1951), pp. 68, 69. 32Harry E. Barnes and Negley K. Teeters, New Hori- zons in Criminology (New York: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1945), p. 257. 33John H. Faughn, "Administration of Investigative Activities," A Study of Factors Relating to Control of In- vestigators; unpublished Masters Thesis, Michigan State University, 1965. 77 He goes on to point out that the best way to control in- vestigators is to select those men whose goals coincide with those of the organization and are able to integrate them into an overall common effort for mutual benefit.34 Unfortunately we have no way Of identifying this superior employee except to supervise him closely, relaxing our supervision and allowing more freedom only as the evi- dence warrants. The failure to supervise investigators properly has led to a series of decisions of the United States Su- preme Court severely restricting police activities in areas which were formerly left to their discretion. The rationale behind the decisions is clear, the court is disciplining the police, feeling that internal controls are inadequate. The action Of follow-up investigators were reviewed and found deficient in the following cases: Mapp v. Ohio, Escobedo v. Illinois, United States v. Miranda, and the United States v. Katz. Each of these cases imposed severe restrictions on law enforcement personnel and their Opera- ting techniques. One can speculate that had these investi- gators been prOperly supervised at the time and place of these arrests the conduct upon which the Supreme Court based its decisions would not have occurred. 34Ibid. 78 Supervision is a requirement that varies with in- dividuals, but supervision should at all times be exercised in a police department, even if it is only knowing one's whereabouts, or knowing a telephone number over which supervision can be received or exercised. Supervision by Formal Authority Detective supervisors Many departments Obtain their detective supervisors from those promoted to sergeant who had been detectives. There are Obvious advantages and disadvantages resulting from this practice. The detective supervisor is vested with the formal authority Of his rank consistent with the department's organizational chart, but whether he exercises his authority to adequately supervise his subordinates is up to the individual. Wilson remarks that the nature of investigative duties emphasizes the need for close and continuous super- vision if satisfactory results are to be Obtained. He advises that this is made possible by continuous review of the-daily work of each man and appraisal of his accomplish- ments in terms of clearances, recoveries, arrests, and convictions. He states that: 79 Supervision will usually be adequate when the supervisor knows from one hour to the next the where- abouts and activities Of each subordinate.35 This may be accomplished with varying success by means of written records, to have a supervisor accompany each investigator would be impractical. Most authorities advocate close and continuous supervision over investiga- tive personnel, but few suggest how this may be achieved. Some claim that success in investigative tasks is closely related to the degree of supervision afforded. Murphy, a retired special agent-in-charge for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, states that one Of the fundamental reasons for the success Of the F.B.I. in in- vestigative matters is the excellent and continuous super- vision afforded personnel at all levels Of responsibility.36 Unfortunately, the police administrator cannot model his practices along F.B.I. procedures. The F.B.I. has limited jurisdiction which precludes heavy individual caseloads, has personnel who are well trained and well motivated, and has unlimited funds. Further, the municipal detective is a career police Officer investigator, while the F.B.I.'s Special agents are not. The F.B.I. also relies heavily on 37 "surprise inspections" and indoctrination designed to 35Wilson, Op. cit., p. 294. 36Murphy, op. cit., pp. l8-22. 37Norman Ollestad, Inside the F.B.I. (New York: Lyle Stuart, 1967), p. 276. 80 encourage agents to report one anothers' infractions of reg- 38 This latter procedure has never succeeded in ulations. police departments. Internal investigation units, or "shOO fly" units themselves present problems Of control and supervision. By personal Observation Day-to-day Observation of how a man does his work is a very effective supervisory technique, especially if the supervisor makes a note now and then, recording the employee's performance informally, saving the notation for use when preparing the semi annual evaluation. Sygguestioning Another technique is for the supervisor to infor- mally ask questions about new court decisions, departmental procedures, the progress of his cases, etc. Where a super- visor does this, even once a week, the men will be alert to this possibility, having the desirable consequence of keep- ing them on their toes. V1151 tten records The impracticality of close man-to-man supervision of investigators has led to the reliance on written forms, ‘ . 38Ibid., p. 58. This book also presents a contrast- JJLg view of the effects of the F.B.I.'s supervisory methods from that Of W. Murphy. 