iaclea law enforcement article 2006

8/14/2019 IACLEA Law Enforcement Article 2006

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Vol. 36, No. 3 May/June 2006

Contents

U.S. Gulf Coast Schools Cite Hurricane Lessons .............................. ......................... 9

By Christopher G. Blake, CAELessons Learned Listening Session sponsored by IACLEA, the FBI, and theU.S. Department of Homeland Security

Educational Awareness for Nicotine and Alcohol Addiction in Law Enforcement.. 13

By Daniel J. Benny, M.A., CPP, PCI, CCO, CLETWidespread use of addictive substances impacts law enforcement officers

American Leadership Principles in an Age of Corruption ..................................... . 21

By Vincent Bove, CPPTime tested leadership skills have the potential to transform

Law Enforcement Involvement in the Community Planning Process............ ........ 25

By Randy A. Gonzalez, Ph.D.Growth and community management process should include the expertise oflaw enforcement agencies

More Protection for Our Protectors .................................. ..................................... . 30

By Craig W. FloydEnsuring that officers have the resources to do their job effectively and safely

DepartmentsPresidents Message .................................... ...................................... ....................... 2

Association News .................................... ..................................... ............................ 3Member News ................................. ..................................... .................................... 7

Letter to the Editor ................................... ...................................... .......................... 8

On the CoverPhotos taken of IACLEA member campuses on August 30, 2005, after Hurricane

Katrina. Campus public safety leaders from Gulf Coast colleges and universities

gather to discuss key lessons learned from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. (See article

on page 9).

2005-2006 Board of Directors

President

Priscilla Stevens

College of Southern Maryland

President Elect

Steven J. Healy

Princeton University

Treasurer

Lisa A. Sprague

Florida State University

Immediate Past PresidentKenneth A. Willett

University of Montana

Directors

Daniel Hutt Canada

University of Toronto

Jean Luc Mahieu International

University of Brussels

Raymond H. Thrower, Jr. Mid-America

Gustavus Adolphus College

James J. Bonner, Jr. Mid-Atlantic

Arcadia University

Steven J. Rittereiser Mountain Pacific

Central Washington University

Paul L. Ominsky North Atlantic

Mount Holyoke College

Jasper Cooke Southeast

Augusta State University

Robert K. Bratten Southwest

University of Texas Health Science Ctr.

Phillip A. Johnson At-Large

University of Notre Dame

Marlon C. Lynch At-Large

Vanderbilt University

David M. Worden At-Large

San Diego Community College District

Chief Staff Officer/Editor in Chief

Peter J. Berry, CAE

Managing Editor

Karen E. Breseman

Production Director

Gene Mandish

Advertising Coordinator

Karen E. Breseman

Campus Law Enforcement Journal is the official publication of the International Association of CampusLaw Enforcement Administrators. It is published bimonthly and dedicated to the promotion of profes-sional ideals and standards for law enforcement, security and public safety so as to better serve institu-tions of higher education.

Single copy: $5; subscription: $30 annually in U.S. currency to nonmembers in U.S., Canada, Mexico. Allother countries: $35. Manuscripts, correspondence, and all contributed materials are welcome; however,publication is subject to editing and rewrite if deemed necessary to conform to editorial policy and style.Opinions expressed by contributing authors and advertisers are independent of IACLEAJournal policiesor views. Authors must provide proper credit for information sources and assume responsibility forpermission to reprint statements or wording regardless of the originating organ. 2006 InternationalAssociation of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators. All rights reserved. Business and PublicationOffice: 342 North Main Street, West Hartford, CT 06117-2507; (860) 586-7517; Fax (860) 586-7550.

Printed in the U.S. by Sundance Press. This publication is available in microform from UniversityMicrofilms International, 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106 USA.


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Law Enforcement Involvement in the CommunityPlanning ProcessBy Randy Gonzalez, Ph.D.

As communities continue to confront the

problems of growth while attempting to

provide quality services to meet increas-ing demands, it becomes more impera-

tive that we evaluate our attitudes toward

community design, organization and plan-

ning.

