Influence of organizational factors on police response time

Abstract

Police response time is one of the most important factors in the efficiency and effectiveness of the police, especially in the segment of police handling of reports. Its role of performance management is especially important in the police organization, where it appears as a significant factor and indicator of performance. Therefore, it is necessary to define the response time and determine its structure and carriers. In addition to the above, it is very important to establish what factors, in what way and under what circumstances, have the greatest impact on the duration of the response time in order to minimize those with a negative impact and give prominence to those with a positive one. Bearing in mind that some factors are located in the police organization itself, and some outside it, they can be divided into two categories: internal and external. Internal factors arise from the organizational structure of the police organization and the job description performed by the appropriate organizational unit of the police, while external factors are based on the influence, primarily of security events, of the subjects who caused them and the persons injured. They, in accordance with their nature, affect the duration of the response time and thus, through the appropriate outcomes of police action, having in mind the social danger of the security event, have certain effects on the functioning of the community. This primarily refers to preventing or mitigating the consequences of a security event, deterring possible perpetrators of crimes and misdemeanors from their delinquent (criminal and misdemeanor) behavior, which all together leads to increased public satisfaction with the work of the police.