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Philadelphia and Its Police: Toward a New Partnership -- A Report by the Philadelphia Police Study Task Force

NCJ Number
111569
Date Published
1987
Length
195 pages
Annotation
This report presents the findings and recommendations of the task force established in May 1986 to examine policing in Philadelphia and ways in which the Philadelphia Police Department could improve its effectiveness and its relationships with the community.
Abstract
The task force consisted of police officials, scholars, and representatives of the fields of law, business, community development, and public administration. They gathered data through meetings with police officials, city officials, and representatives of community groups as well as through observations of police work, a study of community attitudes toward the police, and an analysis of other law enforcement agencies with reputations for innovation. The task force concluded that the department has valuable assets and enjoys the general good will of the community, but that its complacency wastes its potential. The department needs to form a different relationship with the Philadelphia community and to improve its management. Specific recommendations include developing an explicit mission statement, making changes to ensure that the new strategy of community policing is successfully implemented, increasing funding for facilities and equipment, fostering professional development, requiring a high school diploma of all police officers, establishing neighborhood advisory councils, and reviewing rules regarding the use of force. Figures, tables, photographs, chapter notes, and appended citizen survey and discussion of legal barriers to change. For related document, see NCJ 111568.