There appears a lack of understand-

ing and confusion as to what is meant by

planning, especially the phrase: environ-

mental security planning, its management

or its processes, particularly when the

average citizen seeks a change in zoning

or land use designation. A brief encoun-

ter with all the various levels of govern-

ment, which may process a petitionersrequest and recommend final approval

or disapproval, is often enough to invoke

verbiage of an obscene nature.

Planning a communitys growth and

development has all too often been left

to a small group of professionals or seem-

ingly academic types, who may or may

not have an understanding of what the

public wants or desires. Public officials,

who may have good intentions, some-

times have a vague idea of what plan-

ning entails, and sometimes do not en-courage or solicit advice from other lev-

els of government within the same com-

munity.

In the next twenty years, the planning

process will be even more critical. More

and more citizens will find themselvesinvolved with local and regional planning

boards, agencies or commissions. They

will find themselves involved out of a

personal concern for the future health,

safety or welfare of their community, or

because their neighborhoods are threat-

ened by population density, traffic, or

other related problems.

With changes in population density,

expansion of communities, traffic conges-

tion, commercial development of one

form or another, and demands for gov-

ernmental services, the potential for crimi-nal activity becomes a serious added fac-

tor. This requires the active involvement

in the local planning process that goes

beyond the usual programs of the typical

police crime prevention unit.

In planning the future growth of a

community, local officials should rely more

on their law enforcement agencies for

professional input into the growth man-

agement process. The police, then, should

come to view their involvement in a

communitys development as one of en-

vironmental security consultants in the

aspects pertaining to public safety.

The Police as EnvironmentalSecurity Planners

The police spend much time patrolling

the community through various deploy-

ment means. Emphasis is usually placed

on prevention through visibility, whether

by foot patrol or by vehicle. In the pro-

cess, the police come to know significant

aspects about a city or community. For

example, they know where the serious

danger spots are located, the crowded

neighborhoods, high traffic areas, and

other factors that should be considered inthe planning process. Furthermore, the

police are aware that new housing de-

velopments will create demands for ad-

ditional safety and security services. Man-

power allocations, response times, and

other related services become important

areas of concern in the growth process.

In short, without lengthy discussion on all

the various roles that police play in the

community, they are the primary daily

contact between the citizens and the

public. Therefore, the police are in an

excellent position to know and understandthe feelings of the public.

By the nature of their work, police of-

ficers are decision makers. More often

than not, these decisions are made within

the span of seconds or minutes. Yet the

police officer must be prepared to make

critical judgments based on training, edu-

cation, and experience and then to take

appropriate action. This ability adds to the

Continued on page 26

As communities continue to confront the

problems of growth while attempting toprovide quality services to meet increasing

demands, it becomes more imperative that

we evaluate our attitudes toward

community design, organization and

planning.

By the nature of their work, police officers

are decision makers. More often than not,

these decisions are made within the span of

seconds or minutes.


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Law Enforcement Involvement in the Community Planning Process

Continued from page 25

role the police must play in a difficult

society in which he/she must clearly un-

derstand complicated social issues in or-

der to be effective and efficient.

The police realize perhaps more than

others in local government that environ-

mental security planning can influence

criminal behavior and behavior in gen-

eral in at least two ways. Through proper

crime control planning, physical attributes

and design of particular settings establish

an environment to which people respond

as individuals. Secondly, people respondsocially, and establish social relationships.

Noise, pollution and overcrowding are

some examples of physical characteris-

tics that may enhance negative behavior.

Such things as alienation, dehumanization

and anxiety are examples of social char-

acteristics that may promote negative

social relationship.1 The way in which the

urban environment is designed deter-

mines the rate and type of criminal activ-

ity. And yet, public officials in many cit-ies have been slow to recognize that crime

prevention is an integral part of urban

planning.2

Law enforcement professionals have

long recognized that certain physical fac-

tors can contribute to the nature of crimi-

nality. Environmental security planning

involves programs of corrective preven-

tion directed at understanding and elimi-

nating causes of crime before they can

occur. Planning and design strategies as-

sist the police in their interaction with the

public when based on sound security and

safety concepts. Environmental security

planning promotes the concept of de-

fensible space among members of the

public, which leads the public to share

social responsibilities and improve the

quality of the setting, rather than surren-

der their freedom to others.3

The law enforcement agency has an

opportunity to make a significant contri-

bution to the planning process in the lo-

cal community. Experienced officers canidentify high-risk neighborhoods by mak-

ing note of potential crime targets. They

can identify areas of poor lighting, places

of concealment, the inaccessibility of po-

lice patrol, and other related problems.

