SAN MARCOS POLICE DEPARTMENT The San Marcos Police Department is the primary general service law enforcement agency of San Marcos, Texas. The department is currently comprised of 95 sworn officers and 35 full time administrative staff members. On the law enforcement front, it is here at the local level that the major advances against the problems of crime and order maintenance goes on. This paper will serve to explain several key administrative concepts related to the operations of the San Marcos Police Department. In particular, this paper will examine the organizational structure within the department, in addition to, motivation and leadership components.
STRUCTURE
The accepted patterns of police organizations follow closely those to be found in military service (Leonard, 1969). This appears to be a very logical development since a police organization is semi-military in character. Police departments tend to be organized with rank structures, utilize the usage of uniforms and incorporate many of the various artillery of the armed forces, designed in large measure to set cops apart from civilians and signal obvious membership in an organization that exerts the immediate force of the government (Crowper, 2000). Furthermore, within an organizational dimension, police departments fall under the classification of mechanistic organizations (Stojkovic, Kalinch & Klofas, 2008). This type of organization is commonly regarded by its traditional bureaucratic foundation, characterized by strict adherence to a formal structure and hierarchical system. The hierarchal structure established by the San Marcos Police Department is characterized by a vertical chain of command, in which authority and responsibilities are delegated from the central authority figure downward.
The hierarchical structure within the SMPD is detailed in the agencies Organization Chart, attached