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MAPPING OUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

By Gerald Garner

Process mapping has proven to be an effective method for identifying and fixing deficiencies in the criminal justice process.

 Investigation Division Commander Captain Al Youngs was convinced that his agency, the Lakewood, Colorado, Police Department, could do a better job of handling domestic violence cases. He knew that the Lakewood department (240 sworn officers serving a population of 140,000) had earned a reputation for taking an innovative approach to policing issues.

Youngs found what he was seeking in a program being undertaken by the Washington, DC – based Police Executive Research Forum. This effort was known as the 21st Century Mapping Project and it was developed by PERF with support from Motorola. It had been created to identify ways in which proven business practices could be examined to better understand police agencies’ core processes. The ultimate goal was the improvement of law enforcement’s work in battling crime.

Process mapping of law enforcement operations came first to PERF and then to Lakewood via a circuitous route. In 1994, Robert W. Galvin, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Motorola and Ed Noha, Board Chairman of the CNA Financial Corporation, served on a group tasked with improving the economic picture in Chicago. City officials expressed fears that a bar to attracting businesses to Chicago was a perception that the town had a serious crime problem. Galvin of Motorola volunteered to help the city attempt to address its crime related issues, and offered up an analytical tool his company had used to dramatically improve its performance. That tool was process mapping.

Motorola decided to sponsor an initiative to find out if process mapping could be used to improve law enforcement operations in Chicago and elsewhere. The company lined up partners for the project in the Police Executive Research Forum and the Performance Learning Corporation, a firm with a solid background in process mapping. Early in 1995, Performance Learning Corporation and PERF commenced training a mapping team from the Chicago Police Department. During the summer of the same year, the trainers began working with a separate team from the Phoenix P.D. After determining that the procedure showed excellent potential, several additional law enforcement agencies were added to the project after they expressed interest in exploring a new way      of looking at police operations. Added  were police departments in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina; West Palm Beach, Florida; Arlington, Texas; Naperville, Illinois; Thames Valley Constabulary, United Kingdom; and Lakewood, Colorado. Each agency had as a goal of its participation the assessment of the value of process mapping in improving police operations.

How Does It Work?

Utilizing a series of flow charts or detailed diagrams, process mapping visually depicts how work is done, emphasizing actions that contribute to the final product or service provided. The diagrams show how information or products flow in the organization and how they are passed from one work group to another.

To be as accurate as possible, process mapping must be carried out by directly involved personnel who know how the existing policies, procedures and rules affect the final work product. To map the entire domestic violence handling process from the receipt of a 911 call to case disposition, Lakewood P.D. involved call takers, dispatchers, patrol officers, detectives and victim assistance personnel. It became evident early on that the processing of domestic violence complaints extended well beyond police operations, so representatives of the municipal court prosecution staff as well as the district attorney’s office were added to the process mapping team.

The Maps

In process mapping, participating personnel observe existing operations and interview other employees involved to identify tasks and subprocesses that contribute to the final product. They map out the processes on flow charts. Process mapping involves three kinds of maps. “As is” maps, completed first, describe the process (in this case, domestic violence handling) as it is done at present. In assembling these maps, the mappers observe the work of the police employees who are handling the cases. They may interview the department’s “clients” as well. They remain alert to the reality that what the department’s manual says is done and what is actually being done in practice may not be the same. “Should be” maps are then constructed using the “as is” maps as a starting point to depict how errors or wasted effort can be eliminated. “Should be” maps focus on short-term solutions to identified shortcomings. Finally, “could be” maps are prepared to show “best-case” scenarios, or how the process could be accomplished if customer needs changed drastically or if the department gained significant additional resources, such as additional personnel or programs.

A comprehensive scan map provides an overview of how the entire process flows, complete with the inputs and  outputs of each subprocess. (Examples of subprocesses might include dispatch or victim assistance provided to domestic violence complainants.) “Subprocess maps” show who does what task and where handoffs take place. “Task maps” offer close-up views of how specific  activities (arrest, case filings) are executed by individual employees of the police organization.

Process mapping’s goal is to identify areas where the agency falls short in handling a given task so that fixes may be undertaken. The department’s process mapping team broke domestic violence into a dozen component parts. They looked at actors and activities including: suspect, victim, involved others, police communications, patrol, detectives, victim advocates, records, property/evidence, criminalistics, prosecutors and courts. In looking at how domestic violence was handled in Lakewood, the department’s project manager (Al Youngs) determined from the completed “as is” maps that several areas of concern existed. First, officers responding to domestic violence assignments needed more information. Second, there were too few successful prosecutions of domestic violence cases. Third, more victim services were required.

