Small Police Forces in a Large Metropolitan Area: Can They Do the Job?

Small police forces have long been a target for criticism. In particular, police administration experts and national commissions have argued that law enforcement in metropolitan areas would be much more effective and efficient if small municipal police departments were eliminated. In this paper the purported deficiencies of small departments are identified through a review of the literature and then analyzed using interviews with the police chiefs of twenty-seven very small departments in the Chicago suburbs. The chiefs argue effectively that small departments are able to provide the type and quality of police services which are desired and needed in their communities. Moreover, their analysis and other studies suggest that the ideal organization of police services in metropolitan areas may require a mix of large and small agencies rather than consolidation of all law enforcement and police functions into one enormous department.