Through the development of this infor-

mation, the law enforcement agency can

contribute to the planning process to help

reduce both crime and the fear of crime.

The expertise provided by the police can

assist in the design of new residential,

recreational, industrial, commercial and

open space development.

In view of the need to ensure the

welfare, safety and security of the com-

munity and to provide adequate and effi-

As a governmental function, planning

presents a difficulty in the sense that there is

not a clear concept of its proper role in

relation to the community served.



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cient police services, every local govern-ment should establish the organizationaland procedural processes by which thepolice participate in the planning process.

The Planning Process An Overview

When the word planning is mentioned,people have an assortment of mentalimages. Some think of the preservationof natural resources while others think of

housing programs. Those in the businesscommunity may think of market poten-tials or plant expansion. Still others mayregard the term as an intrusion by thegovernment into their private lives. Plan-ning has different meanings to differentpeople.4

As a governmental function, planningpresents a difficulty in the sense that thereis not a clear concept of its proper role inrelation to the community served. Thiscreates a problem when it comes to or-ganizing the environment and respond-ing to community development. Theobject of planning should be to furtherthe welfare of the citizens in the commu-nity by creating a positive, healthy, effi-cient and attractive environment.5 All fea-tures of a community, the physical andthe social, are related and interdependent.These must be balanced by skilled fore-sight and planned administrative coordi-nation.

Planning defines a process that givesconsideration to urban needs regarding

land use, public facilities and services,capital improvements and financing, andinter-governmental coordination of plan-ning activities. Planning can also be

viewed as the active effort of organizinghuman activities to better serve humanneeds. It is a process that, through properadministrative direction, brings together

various components of the communityby greater integration into a more coher-ent and efficient framework. People in-

volved in planning must consider the

physical environment as a whole, and theway in which people perceive and makeuse of each part of the environment.6

The governmental power to controlland use, and thereby exercise influenceover growth and development, is one of

the most significant powers vested togovernment. Through proper judgmentand decision making, the exercise of thiskind of power can be one of the bestresources for creating a better commu-nity. However, abuse of the planning pro-cess by means of political reward to spe-cial interests, or for the purpose of mon-etary gain and increase of power, can havedevastating effects on the community.

The principal aspect of all planning fallsupon the delegation of proper govern-mental responsibility and authority to theappropriate agency. County and munici-pal governments become involved in theplanning process as a result of state legis-lation. It is important to realize that the

wording of the enabling legislation de-fines legally the framework that local gov-ernments follow with regard to planning.

As Herbert Smith in his excellent bookThe Citizens Guide to Planning(1979)points out:

From this point, we move to thelocal scene. To get started in plan-

ning, the governing body must en-act an ordinance establishing anagency for planning (a planningcommission or planning board, de-pending on the terminology of eachstate act) and setting forth its pre-scribed functions.7

One of the beginning tasks of the plan-ning commission whose members maybe citizens appointed from the commu-nity by the local government is to de-

velop the master plan for its jurisdictionalarea. Usually the planning commission is

supported by a professional staff of plan-ners and other administrative personnel

in order to carry out the planning pro-cess. The organization and function ofplanning commissions or boards may varyfrom one community to another.

Each matter coming before the plan-ning commission which eventually in-

volves change to the overall plan of thecommunity should include informativeinput by other agencies of the local gov-ernment. At this level, the police agency

would have the opportunity to offer itsexpertise regarding safety and security.The police have an opportunity to be-come involved in another important di-mension of local government: providingtechnical assistance in areas concerningthe growth and expansion of the com-munity they serve.

Police Involvement in PlanningEvery law enforcement agency shouldbecome actively committed to the localgovernment planning process and work

with local planning commissions or boardsin areas of mutual interest. Likewise, lo-cal government leadership should openly

encourage police participation in the com-munity planning process.