Fixing the Problems

Having identified some shortcomings in the service provided by the department, the Lakewood P.D. set out to remedy both internal and external impediments to the effective handling of a D.V. complaint. This called for the completion of “should be” and “could be” maps detailing solutions to be implemented. First, the department felt that the “lack of information” issue unnecessarily endangered officers as well as detracted from the service provided domestic violence victims. To combat these twin problems, the agency worked to develop a domestic violence offender registry to aid in tracking batterers from one metro area jurisdiction to another. Additional “alert” information also was provided via computer assisted dispatch to notify responding patrol officers of “problem” addresses, such as locations where a known D.V. offender had previously used a weapon and/or resisted arrest. In the future (the “could be” map), additional details will be provided on the situation and players via patrol cars’ mobile data computers.

To attain a better success rate in the prosecution of D.V. offenders, the department worked closely with prosecutors to develop a “fast-track” system for batterers and their victims. Changes were affected that allowed arrestees to be arraigned the next court business day after the offense instead of severaldays later. The number of victims expressing the  desire to recant went down and the number of suspects wanting to plead guilty went up as a result of the fast-track procedure.

Lakewood also beefed up its services to D.V. victims and their children as a result of process mapping findings. With the aid of financial grants from the federal government and the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, the department added a victims’ advocate mobile unit that could be on the street several nights per week. The two victims’ advocates aboard provided counseling and support services to victims and youngsters alike. Later, advocates determined whether follow-up services needed to be offered. Today, when civilian victim advocates are not responding to domestic violence crime scenes to assist patrol officers and provide direct victim services, they take a proactive approach to the problem by conducting informational programs in settings ranging from schools to churches to apartment complexes.

By the conclusion of the mapping process, Lakewood’s participants felt that the examination, assessment and reengineering of some of the department’s core operations provided value in a number of areas. The process forced employees from the ranks through command staff to examine what was actually happening with domestic violence and the agency’s response to it. It put various organizational components literally side-by-side on the same page for analysis. It then allowed the department to move from analysis to improvement through creativity and change, as depicted in the “should be” and “could be” visions for what the process might be. In a word, process mapping helped the Lakewood Police Department improve its handling of domestic violence and its aftermath. It also caused the department to enlarge its team of domestic violence specialists and gave the agency a useful tool to use in assessing, and then modifying, other police operations.

Testimonials to Success

Lakewood’s project director states that process mapping clearly has helped his department do a better job of responding to domestic violence. Further, he believes process mapping’s success at Lakewood should transfer to other law enforcement agencies that might want to try it.

“Process mapping works,” says Al Youngs. “It forces you to examine what’s really happening, not what everybody thinks might be happening. With domestic violence, we examined and then mapped the whole process from the time communications answered the telephone to the prosecution of the case. We looked at all the players, and with the prosecutors and courts working with our own people, we made the domestic violence response in Lakewood more effective. Now things work better for the victim as well as for us.”

Dr. Craig Fraser was PERF’s staff member assigned to assist the Lakewood P.D. with its introduction to process mapping. Fraser has seen the process work well in the test departments that have tried it. He recommends it to other agencies with an eye on improving their operations. His praise for the process also includes a caution.

“Process mapping is extremely useful to departments willing to commit the resources to the process mapping effort and then implement the changes that are discovered to be necessary,” Fraser notes.

“Remember, however, that it requires a substantial commitment of real effort. You have to be willing as an agency to use the results, even if it means doing something other than your current way of doing things.”

PERF’s Executive Director, Chuck Wexler, is equally sold on the value of process mapping.

“We saw how well it worked in the private sector – it made businesses more effective. We felt the strategy would be useful in law enforcement because it would allow cops to see clearly the various steps involved in the police processes,” he states.

“In the final analysis, process mapping is a tool. But, it’s a tool that’s been used very effectively by Lakewood and several other departments. Now the challenge is to take it to the next level in implementing the operational changes that process mapping shows us are good ideas.”

Satisfied that process mapping has helped resolve its domestic violence “disconnect” issues, Lakewood has applied the procedure to other areas, including burglary offenses and sex offender registration. The department has continued to work with outside agencies, including the city’s municipal court and prosecutors, as well as the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office to address shortfalls identified through the mapping process. Lakewood Chief of Police Gary Barbour summarizes his agency’s successful experience:

“Process mapping domestic violence has allowed us to adjust and strengthen certain steps in our procedures so that they work much better for D.V. victims. Within the department, it has helped us reduce wasted effort.”

Surely there could be no better testimonial for the merits of a new tool for improving law enforcement efficiency and professionalism.

For Additional Information:

Investigation Division Commander Al Youngs is the Lakewood Police Department contact for obtaining information on applying process mapping. He may be reached at (303)987-7201.

A publication from the Police Executive Research Forum also details the workings of process mapping. It is entitled Challenge to Change:  The 21st Century Policing Project (Craig B. Fraser, Michael Scott, John Heisey, Robert Wasserman, 1998, 64 pages.)  The book is available from PERF ($8 for members, $10 for nonmembers, plus shipping and handling) at the organization’s on-line bookstore at www.PoliceForum.org or (888)202-4563.n

About the Author: Gerald W. Garner is patrol division commander for the Lakewood, Colorado, Police Department. A frequent contributor to Police and Security News, he has published seven books and numerous articles on law enforcement subjects. He holds a master’s degree in administration of justice.