Running Head: Strategic Plan Evaluation 1

Strategic Plan Evaluation

Cedric Jones

CJA/475

May 20, 2019

Dr. Jacquelyn Bradway

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Strategic Plan Evaluation

A strategic plan is used to show the future vision and direction of an agency or

organization. Organizations who put in the effort to identify priorities and direction of the

organization can then identify the solutions and plan for those priorities and direction. Scottsdale

Police Department released their three-year strategic plan for 2018– 2021, to include four

strategic directions. This plan addresses connecting with the community, improving

organizational effectiveness, strengthening the workforce, and enhancing public safety. The plan

was developed through the outcomes of several retreats in utilizing the Strengths, Weaknesses,

Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis. Although this plan is comprehensive, there will

always be room for improvement.

Suggestions to Make the Strategic Plan More Comprehensive

The Scottsdale Police Department strategic plan for 2018 – 2021 includes their “planning

process, mission and vision of the department, an organization overview, implementation and

evaluation, and strategic directions” ("City of Scottsdale - Home", n.d.). Page five of the strategic

plan explains how the department conducted three retreats focused on the SWOT analysis of the

current plan and allowed for the development of the current strategic plan. The plan could have

outlined results of the SWOT analysis to explain they why behind the direction the planning

process was taking. This may have helped readers understand the reasons behind different

objectives in each of the strategies.

The first planned objective in the strategy is to connect with the community. The first

strategy in this direction is to engage the community. The outcomes of the SWOT analysis for

this objective might assist the reader to fully comprehend foremost, why this objective is
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required, and secondly, how this approach will assist in getting there. If this were written into the

plan, it would give readers a good indication of how important it is for the department to take

this strategic direction.

Technology and/or Social Media Addressed

Technology and social media were briefly talked about when it came to other outputs and

in strategic initiatives, but there was no full explanation as to what/how these tools were going to

be utilized to serve their agenda overall. If they would have went into full detail on these

particular tools, it would have given a clearer picture on why these tools is needed to make

Scottsdale better.

Are Justifications and Assumptions for the Chosen Strategies Adequately Articulated?

According to Scottsdaleaz.gov (n.d.), “The plan was developed under the assumption that

is would be implemented under a somewhat stable environment” (Assumptions). The

assumptions in the strategic plan focus primarily on the fact that southern Scottsdale is

established along with central Scottsdale having a combination of mature neighborhoods and

new developments. The northern part of the city is seeing growth with newer community

developments. These assumptions along with industry and commercial facilities housing some

the state’s major notable employers are what the Scottsdale Police Department are assuming will

aid in success of the strategies listed in the plan.

Does the Plan Include Enough Measures to Ensure Success?

This strategic plan does include information pertaining to inclinations in residents,

workload, and predicted workers. The strategic plan also includes many assumptions based on

neighborhoods and commercial development. The plan also includes a section that addresses
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sponsorship and accountability. According to the strategic plan, “The Chief of Police is

committed and oversees the success and implementation of the plan in its entirety, ensuring

accountability throughout the rest of the department. Assistant Chiefs oversee the continued

efforts of the Strategic Directions as sponsors of the four directions” (Sponsorship &

Accountability).

The plan does include a very well laid out path to who will be responsible for each of the

strategic directions and even explains how strategy leaders will meet monthly to discuss and

highlight key accomplishments each quarter. There is a plan in place to retreats in order to revisit

the plan and revise if necessary. On the other hand, the plan doesn’t include information on

funding statuses or if grants will be acquired to fund certain strategies. This information would

be useful to ensure the greatest possible success as grants are not always awarded.

Conclusion

The Scottsdale Police Department’s strategic plan was written after thoroughly evaluating

and analyzing data during three retreats. Although there were some areas that could have been

improved upon in this plan, it does express the department’s vision and mission based on well

thought out assumptions as well as utilizing trend data to complete. Organizational leaders have

been charged with overseeing the strategies to accomplish of objectives in an effort to

successfully implement the plan during the next five years. Not only did the Scottsdale Police

Department implement ways to track success on a yearly basis, they have taken it a step further

by initiating monthly meetings with strategy leaders to ensure accountability.

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Reference

City of Scottsdale - Home. Retrieved from https://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/

Scottsdale Police Department Strategic Plan 2018-2021. (2017). Retrieved from

https://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/Assets/ScottsdaleAZ/Police/current-pd-strategic-

plan.pdf