Police social work and community policing

Abstract Social work as a discipline has made progress in many areas, including school social work, military social work, and mental health, to name a few. Conversely, police social work has seen a reduction in advancement within the last three decades. Police departments and social workers have traditionally worked together to deal with community problems. In fact effective prevention, intervention, and stabilization require more than police action and goes beyond the capability of any single agency. Studies show that social services provision has always been a key part of policing, operating alongside service to victims of crimes and the enforcement of the law against offenders. The purpose of this study is twofold: (1) to explore whether police departments in the state of Minnesota provide social services to crime victims and witnesses and to residents seeking social service assistance in non-crime situations; and (2) to explore strategies for hiring social workers within the agency, and to enhance effective collaboration with the new hires during specific types of responses to interventions, such as mental health crises and domestic violence. A case study design methodology, specifically involving in-depth interviews of 40 Minnesota police chiefs and the utilization of documentations are employed in this study.


PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT
Many community members distrust police. This article highlights the several other roles of the police, besides that of law enforcement and how community policing can be enhanced by the hiring of social workers. The data collected for this work showed that most of the officers who respond to non-criminal calls, particularly those related to mental health issues, are not properly trained for such interventions. We therefore, argue that if social workers (with specialized knowledge in non-criminal interventions areas such as mental health) partner with police officers, will be able to help reduce the high incidences of fatalities that occur due to the poor interventions strategies usually adopted by police. Additionally, the lack of trust of the police will be reduced as people will begin to think about policing within its actual context namely; building community partnerships, enhancing organizational transformation, and societal problem solving. Indeed it is good for the community to trust police officers.

Introduction
Adequate policing needs the requisite experience and education to provide a variety of services to victims and their families. Identifying and assessing the needs of victims and providing strategies for individuals is core to policing. It is also very important for the police to understand populations they work with. For instance in a country as culturally and ethnically diverse as the US, understanding the needs of victims from various backgrounds is particularly important for police officers who respond to crisis situations. Officers need to critically analyze the role of systemic racism, victimization, and the treatment of victims from diverse political, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds.
It is also of paramount importance for the police officers to remain safe, secure, and out of harm's way while carrying out their numerous duties. The dilemma most often experienced by many officers during interventions is anticipating the potential for an escalation or not, within a constrained window of time. Given this, and as exemplified by the recent casualties of both civilians and police officers in the US, the inclusion of social workers among patrol units during potentially volatile interventions can have a dramatic impact on mortality rates. To this end, we hypothesize that collaboration between law enforcement and social workers during police interventions will reduce the amount of avoidable casualties as well as build, or increase, police-community trust.

Literature review
The importance of using social workers in policing has been minimized. Early policing in the US encompassed an "all-purpose municipal service. They acted as health officers, tax and garbage collectors, probation officers, social workers, and more" (Roberg & Kuykendall, 1990, p. 31). Roberts (2007) stated "By 1930, there were over five hundred police women employed by approximately two hundred police departments in large cities throughout the United States" (p. 126). Thus by the 1950s there were significant changes such as "political leadership, misconceptions, and role strain" (Roberts, 2007, p. 127), in many police departments across the country that led to the decrease and, in some cases the demise of, police social workers located in police departments. Known as "host settings" where social workers practice (Furman & Gibelman, 2013), social workers in police departments were seen as secondary, or ancillary, providers of social or community services and, as such there was the misconception that they did not have many responsibilities in police departments. Police departments in some urban areas hired specially trained social workers, and this was funded by the Federal Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA), established after the 1967 President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice (Barker, 2010;Roberts, 2007). However, the depletion of funds led to the axing of police social workers as state actors were not willing to maintain their employment, especially in 1982 when Congress refused to further fund LEAA (Schmalleger, 2010).
Today, the expansion of roles for social workers in other agencies is on the rise, however, this is not the case with police departments which, to some extent, provide services similar to those of social workers in their communities, such as crisis intervention. No doubt, there is not much literature that covers the area of police social work or "the service function of the police" (Landau, 1996, p. 5). Since the objective of this paper is to (1) explore whether police departments in Minnesota provide social services to crime victims and witnesses, and to residents seeking social service assistance in noncrime situations; and (2) to explore strategies for hiring of social workers within police departments and increase the effective collaboration with the new hires during specific types of responses to interventions, the focus of the literature review shall be as follows: community policing, problemsolving approach, law enforcement, the welfare of police officers collaboration, and social service provision, as well as police social work.