81 activity reports, and similar devices. The ease with which these can be falsified makes their value questionable. Wilson notes that attempts to control the activities of personnel in this manner have usually not proven satisfac- tory. He adds that: The results do not justify the time spent in pre- paring the account, and frequently the reports do not record true facts, especially when these reflect to the discredit of the detective.39 Despite these drawbacks administrators must rely on written records, not all of which are susceptible to fraud. Examples of written controls which may be insti- tuted by detective administrators in an effort to closely control investigators can be gathered into the following general categories. Submitted reports One of the most effective means of supervising in- vestigators is by closely reading reports of investigations submitted by them. The supervisor who does this unfail- ingly, as a matter of policy, will invariably establish a large measure of control over his men. The experienced supervisor can quickly penetrate the jargon so Often used to mask inept, unsatisfactory investigations. Reports reveal many things to the astute supervisor; who is 39Wilson, Op. cit., p. 117. 82 satisfactorily performing, and who is straying--needs. training--or is incapable of continuing as an investigator. Reports received from other units, such as the property section complaining that a detective failed to return evi— dence after a court appearance, or from the superior Officer assigned to a court stating that a detective reported to court late, are also supervisory aids to the detective's commanding Officers. Sy "location log: The men assigned to duty should be required to report to the Office at the beginning of their tour for instruction and to outline their day's work. This will not be required where court attendance or other police business interferes. On leaving the Office for the first time the investigator should enter his destination, case number and the time on a "location log" maintained for this purpose. A column should be set aside for insertion Of a telephone number at which he may be reached. The log Should be kept chronologically by a civilian Office clerk along with his other duties. As he leaves each location he should call the office to give his new destination, but not if less than two hours since his last report. TO re- quire, as suggests Wilson a call each hour would interfere with an investigator's functioning. A telephone without a dial for outgoing calls should be set aside for the receipt 83 of these location calls. The knowledge that a supervisor could "ring back" will usually serve to keep this log re? asonably accurate, and serve as an effective control. Sy_radio contact A more expensive but potentially very effective control over investigators is the use of small, recharge- able radio signal receivers. About the size Of a matchbox it emits a sharp beeping sound when activated by a tone broadcast over its frequency, notifying the detective to contact his Office. This device is cheaper and less con- spicuous than the 2—way portable receivers. They can be recharged in the office overnight, and a small number.can be acquired to serve each office since all members do not work at the same time; days off, court days, etc., vary the available force. Sy obtaining a case-time estimate Little if any research has been done to determine how long it takes to investigate a certain type of crime. At first glance it seems that it would be impossible to estimate. However, admitting that it would be difficult to say how long it takes to solve a crime, it is possible to estimate and set time limits on the investigation Of crimes not solved. For example we can outline steps that 84 are always done when beginning the investigation of a Grand Larceny, and set an average time in minutes for accomplish- ing each step. Ex.: Crime; Grand Larceny, property from a store Steps average time to complete 1. Interview complainant 15 minutes a) how crime occurred [11. b) description; serial number, etc. c) employee suspects? d) additional information not given at preliminary investigation 2. Attempts to trace properpy a) check with property 5 minutes recovery unit b) pawnshop canvass (telephone) 15 minutes c) informers 15 minutes 3. Preparation of reports a) report closing case pending developments 5 minutes b) submission Of report to supervisor Unsolved larceny 55 minutes Each crime will require separate research to deter- mine Optimum time allowances. Adjustments should be made where necessary. A supervisor who uses this tool can eval- uate an investigator's workload, thoroughness, attention to duty and other factors. No attempt is made here to set time limits on the steps that need be taken where a "break" 85 in the case occurs, such as informer telling the investi- gator that "Joe Doe" was trying to sell the described prOp- erty several hours after it was stolen. But the six-month evaluation period will have the effect of adjusting this since there will be a ratio of unsolved to solved with arrest cases. Methods to evaluate investigators will be discussed later under "Records." Research needs to be done in this area, the long held view that time estimates are _- r..