Criminology Research Council grant ; (8/86)
It is reasonable to say that the health of a democracy may, in large part, be seen in the practices of its police. Australia is fortunate in having police forces with a genuine concern for community service and humane police practices. Victoria and South Australia are two States which are particularly noteworthy for their efforts to develop creative community-based policing. This study was concerned with the decision-making process dealing with community policing.
In South Australia community policing took the form of a major metropolitan reorganisation. Systemic decisional processes were followed; the planning process was comprehensive and the lead time very long. Means-ends links were explicitly considered and a premium was placed on managerial rationality. Decision-making was dominated by the research and development unit and conflict was managed through a marriage of rational and political ends and means. Hard data arguments were utilised to accomplish ends that were both managerially rational and politically advantageous. The end result was the implementation of a strategic reorganisation which was both systemic in nature and global in concept.
Victoria present a much different picture. Community policing there was represented by a number of very diverse and creative programs; the Frankston Police/Community Involvement Program, the Broadmeadows Storefront Program, the Blue Light Discotheques and Community Policing Squads. Each program was separately developed and administered. Each was an ad hoc development and was implemented with a minimum lead time. Internal conflict was minimal and the primacy of the Chief Commissioner was the hallmark of Victorian police decision-making. The end result might well be called a series of programs looking for a strategy.
As measured by political and interest group activity, the police in Victoria exist in a more hostile environment than do the police in South Australia. The case study evidence suggests that a benign political environment allows the development of rational management decision processes and systemic innovations. Environments which are more politically hostile seem to place a premium on instant response, incremental change and individual, rather than system accountability.
See: Munro, D. J. (1987). The decision for community policing: The cases of Victoria and South Australia. Police Studies, 10, 140-153.