Depending on the level of growth ac-tivity, size of the community, personnelresources, and other significant opera-tional factors, every police departmentshould devote some of its resources to

planning. It has been suggested by someresearchers that police agencies with sev-enty-five or more personnel should haveat least one person assigned full-time plan-ning responsibilities.8 However in smalleragencies, the need may still warrant aplanning unit. If the departments opera-tions are such that a full-time assignmentis not possible, then personnel with re-lated duties should be assigned the plan-ning responsibility.




One of the beginning tasks of the planning

commission whose members may be citizens

appointed from the community by the local

government is to develop the master plan

for its jurisdictional area.

Every law enforcement agency should

become actively committed to the local

government planning process and work

with local planning commissions or boards

in areas of mutual interest.

Depending on the level of growth activity,

size of the community, personnel resources,

and other significant operational factors,every police department should devote

some of its resources to planning.


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The magnitude and complexity of taskassignments for a police planning unit ora planning person should be carefully ana-lyzed to determine the organization anddesign of the planning unit. Important ac-tivities are the interface and cooperativeplanning with non-criminal justice agen-cies, such as local planning commissions.9

In order for the police department tomeet the demands of a growing commu-nity and participate competently in theplanning process, local government mustallocate the necessary resources. The re-sponsibility of local government to pro-

vide adequate levels of funding for thepolice to become fully involved in allphases of community physical planning,

Palma auto boot pu last page 26

including the assignment of qualified per-sonnel, providing training, agency com-mitment and leadership support.

The main objective of police involve-ment in community planning as environ-mental security specialists is the reduc-

tion of criminal opportunity. This includesthe provision of law enforcement exper-tise to prevent and deter crime, establishphysical and psychological barriers tocriminal behavior and increase the prob-ability of detection. There are severalother aspects that would fit within thisoverall objective calling for increasedpolice assistance in the planning process.

Environmental security planning allowsthe community to design streets, build-ings, neighborhoods, parks, and commer-cial districts wherein safety and securityare key factors. Crime can be controlledthrough such planning efforts and at thesame time communities can increase hu-man contact of a positive nature. The fu-ture health, safety and welfare of local

communities demands greater consider-ation of the police professional in theplanning process.

Notes1. C. Ray Jeffrey, Crime Prevention Through

Environmental Design (Beverly Hills: Sage

Publications, 1971), p. 215.2. Ibid., p. 216.

3. Oscar Newman, Architectural Design for CrimePrevention (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Gov-ernment Printing Office, 1971), p. 1.

4. Herbert Smith, The Citizens Guide to Plan-ning (Chicago: The American Planning

Association, 1979), p. 23.

5. Ibid., p. 27.

6. Ibid., p. 28.

7. Ibid., p. 29.

8. Charles Swanson and Leonard Territo, PoliceAdministration: Structures, Processes andBehavior (New York: Macmillan Publish-ing, 1983), p. 389.

9. Ibid., p. 389.

About the Author

For 32 years,Randy Gonzalez has been

an active member of the criminal justice

community. He is a certified law en-

forcement instructor in criminal justice

general studies areas, legal studies, de-

fensive tactics, police driving, firearms,

human diversity, first responder, inter-

personal communication skills, as well

as ethics and professionalism. As a prac-

titioner of the martial arts for over 30

years, Gonzalez also teaches personalsafety and self-defense courses. He is the

former director of a police academy and

managed law enforcement basic recruit

training, as well as career development

courses for in-service personnel.

Gonzalez serves as an adjunct professor

of criminology and public administra-

tion and has taught at the university,

college and adult-vocational levels for the

past 25 years. He holds B.A. and M.A.

degrees in Criminology, an M.P.A. in Pub-

lic Administration, and a Ph.D. in Reli-

gious Studies. He has written and pub-lished a number of articles, training manu-

als, texts and related instructional mate-

rials on topics related to criminal justice,

the martial arts and religious studies.

Gonzalez is a member of several law en-

forcement organizations, professional as-

sociations and related criminal justice

groups. He continues to write, consult

and train in the field of criminology and

law enforcement.

The main objective of police involvement in

community planning as environmental

security specialists is the reduction of

criminal opportunity.

iaclea law enforcement article 2006

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