- ‘b'j not possible needs to be tested. Even partial success will be of great value when dealing with an unknown. The ap- proach suggested is to state the problem negatively. "How much time should it take to not solve a crime"? and prog- ress from there. Limitations Of time prevent extension of this chapter into the more Specific areas of detective training, discipline, COOperation with other units, and similar areas which greatly affect investigative efficiency. However, these are contained within the perview Of the selection, evaluation, and the supervision of investigators. The administrator who achieves even a small measure of accom- plishment in these crucial areas, will have, by doing so, resolved other related problems. CHAPTER IV ADMINISTRATION OF THE INVESTIGATIVE FUNCTION IN FIVE POLICE DEPARTMENTS This chapter consists of five case studies of the administration of the investigative branches in one pre- cinct Of New York City, and of the Michigan cities of Grand Rapids, Flint, Saginaw, and Kalamazoo. The study of the Ir' Michigan cities was accomplished by visiting each city and Observing the praetices that are followed which are within the scope of this study. The investigators were interview- ed, forms and other materials were inspected, and typical crime reports were followed from time of receipt to final disposition, where possible. The material presented On New York City is based on the author's own experience, most of it recent, and on personal communications with persons who are actively en- gaged in investigative work in New York City at the present time. A summary of the information Obtained appears as Appendix B. 86 87 New York City--120th Police Precinct Introduction Located in the Borough of Richmond, more popularly known as Staten Island, this precinct is the largest and most active of the three precincts which serve this part of the city. The borough is, as its name suggests, com- r4: pletely surrounded by water. Until recently Staten Island I was accessible to other residents Of the city only by ferry from Manhattan or Brooklyn. Its'isolated location made it relatively crime-free when compared with the rest of the II city, and its population remained stable for over a decade. In 1962 construction began on a suspension bridge which was to span the lower part of New York Bay, connecting the northeastern tip of Staten Island with the west bank of the Borough of Brooklyn. Contrary to popular Opinion, the bridge was not built to aid in the development of Staten Island, but was to forge the final link in a system Of in- terstate highways stretching from Florida to Maine. The terminus at each end was an eight lane highway designed to carry commercial and passenger traffic through the State of New York to points north and south. Understandably the development and growth of Staten Island was an attendant result, and population figures began to show an increase before the bridge was half com- pleted. Opened to traffic in the Fall of 1964, the 88 population, according to United States Post Office statis- tics, increased at the rate of 1,200 families per month in the year following. The influx consisted mainly of middle- class, middle-income families from other parts of the city. Crime, particularly burglaries and thefts, began to rise almost immediately. The 120th precinct has jurisdiction over the western half of the bridge, and must cope with the traffic, criminals, and other problems of a police nature which progress has brought to Staten Island. The present population of the 120th precinct is approximately 175,000 persons, about eighty-five percent being white, and mainly Of Italian extraction. Despite the fact that a large number of residents commute to lower Manhattan each day, the precinct cannot be considered to be a "bedroom" community. A substantial number of people are employed within the precinct, which contains forty-five factories, twenty-two shipyards, and fourteen industrial complexes which dominate the shoreline. Further, a large number of workers commute to Staten Island from other parts Of the city and from New Jersey, and are employed primarily in industrial pursuits. Therefore it would be accurate to characterize the 120th precinct as residential-industrial for the purposes Of this study. 89 The patrol function The physical location of the 120th precinct is one block from the ferry terminal which connects the island with lower Manhattan, and which serves thousands Of commu- ters each day. The precinct is staffed by a total of two hundred ninety-six sworn Officers and three civilian em- ployees who serve in other than clerical positions. The precinct is divided into twenty-two motorized sectOrs en- compassing one hundred ninety-nine miles of streets. Crime reportinglprocedure Reports of crime are made by telephone directly to the police, in person at the 120th precinct Station House, or to a uniformed officer on patrol. In the latter case the report will be telephoned into the precinct to a pa- trolman assigned to clerical duty. A serial number, ob- tained from a "Central Complaint" desk in Manhattan, is given to the report, as well as a local precinct serial number. The report is prepared in three copies, and is classified according to the details as reported by the complainant. The report is then handed to the desk Officer, either a sergeant or a lieutenant, who checks for accuracy and completeness and signs all three OOpies. The desk of- ficer retains one copy for the use of the patrol force, and forwards two copies to the detective office. 