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Budgeting is an important part of the staff functions of police personnel. These responsibilities include,
but are not limited to, fiscal planning and preparation of cost estimates for personnel, equipment,
facilities, and programs necessary to meet the established goals of the police department.
The staff must also provide employee services to members of the police agency. They must explain
benefits and help employees and their families obtain all the services to which they are entitled. For
example, in cases of illness, injury, or death, specialists in employee benefits take care of matters with
a minimum of inconvenience to the officers and their families.
Police personnel also engage in public relations activities. This entails the development of programs
that acquaint the community with police goals and that help gain public support for police activities.
Duties include providing information to the press and the public, maintaining liaison with community
representatives, and working with educational organizations to improve relations with youth in
the community.
A number of staff positions and auxiliary staff positions can be filled by handicapped personnel.
A widespread practice is the use of civilian personnel in certain jobs within police agencies. Civilian
personnel are assigned to duties that do not require the exercise of police authority or the application of
the skills and knowledge of the professional police officer. Work typically performed by civilians
includes clerical or secretarial work, maintenance or sanitation work, prisoner booking, and motor vehicle
maintenance. Many civilian employees develop an interest in regular police work and, if they meet the
requirements for sworn status, become potential candidates for the police officer position. Some police
departments will help pay for the schooling required for their civilian employees to meet the educational
standards of the department. Some offer part-time training to their employees.
Besides these primary staff functions, important auxiliary staff services help line and administrative
personnel meet police objectives. These services include crime laboratory, property and detention,
transportation, communications, and information systems. In addition, many police departments
have intelligence operations and systems of internal discipline. Brief descriptions of these auxiliary
services follow.
AUXILIARY STAFF SERVICES
Crime Laboratory
Because solutions to many crimes are found through the application of physical and biological sciences,
the crime laboratory is of great value to law enforcement officers. In an initial critical phase, police
officers or specially trained evidence technicians identify, collect, and preserve physical evidence at
crime scenes. Overlooking, contaminating, or accidentally destroying evidence can hinder the progress
of an investigation. After the evidence reaches the crime laboratory, qualitative, quantitative, and
interpretive analyses are performed by forensic personnel. Crime laboratory personnel are responsible for
fingerprint operations, ballistics, polygraph tests, blood and alcohol tests, and examination of questioned
documents. Due to the considerable expense involved with operating crime laboratory facilities, not all
police agencies have them. Local and regional laboratories therefore have been established in most states
to provide services to law enforcement agencies from different jurisdictions.
Property and Detention
Regardless of their size, locale, or functions, police agencies are responsible for evidence, personal
property, and articles of value confiscated when carrying out police business. In addition, they must take
inventory, inspect, replace, and maintain departmental property and facilities. Each police department
must ensure the safekeeping of all property and evidence and make provisions for its storage, retrieval,
and disposition to authorized police personnel.
