Citation

Wong I, Bishopp SA, Schlager M. Crim. Justice Rev. 2016; 41(3): 278-293.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Georgia State University Public and Urban Affairs, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0734016816648187

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A primary responsibility of organizational leaders in large metropolitan areas is to find the right balance between becoming more efficient while remaining highly effective, and these aspects of municipal governance are no less true in the City of Dallas, Texas. Among responsibility for law enforcement, an important job component of its police officers is to arrest and transport prisoners to jail. However, book-in procedures are unnecessarily time consuming due in part to the medical screening process. To examine this process, data were collected over a 90-day period from the Dallas County (Texas) jail.

FINDINGS from the current study indicate that adjustments to prisoner transfer times and changes to the staffing of medical personnel could significantly reduce jail wait times for officers. The current study utilizes organizational process theory and general systems theory to explain various relationships found within the Dallas County jail's medical evaluation system. Finally, several policy recommendations are suggested.

Language: en