90 The investigative function The detective division of the police department Of the City of New York consists of a small number of spec- ialized units which Operate out of police headquarters in Manhattan, and seventy-nine decentralized detective squads which maintain Offices in each of the seventy-nine patrol . precincts. The Operation and activities Of the headquar- E‘ ters units is not the concern of this study, and was men- tioned in Chapter II to illustrate that specialization does exist within the department, even if on a small scale. This study will be limited to a discussion of the proce- dures of the precinct or generalist squads. The 120th Detective Squad is charged with the per— formance of follow-up investigations of crimes reported and not solved by the initial action of the patrol force. The preliminary investigation of crime by the patrol force is not a well developed concept in New York City, consequently much of the detective's time is spent Obtaining basic in- formation about the case. The squad is staffed by one lieutenant-supervisor, twenty-one detectives, and one pa- trolman assigned to clerical duties. Selection Detectives are selected from members of the patrol force at the discretion of the Police Commissioner. There 91 is no formal period of probation to be served, and few are returned to the patrol force once appointed. There are three pay grades for detectives; the lowest grade being the third grade detective who is paid a few hundred dollars more than a patrolman, the intermediate or second grade detective who receives the equivalent of a sergeant's sal- ary, and the first grade detective who receives the equiv- alent of a lieutenant's salary. Promotions from one grade to the next highest grade are made by the Chief of Detec- tives, with, of course, the approval of the Police Commis- sioner. The basis upon which these promotions are made are Obscure, and generally seniority is an important considera- tion. A certain number of advancements in grade are made in recognition of good arrests made after intensive inves- tigation, however these are in the minority. Competition for advancement to a higher grade is keen, desired as much for alleged prestige as for the increased salary. Inasmuch as all detectives, without regard to their grade, perform identical work, there can be little justification for the notion that, somehow, a first grade designation carries with it the promise of superior investigative ability. Under this system, the Chief of Detectives is under. constant pressure to appoint unqualified or merely average investigators to a higher grade. Nor can the political implications of this procedure be overlooked. Three weeks after the Lindsay Administration took office, a top aide 92 of the mayor, Deputy Mayor Robert Price, requested Commis- sioner Vincent Broderick to "Hold six First Grade shields," the number of vacancies that then existed, at the disposal of the Mayor's Office. Broderick refused, and made the request public. The resulting publicity created a public outcry of "interference with the internal affairs of the police department," etc., and caused the request to be withdrawn. It was all a "misunderstanding" was the embar- rassed explanation, and the matter was, on the surface at least, closed.l Detectives have no command responsibilities, and no differentiation is made in the type Of investigations assigned, that is to say the more difficult cases are not assigned to those of higher grade. This being so, there seems to be little justification for continuance of the system of grades. It might be beneficial to the department to replace this system with one in which all detectives receive the same base salary, adding longevity increases as his seniority accrues. The present system may be de- priving the department of the services of capabIe leaders. There can be little doubt that many detectives are unwill- ing to compete in promotional examinations for reasons that can be directly attributed to the grading system. 1New York Times, January 21, 1966, p. 1, col. 1; January 22, 1966, p. 1, col. 1; January 25, 1966, p. 1, col. 2. 93 Promotion for a second grade detective means a return to the patrol force in uniform with no increase in salary, while for a first grade detective promotion to sergeant is viewed as a disaster, bringing with it return to the patrol force with a substantial reduction in salary. Assignment Of investigations There is no specialization in the assignment of investigations, nor has the lieutenant supervisor any con- trol over assignments, as the following discussion will indicate. When the report of a crime has been received from the desk Officer it is not the procedure that the detective lieutenant become involved in its' assignment because, in effect, it has already been assigned by the investigators themselves. Detectives perform duty in accord with a duty chart that standardizes the working hours of the entire detective division. On