SWOT Analysis of the Metropolitan Police Department

The strength of the Metropolitan Police Department is well-defined duties and responsibilities of the law enforcement organization resulting to the efficient performance of administrative and non-administrative functions of all human resources. Clear links exist between administration and the police officers working in the different functional departments resulting to more efficient reporting of outcomes and problems in the front line to the top administrators and the communication of decisions for implementation to the front line personnel.

This culture of efficient organization and functioning is a legacy of a mayor of the city that cultivated an efficient organizational structure not only in city hall but also in the metropolitan police department. (Metropolitan Police Department, 2008) The mayor, although a civilian, has influence in strategic decision concerning the police department. The weakness of the Metropolitan Police Department is limited funding brought about by the phase out of business taxes in one county together with a decline in revenue from building permits, which are significant sources of funding of the police department.

The city council’s decision to support the phase out of business taxes and limited opportunities for business expansion in the city dampened the construction of new buildings. (Metropolitan Police Department, 2008) Again, the city government, particularly the city council is the stakeholder that brought about this weakness. The opportunity for the Metropolitan Police Department is enhanced support and participation of the communities to enhance the efficiency of law enforcement authorities despite the limited budget (Metropolitan Police Department, 2008).

The active involvement of the community would allow the police department to direct its resources and efforts towards the different areas of law enforcement that requires prioritization to optimize available resources while at the same time ensuring responsive service delivery to the community. The growing activism of the community expressed through the establishment of community organizations and advocate groups that are cooperative with the police department are the stakeholders that created this opportunity.

The threat or challenge faced by the Metropolitan Police Department is potential staffing reduction is budget deficit of the city government (Metropolitan Police Department, 2008). If actualized, this involves a number of implications to the police department including possible downsizing or staff reduction that could in turn lead to physical and clinical fatigue to the remaining staff as well as limited ability to provide quality and responsive services to the communities especially with growing problems.

A budget deficit could mean decreased inefficiency of the city government in collecting revenue and allocating resources as well as inefficiency in boosting growth and employment opportunities in the city. Regardless of the reason, more problems would arise for the police department including rise in property crimes that is difficult to handle with a nil budget. City government is the stakeholder that determines the actualization of this threat because of its control over the police department’s budget.

Issues Implied from the SWOT Analysis The issues emerging from the SWOT analysis are strategic in nature because these involve factors and parties outside of the police department as well as actions or solutions with long-term impact (Bryson, 2008). The major issue is limited budget, which is highly influenced by the city government. A strategic question is “How can the police department develop a budget allocation plan that balances service quality with cost efficiency?

” Process in Framing Strategic Issues Framing strategic issues is a process commencing with the identification of all issues followed by the prioritization of the issues based on the relative impact of these issues on the ability of the police department to achieve long-term goals. The identification and prioritization should find bases from data derived from the various stakeholders.

This process works because it supports informed strategic decision-making. (Bryson, 2004)

References

Bryson, J. M. (2004). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement (3rd ed. ). San Francisco: CA: Jossey-Bass. Metropolitan Police Department. (2008). About MPDC. Retrieved August 23, 2008, from http://mpdc. dc. gov/mpdc/cwp/view,a,1230,Q,537757,mpdcNav_GID,1529,mpdcNav,|,. asp