Item A: Eugene Police Department Strategic Plan

Home Browse Search

Programs The Eugene Police Department (EPD) is an organization of many different programs, activities, and processes all intended to either provide direct services to the public or necessary support without which direct services could not be provided. In order to improve the manner in which services are provided to the public and provide for better coordination, efficiency, and effectiveness of services across the EPD, the City of Eugene, and outside agencies, EPD initiated an involved process to identify and define its existing programs and their interrelationships with other programs and agencies. For the purpose of the strategic plan, a program was defined as an on-going, budgeted (resourced) set of activities and outputs in support of stated program objectives. Program definitions are necessary to identify and prioritize the various services provided, balance workload output measures to resources applied, and evaluate program effectiveness and service quality. This process was challenging but has resulted in the necessary structure to determine priorities and resource requirements. It also permits the assignment of program responsibilities to individuals and teams, providing increased accountability for results. Programs were prioritized into three basic categories: 1. No Discretion Activities for which the department has virtually no discretion and those activities necessary to minimally support these activities. Category One programs must all exist for the department to provide even the most basic, responsive police services. Even minimally, these programs must exist in a known environment of almost 150,000 residents and their associated highest-level emergency call load, presently over 3,000 such calls per year. For example, emergency call handling associated with in-progress felonies and violent misdemeanors is a Category One program. The necessary support to be able to respond to these calls includes a basic administrative staff including finance and budget (a payroll person, for example) as well as communications (to answer the phones), human resources (to coordinate the hiring), training, and facilities and equipment. There is little, if any, proactive activity involved in the delivery of Category One services and a Category One service would never be declined in favor of a proactive capacity. 2. Little Discretion. Activities for which the department has some, but not much, discretion. For example, EPD is not mandated to provide follow-up investigations of any crime; however, the investigation of serious crime is a basic professional standard for an agency of this type and size and a basic public expectation. Other Category Two activities include support