the day they are scheduled to "day duty" in the office, the team of detectives so assigned agree among themselves to divide up the tour into hourly periods, each to be assigned to and responsible for all reports Of crime received during this period. For example, if three detec- tives are performing a nine hour day tour, one would be responsible for all cases reported between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., the second for those reported between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., and the third for those reported between 2 p.m. 94 and 5 p.m. This procedure Often results in unequal work- loads, however no attempt is made towards equalization. The justification for non-allocation of cases in order to equalize the workload is that, over a period of time, chance will balance the number of cases each man becomes respon- sible for. The incredible thing about this is that mature, supposedly sophisticated investigators actually believe it! Cases must be reported on within seventy-two hours. The typed reports are delivered to the detective supervisor with the results Of the assigned detective's investigation. If the case has been inaccurately classified, the lieuten- ant may not correct it. He may only sign the reports and retain one for the Office file, forwarding the remaining OOpy to the central records office in Manhattan, which makes any classification change which might be indicated by the report. Evaluation Detectives are evaluated on the basis of the number Of felony arrests made, whether or not these were made as a result of investigations made in his assigned cases. Writ- ten evaluation forms are prepared semi-annually by the lieutenant assigned to supervise the unit. The men are then placed in "rank-order," placed tenth in a group Of twenty-one, or fourth in a group of twenty—one, and so forth. In most texts on supervision this procedure is 95 presented solely for its' historical significance, being considered archaic. The forms are forwarded to Manhattan detective headquarters, along with a typed list of every case assigned to the investigator during the previous six months. No attempt is made to arrive at a clearance rate for each investigator. It is probable that these forms are filed, having no significance whatsoever. Table 2 contains the clearance rate achieved by thisgeneralist unit for the index crimes committed and reported during the year 1967. Grand Rapids, Michigan Introduction Grand Rapids, Michigan, currently has a population of approximately 201,060 persons, of which ten percent is non-white. The city covers an area of 42.2 square miles, and is commonly recognized as the "furniture capitol Of America." Although the city is primarily known for its' furniture manufacturing, its' metal trades industries have superseded furniture in employment, and the city has a list Of industrial activities second only to Detroit in point of diversification. Among its products are auto bodies, parts and accessories, hardware, and a growing printing industry. 96 TABLE 2 CLEARANCE RATES OF THE INDEX CRIMES FOR FIVE SELECTED JURSIDICTIONS FOR THE YEAR 1967 New York City Kalamazoo Flint Grand Saginaw 120th Pct. Rapids Index Crime Generalist Generalist Spec. Spec. Spec. Murder and non-negli- gent mans- laughter (a)133.3% 100 s 96% 85.8% 85.8% Manslaugh— ter by (b) negligence 50 100 50 100 Forcible rape 63.2 28.6 58 68.2 85 Robbery 24.6 32.1 31 15.4 36.2 Aggravated assault 56.0 60.9 83 72.5 86.5 Burglary 12.2 22.3 34 18.2 30.0 Grand (c) (d) (d) (d) larceny 3.8 12.3 x 17.9 45.3 Auto theft 9.0 44.8 16 22.4 50.5 (a) (b) (C) (d) (X) An arrest was made in 1967 for a murder reported in 1966, resulting in a clearance rate of over 100 percent. NO cases in this category were reported in 1967; a rul- ing by the State Court Of Appeals makes a conviction impossible, therefore reports are no longer received by the police. This figure is for larcenies of 100. or over only. NO other figure could be Obtained. Denotes the clearance rate for larcenies of over 50. dollars. Clearance rate not available for this crime. 97 The police department The Grand Rapids Police Department employs two hundred seventy-nine sworn police Officers, and is assisted by forty-three civilian employees who serve in clerical and related capacities. The city is divided into fifteen patrol districts which are patrolled twenty-four hours a day. Three shifts, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., 4 p.m. to 12 midnight, and midnight to 8 a.m., are maintained. Additional patrol cars are available for use as the occasion demands. All reports of crimes are initially investigated by the members of the patrol force who conduct a preliminary investigation and record all pertinent information on a printed form, called a "work Sheet," provided for this purpose. Crime reportingyprocedure When a report Of a crime is received by the uni- formed officer on patrol he conducts a preliminary inves- tigation and prepares the work sheet provided. He then goes to the nearest public telephone, or a fire telephone if desired, and contacts a desk at headquarters which acts as a central receiving point. This desk is usually manned by a police cadet, but when none is available a regular patrolman is