Community policing
Community policing has become the mantra of American policing (Kappeler & Gaines, 2015;Patterson, 2012;Roberg & Kuykendall, 1990;Roberg, Novak, Cordner, & Smith, 2012;Schmalleger, 2010). Police departments work with community partners in assisting people with a wide array of problems and social conditions such as aiding sick people, resolving minor "domestic disputes, regulate traffic and educate children and teens about drug use" (Schmalleger, 2010, p. 129). In many cases, the time police spend on the job have little to do with actual crime (Gaines & Kappeler, 2014;Landau, 1996;More, 1985;Schmalleger, 2010). Based upon the initial observation of police professionalism today, it appears that some police are oblivious to the types of social conditions and social problems they encounter as first responders. Kappeler and Gaines posit that "the primary role of the police is not to arrest people, write citations, or answer calls" (2015, p. 12). Their roles transcend all of these, therefore, the police "must understand community problems and effectively respond to them" (p. 12). The police live in the community and should be cognizant of why people in their communities call for the police. The police force is usually local since each city or rural area has a police department, "sheriffs' departments, and specialized groups like campus police and transit police" (Schmalleger, 2010, p. 121). Policing in the US has a geographic focus; as such "community policing recommends that patrol officers be assigned to the same areas for extended periods of time" (Roberg et al., 2012, p. 103) since this will build familiarity with the people. Thus, community policing is a negotiation of contracts between community partners and police departments. Some examples of community policing include using problem-solving techniques and strategies, and partnering with citizens and other agencies in order to create activities that deter crime (Dean et al., 2000).
Community policing is people-centered as opposed to the marked bureaucratic and militaristic style which was widely influenced by British policing and used since the inception of policing in the US. Community policing is more about providing services to community members from a partnership perspective, not to overwhelm them with law enforcement. Take for example the Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment of 1981-1982 which showed arrests in domestic violent calls were more efficacious than advising or sending the suspect away for eight hours in a bid to reduce the tension that may have led to the violence (Kappeler & Gaines, 2015).
As part of community policing, police departments now use information and communication technology to network with community members or to provide quick links to community services. Although these are shy of face-to-face social interactions that are needed to ensure trust building, they bring in new ways of reaching out to community members (Kappeler & Gaines, 2015). Police departments now widely use virtual communities through the use of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and maintain webpages that contain their email addresses and other contacts. Thus, social media sites have become very important in the strategy for engaging community members. However, Roberg et al. (2012) assert that the high use of cars by police officers has made patrolling "less personal and interactive" (p. 500) and in some cases many community members believe police officers utilize strategic policing. According to Schmalleger (2010), strategic policing targeting potential crime locations retains the traditional law enforcement goal of "professional crime fighting but enlarges the enforcement target to include nontraditional kinds of criminals, such as serial offenders, gangs, and criminal associations" (p. 129). Nearly 86% of communities are served by law enforcement agencies practicing community policing.

Problem-solving approach
The problem-solving approach has been seen as a pivotal approach in policing and "not an occasional special project" (Roberg et al., 2012, p. 106) endeavor. This strategy suggests that collaborating with other agencies and institutions may be quite relevant when solving problems. This notwithstanding, many "police officers prefer to think of themselves as crime fighters" (Roberg et al., 2012, p. 21) and not providers of social services. This makes it difficult for the police to seek collaboration. Considerable research conducted in the 1950s concluded that it was a myth to consider the "police as primarily a crime-fighting, deterring and investigating agency" (More, 1985, p. 9). Police departments use problem-oriented policing which identifies chronic crimes and other social problems in the community, and seeks to ameliorate the distasteful or potentially violent situations. The police spend considerable time settling family fights, "informing, advising, mediating and referring or expert assistance" (Roberg & Kuykendall, 1990, p. 34), handling mental health issues, curtailing drunk driving, and maintaining order. Effective community policing establishes relationships with community members, "face-to-face meetings with average people" (Kappeler & Gaines, 2015, p. 124) and not just with those who occupy key positions or the leaders within the community. By including segments of the community in decision-making or initiatives, community members may not see initiatives or policies as impositions made upon them by people in power (Hardcastle, 2012). Increasing opportunities for social interaction is very important since it forges collaboration and builds confidence that community members may approach police departments if they need assistance. Kappeler and Gaines (2015) assert that evaluation of good policing by police officers should not only be based on arrest rates, service calls, crime rates, and the issuance of traffic tickets but by including other attributes of community interaction that can build trust and cordiality. Police officers engaged in community policing usually given autonomy and the latitude to problem solve when answering a call. On the other hand, the adherence to strict job descriptions and conformity has been deemed inappropriate for building community trust in police departments. Kappeler and Gaines (2015) assert that a major problem with police training is the considerable time staff spends on policies and procedures and not on problem-solving skills and decision-making, especially in the field and within the local community. Worthy of note is the fact that most police departments are structured to compensate and honor crime fighting in the form of salient respect, honor, a sense of heroism, and perk remunerations. Such a police culture usually undermines police problem solving of non-crime issues.

