Funds Allocation Paper (250 Points):
Imagine you are a Chief of Police in a police department. Your mission is to implement a new proposed policy, program, unit, etc. in response to a perceived problem real or hypothetical (Examples could be: race relations/lack of funding/community policing/opioid epidemic/etc). You have written a grant that will fund half of the cost of your proposal. You believe your city has it within their budgetary means to fund the other half of your proposal, however several commissioners are resistant to law enforcement efforts, believing that fire-fighting services and sanitation / waste disposal are far more important. In other words, they want to give the extra money to the Fire Department and Sanitation Department instead of your police department.
None of these commissioners has any law enforcement background, beyond what they have seen on television. Only 2 of these commissioners have any college education, and their degrees are in mechanical engineering and computer science. Your task is to “sell” your proposal to the Board of Commissioners so they will allocate the needed funds to your department. To do this, you will write a minimum 5 page (title and reference pages do NOT count towards this total) proposal that gives the Board of Commissioners the information they need in the form of an objective, research-based, third person proposal.
Remember, the Board of Commissioners does not want to give you funding. You must persuade them by information and a logical argument convincing them of the need, the benefit to the department or community, and covering the logistical concerns you are likely to encounter, as well as how you will deal with those concerns.
Your efforts should be concentrated toward providing the necessary background information for understanding your proposal and its importance, anticipating the possible logistical and / or political obstacles you may encounter, and possible solutions to these obstacles—the focus is on your problem-solving skills.
1. Problem Identification
a. Identification of a problem, (real or imagined), that exists in your police department that can be addressed by implementing a new policy or program.
b. Identification of why it is a problem—what hardship is it causing; what harm is coming to the community or department due to a lack of this program or policy?
2. Research And Review Of Relevant Literature (Background Information On The Problem and Program / Policy You Propose)
a. Why does the problem exist? Is it caused by political, sociological, psychological, structural, financial, historical, etc. causes? What is the background of these causes? How did you identify the cause?
b. Discussion of why the policy or program needs to be implemented; what will justify spending this money; what good will it do for the department or the community?
c. Has this program or policy been used before at another department? Provide information on the success (or failure) of their program / policy.
3. Possible Solutions
a. What solutions exist to the problem you have identified? Is your proposal the only possible solution? Do others exist that might be better?
b. What are the costs of your proposal, as well as any other possible solutions? What will it cost in terms of money, manpower, training, equipment, etc.?
c. Discussion and / or critique of other departments that have tried this or a similar program / policy, showing past success, known obstacles, etc.
4. Obstacles And Foreseeable Problems
a. Are there foreseeable union / labor problems, organizational problems, political problems, public sentiment problems, legal problems, etc.?
b. What are the possible problems that might be created by implementing your solution(s)—who will be dissatisfied with your proposal, and why?
c. How might these new problems be dealt with? How will you appease the dissatisfied parties?
5. Evaluation and Conclusion
a. How will you determine if your new program or policy solves the initial problem you identified? How will you analyze its success (or failure)?
b. Brief summary of paper, 1-2 paragraphs
This is a research-based assignment, where a significant amount of qualitative research is expected (minimum of 3 sources outside of your book). You should use your textbook to provide a framework for the police administrator’s perspective, building upon that framework with research specific to your topic.
Remember your audience! They are uneducated and inexperienced in law enforcement issues, therefore you should not presume any specific knowledge of the issues. Be sure to define your terms understandably and provide enough basic information for your audience to understand (hint—let a family member or friend read your work to check its understandability).
Third person writing should use formal, objective language, similar to the language found in your textbook. Third person writing does not use the personal, subjective language of “I” or “you”, but is detached and neutral in the way it presents information.