assigned. The cadet will take only the essen- tial details, such as name of complainant, address, crime location, etc., and enter this on a control sheet. He then 98 assigns the case a serial number, relating this number to the reporting officer. The cadet then pushes a button which transfers the call to a tape recording device to which the calling Officer relates complete details of the case. The recorder is voice-activated, and ceases to 0p- erate automatically twelve seconds after the Officer hangs up the telephone. The cadet then types the report in four copies, using earphones connected to the recorder, and classifies the case based on the factors reported to the Officer. The Official report form is a pre-packaged, color coded packet, the carbon paper already attached. All four OOpies are delivered to the communications lieutenant who checks the report for accuracy and completeness, and, if all is in order, initials the original and retains the triplicate copy for the information of the higher ranking administrative Officers. He then forwards the remaining three OOpieS to the Detective Bureau administrative lieu- tenant. Where the report is made in person the procedure is the same, except that the report is typed directly onto the report form by the cadet. The investigative function The follow-up investigative branch Of this depart- ment is called the "Detective Bureau," and is staffed by a total of twenty-one men, one detective inspector, one lieu- tenant, eight sergeants, and twelve patrolmen who are called 99 "detectives" while assigned to duty in the detective divi- sion. There is complete specialization of case assignment, and the bureau is divided into five specialized units, each under the supervision of a sergeant who is designated "ser- geant-in-charge." The composition of these specialized units are as follows: Unit Sergeant-in-charge Sergeants Detectives Burglary 1 l 4 Larceny-robbery l 1 3 Assault 1 l 3 Checks-frauds l 1 Automobile l 1 Selection Selection is made from the ranks of the uniformed patrol force by the Superintendent of Police, with the rec- ommendation having been made by the Detective Inspector. There is no written test given, nor do the men assigned acquire a vested interest in continuation as detectives. NO period of probation is required, but continuation de— pends upon the performance of acceptable work. It is the policy of the Detective Inspector to review the work of each unit every month giving particular attention to the clearance rate of the unit as a whole. Where a unit's per- formance appreciably declines, the inspector will require an explanation from the unit supervisor. If the problem 100 is traced to inferior performance Of duty on the part of an investigator, this investigator is returned to the pa- trol force.2 The term used in the official records of the department is "rotated," that is to say the entry would read that "Patrolman Doe is rotated to the detective bur- eau," or "rotated from the detective bureau." It is felt that the use of this term in preference to "assignment" or "appointment" lessens difficulties which could possibly arise when returning investigators to uniformed patrol. Salaries for investigators are the same as those for regular patrolmen, however a modest clothing allowance is paid to compensate for the costs of maintaining civilian clothing. All investigators are of the same rank, there are no gradations. There is no special badge or shield issued to detectives, they retain the badge Of the patrol- man. Detective supervisors are chosen by the Superintend- ent from the patrol force, and they are also "rotated" into the detective bureau. AsSignment of investigations The administrative detective lieutenant, having received three copies of the complaint report from the communications lieutenant, ascertains the crime 2Related by Inspector Walter A. Gilbert in a per- sonal interview with the author, July, 1968. 101 classification, determines to which unit it should be as- signed, and forwards all three copies to the sergeant in charge Of that specialized unit. The sergeant then assigns the case to one of the investigators for investigation, taking into consideration the workloads, interests, and abilities of the investigators. Upon receipt of the case, the investigator initials the original copy and returns it to the Records Bureau as a receipt. The detective can pro- ceed at his own pace, no preliminary report within a spec- ified time being required. When his investigation is com- pleted, the detective types his report on the remaining two copies, signs them, and submits them to his unit super- visor. If the investigation was properly done, the super- visor signs his name, files one copy in the files Of the detective bureau, and forwards the last remaining form, the original, to the Records unit for terminal filing and preparation of index cards containing a summary of the case. Evaluation Detectives are rated by a formal written evaluation every six months, however there is no formal instruction ;provided to the raters, nor are the uses to be made of these ratings announced. The detectives are less concerned ‘with the rating received on this form than with the more informal Opinion of them held by their immediate supervis-