From The Streets of Los Angeles To The Classroom – A Police Officer’s View On An MBA
April 25, 2014
People often ask me: what does a master’s degree in business have to do with being a Police Officer? I already had a strong desire to learn more about the foundations of business. But before I applied to the Argyros School of Business and Economics at Chapman University, I needed to understand how this degree will help the community.
Photo Courtesy of Jonathan David Chandler. All Rights Reserved.
Photo Courtesy of Jonathan David Chandler. All Rights Reserved.
In this day and age Police Departments have to modify their structure with the changing environments around them. Police Departments face daunting uncertainties and constant changes, from culturally and linguistically diverse populations, demographic shifts, increasingly sophisticated criminal activity, emerging technologies, elevated service expectations, and increases in the number of crimes within jurisdictions adjacent to the department’s communities.
Photo Courtesy of Jonathan David Chandler. All Rights Reserved.
Photo Courtesy of Jonathan David Chandler. All Rights Reserved.
These are very important issues that Police Departments have to address with an informed perspective. They understand that strategies of the past will not work for the ever-evolving future. By acknowledging this, they are creating business plans for their communities to counteract these advanced trends.
Photo Courtesy of Jonathan David Chandler. All Rights Reserved.
Photo Courtesy of Jonathan David Chandler. All Rights Reserved.
I think the term “willingness to pay” in Economics is analogous to the way Police Departments look for a “willingness to commit crimes.” Police Departments are now implementing programs to predict crimes. For example, the Los Angeles Police Department uses predictive software by a startup company called PredPol. Based in Santa Cruz, California, the software builds upon computer science and anthropological research carried out at Santa Clara University and the University of California, Los Angeles.
Photo Courtesy of Jonathan David Chandler. All Rights Reserved.
Photo Courtesy of Jonathan David Chandler. All Rights Reserved.
While I am not endorsing or opposing usage of this software, I am interested in PredPol’s integration as an example of how Police Departments are expanding the way of conducting police work. As a student at the Argyros School of Business and Economics, I realize the importance in recognizing the fact that traditional business models are expanding, especially as they play an increasingly important role in different types of organizations.
