Each of the six departmental units will have to make a specific contribution when working together to effectively minimize the rising crime trends. These departmental units will include Chief of Police, Patrols, Investigations Division, Special Operations Division, and Civilian Staff.
As the highest-ranking officer, as well as the general manager in the department, the Chief of Police’s (COP) primary duties, would be executive and managerial in nature. This will include, but not limited to, planning, directing, and coordinating activities between the different departments to effectively work together, despite their differences. Besides, each of the six departmental units has different operational strategies. Therefore, it would be the duty of the COP to provide unity of command, unity of direction, and spirit de corps.
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On the same note, the latest crime trend has occurred perhaps because the existing legislation and policies have become less effective. It will, therefore, be the duty of the COP to identify the policies and legislations that need to be updated, amend them temporarily and forward the recommendations to the appropriate policymakers for immediate implementation. It will also be the COP’s responsibility as the head of the task force to supervise all activities and assignments and ensure that all units work as expected and within the recommended guidelines. However, the chief of police has the right to delegate some of these duties as it would be unrealistic to expect one individual to perform them all. For instance, they could delegate the evaluation of the task force’s performance and effectiveness to an outsider whose report would not be tainted by personal bias.
For the other departmental units within the task force, they will be assigned responsibilities by the chief of police according to their competencies. The investigation division, for instance, will be in charge of gathering all requisite information that would be used by the other departments. This information will include, but not limited to, the motive behind the crimes, tracking and locating the criminals, and breaking their codes on social media to as to predict their next targets, pre-empt them, and arrest the leaders and organizers. In other words, the investigation department would be the task force’s information and knowledge management unit. For instance, after predicting the next target, undercover agents would pose as customers and guards at the stores to not only collect first-hand data from direct observation and minimal interaction with the criminals but also serve as back up and aid the arresting officers in case something happens, such as a suspect carrying a gun that could turn the simple arrest into a hostage situation.
On the other hand, the special operations division will be performing the grunt work for the task force. Not only will they by the tactical response but will also help the police department in apprehending the offenders. This unit will always be on the move and ready to go. By predicting the patterns and next targets, the special operations division will be strategically located to arrive at the crime scene in less than a minute after the mob has started stealing from the stores. If, on the other hand, the investigations department flags something as suspicious, it would be the duty of the special operations division to serve as back up in case something turns up and requires a quick response. Furthermore, the department will also train other units in minimal tactics so they can be useful to the task force in emergencies. Given this scope of responsibilities, however, the special operations department would have to be highly organized and sufficiently skilled to dispense their duties.
However, while the investigations department will become largely invisible and the special operations division hard to track down, the patrols unit will be the most visible to the public. As a result, the patrols unit will have the greatest number of officers operating on a 24-hour schedule with the following responsibilities. First, the unit will serve as a deterrent for criminal activity, be it spontaneous or premeditated. Secondly, after identifying criminal activity in the streets, the patrols unit will immediately move to arrest the offenders. Thirdly, in case of an emergency, the patrols unit will provide direct assistance as well as coordinate with the public and local store security to keep the public off the crime scenes until the investigators are done. Finally, during their patrols on the streets, the unit will more likely be the ones to identify and alert the task force of any suspicious activity outside the potential crime scenes, such as locating street vendors attempting to sell the stolen goods.
The civilian staff will include not only administrative staff but also crime scene investigators, analysts, consultants, and intelligence officers. These members of the civilian staff will primarily be professionals contributing their expertise towards meeting the goals of the task force. The analysts, for instance, would help the investigation unit perform their duties while offering an outside perspective. The support service division, on the other hand, will be responsible for overseeing all investigations and lines of inquiry. The division will also establish and maintain the emergency communication centre that will rapidly inform all other units of any developing story or update them. Therefore, by ensuring that every unit within the task force communicates and is always on the same page, the support service division will be the departmental unit that is responsible for the task force’s success.
However, not all departments will necessarily be included in the task force. For instance, the crime against person unit is responsible for investigating homicides, sexual harassments, and crimes targeting specific individuals. These, however, are not the trends that have required the establishment of the task force. On the other hand, while these emergent criminals appear to be organized on social media, they are yet to reach the levels of organized crime, like drug trafficking or other threatening national crimes. Therefore, the serious organized crime agency will not be part of the task force.
There is yet evidence to be found to warrant the inclusion of the economic crime unit, such as fraud or a Ponzi scheme. The dog handler’s unit, on the other hand, would provide little utility as their main responsibilities would be to search for bombs, drugs, and locate bodies, injured people, and track fleeing offenders. However, these specific competencies would not be required by the task force. There are other departmental units, however, that have the potential to contribute effectively but have not been included in the task force.
The IT department, for instance, could help in not only maintaining the task force’s IT infrastructure but help control and obtain CCTV footage that could be used as evidence. The juvenile department, as well as the school resource officers, will also help in contact tracing and collecting information about the young offenders.
