Saturday, June 23, 2007

Nanette Should Read This Book

....or maybe her successor should.

We pointed out that the MPD's "management" tools seem to come straight from 1950's industrial practices: "Don't worry about what you make--just make MORE of it. We'll throw out the bad product at the end."

There's a reason that that particular philosophy went away: the companies which practiced it are out of business. Survivors are utilizing data-driven tactics to achieve strategic objectives.

Of course, the 'end' of police work is different from the 'end' of manufacturing production; Courts are unkind to sloppy procedure, and, worse, using deadly weapons can have long-lasting results.

Another interesting tidbit which should have a bearing on MPD "management" practices popped up in Kopel's blog today.

Reviewing On Combat, by Lt. Col Dave Grossman, Kopel mentions this:

...Grossman's book covers both military and police operations; I think the latter is where it best fits a void. For police it has practical combat tips, but also things such as (1) how to deal with it if you have to shoot someone; (2) how you should help a buddy deal with that if he has to shoot; (3) suggestions for police departments, such as minimizing overtime (sleepy men make mistakes).

Of course, the Police Union will agree that their lucrative overtime-rules must be changed.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Excellent points, but unless a Police Chief has actually been a real cop and experienced what it's like to deal with bad guys on a regular basis none of this will compute with him OR HER. It's like talking to a cat, all they hear is noise. You don't get real police experience scratching your head as a decoy for the Anti-prostitution unit.