Ensuring Quality Performance : Use of Checklists in Police Services
Louis M . Dekmar
A professional challenge to every police chief :
Randomly select five burglary reports or entering auto reports or domestic violence reports … or any five of the same offense report completed by five different officers in your agency .
Do they vary significantly in the nature of the details memorialized in the report ? Do some indicate the crime scene was processed for fingerprints , and some don ’ t ? Do some indicate a neighborhood canvass and some don ’ t ? Do some detail a preliminary investigation and some don ’ t ? On how many occasions has evidence been missed because an officer failed to talk with neighbors or attempt to fingerprint a simple entering auto or burglary ? How can we ensure that each citizen receives the same level of response and service as others ? How many times do first line supervisors , detectives , and prosecutors have unanswered questions when they read a report ? These are missed opportunities that can never be recovered . In the late 1930 ’ s , the United States was seeking to identify a new bomber for the Army Air Corps . The most promising proposal , what would eventually become known as the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress , had a higher payload capacity , greater flying distance , and faster speed than any of the competitors ’ proposals . On its demonstration flight , the plane crashed because the pilot failed to release a locking mechanism on the elevator and rudder controls . Some suggested the plane was too complex for any one pilot to fly . While the adoption of the plane was almost cancelled , its production was only postponed . To correct the problem , they did not develop extensive operational policies or require pilots to receive more training . After some review , the solution was to develop a simple checklist for pilots to follow during critical points of the flight , prior to take off , shortly after take-off and during landing .
In the medical field , prior to surgeries , simple checklists have been found to significantly reduce post-operative infections , simple mistakes , and
18 FALL 2021