Discuss police departments in terms of their structure and organizational units

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Despite attempts to change the managerial approaches of directing a police department, police organizations remain quasi-military hierarchies. The traditional police hierarchy is a pyramid-type structure composed of those parts deemed necessary to achieve the department's mission. However, the text notes that at all levels of the organization good communications is necessary.
Every police department with the exception of small agencies is divided into operations, administration, and auxiliary services. Operation units are those components within a police organization that provide direct service to the public. The most important operations unit is the patrol unit. This is understandable because it is the unit that most likely comes into contact with the general public on a regular basis. Administration is identified as the "nerve center" of a department and embraces many important activities such as dealing with police personnel. Typical other examples of administration responsibilities would be training and, planning, and public information. A major function of administration is that of helping operations personnel such as patrol officers adequately perform their tasks. Auxiliary services are responsible for providing direct assistance to operations personnel. Examples of auxiliary services are records, facilities maintenance, and department supply. However, the most important auxiliary service is communications.