Law enforcement
There are many types of law enforcement agencies in the US, with approximately 17 large federal law enforcement agencies that employ over "500 full time officers" (Patterson, 2012, p. 46). The Bureau of Justice affirms that the largest employers of officers in federal law enforcement are the US Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The principal function of the federal government agencies include the prevention of crimes, investigation, and bringing offenders to justice. The federal government operates two primary departments that oversea law enforcement agencies. The Department of Justice overseas the United States Marshal Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Drug Enforcement Administration, the Office of Inspector General, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (AFT). Then the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created shortly after the September 11, 2011 terrorist attacks. The DHS overseas a combination of 22 federal departments, including the Customs and Border Protections, Immigration and Custom Enforcement, Transport Security Administration, US Coast Guard, and the US Secret Service. Other federal law enforcement agencies include the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, Department of Agriculture, and the Department of the Interior which oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Services, National Park Services, and the US Park Police (Schmalleger, 2010).
There are more than 18,000 State and local law enforcement agencies across the country. These include the local police, State Police and Highway Patrol, Special Jurisdiction Police, and Deputy Sheriffs. The plethora of law enforcement agencies across the US makes it difficult for standardized community policing as media coverage of a police problem in a community is easily generalized. The police department is the first in the line of law enforcement, primarily investigating crime and determining whether a case is thrown out or goes to court. In the US' federal system of government, states operate and maintain police departments as part of the reserved powers enshrined in the US Constitution (Monroe & Kersh, 2014) and therefore, regulate their structure, function, and to a greater extent, their behavior based on the state's history and current needs. It may come as no surprise that police behavior in some areas has not evolved and has remained steadfast to its historic roots, while the demographic composition of the same areas have witnessed drastic, if not disproportionate, increases in diversity. At the city level, the mayor is directly in charge of the police department, and therefore, prioritizes where policing is most needed. States and local governments operate public safety departments that include corrections, animal control, office of emergency services, and police departments. In the case of counties and municipal governments "each tend to have just one police force that provides a wide range of police services" (Roberg et al., 2012, p. 11).
The federal government signs treaties with international agencies such as the United Nations to maintain the rights of and to protect US citizens. The United Nations is comprised of bodies such as the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, Commission on Human Rights, Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, and the Periodic Congresses on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2002) which seek to ensure the rights of people around the globe. In the US, however, these treaties are most often not transferred to state and local governments. This is because under the US constitution, the state governments have jurisdiction of, and provide protection through, the police. Safeguarding the rights of individuals in the states may be difficult as the police perform their duties as they see fit. "The state governments hold powers not given to the federal government in the US Constitution" (U.S. Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service, 2013, p. 10), as such, police behaviors are extensively different, and police systems as a whole vary greatly (Roberg et al., 2012). With the exception of Hawaii, each state in the US has a "state police or highway patrol agency" (Roberg et al., 2012, p. 13). "Hawaii maintains a State Public Safety office that employs sheriffs and Alaska has a State Troopers office" (Patterson, 2012, p. 47). However, the federal government has the onerous to uphold the human rights of citizens as it is the conduct of countries that is regulated. This is usually not an easy task.

The welfare of police officers
Policing the community is very important, yet doing so poses some challenges for the police officers as they witness traumatic events, experience compassion fatigue, meet productivity requirements, and deal with their personal issues. Unlike military social work, scant knowledge exists on the conditions of police officers with regard to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or the secondary trauma experienced while performing their duties. Some studies have postulated that many police officers suffer from excessive stress and in many cases, the negative effects of stress goes untreated (Garbarino & Magnavita, 2015;Surgenor, Snell, & Dorahy, 2015;Tucker, 2015). Many police officers are unwilling to use stress intervention services even though stressors like PTSD, compassion fatigue, and the need to remain "macho," among others, may lead to irrational police decisions. Thus, "no one wants to see a cop burst into tears when delivering a death notification" (Kirschman, Kamena, & Fay, 2014, p. 9). Society expects police officers to be bold and macho at all times; showing emotions or effeminacy is misconstrued as being weak. Since police officers are usually the first responders to crime scenes, they are repeatedly exposed to aversive details of gruesome events, gory accidents, or crime scenes that could have debilitating effects. Some suffer from low morale and confidence, especially in anticipation of a civilian ambush. The quagmire of approaching an individual who could be "armed to the teeth" in this gun-toting society could have psychological effects on many rookie police officers. Many police officers are involved in vehicle crashes, accidental injuries and many die from homicide as well (Kuhns, Maguire, & Leach, 2015). A study by Tucker (2015) concluded that some police officers are "concerned about confidentiality of services and fear of the stigma related to the use of services" (p. 311). With budget cuts to policing in some cities, the workload of police officers has become overwhelming (Risley, 2015). Peters (2011) found that "social work has an almost negligible presence in the key roles of this domain; prison administrators and probation departments do not prioritize social workers in filling the positions, and schools of social work offer little to prepare social work students for work in the corrections" (p. 355) and police departments. A marriage of sort between these two very important agencies can alleviate the negative side of police welfare.

Collaboration
Given that many social workers work directly in the community with individuals' problems, the importance of police collaboration with social workers employed by nonprofit organizations, or within their own departments, cannot be overstated. On a daily basis, social workers and police officers primarily work with individuals from the same populations, facing the same kinds of problems and challenges. So, it is important that they (social workers and police) have the relevant competence to work effectively with their various clients. Collaboration is of primordial importance as agencies such as the social work and the police "can join together in creating ways to tackle issues that lie beyond the scope of any single organization" (Mattessich, Murray-Close, & Monsey, 2001, p. 2). Collaboration can lead to the achievement of common goals. Working in isolation will make executing strategic objectives a Herculean task for a single organization that deals with issues such as mental health, domestic violence, and substance use, among other challenges. As part of law enforcement, police departments operate on the "80/20 rule, crime fighting 20% and service related tasks 80%" (Patterson, 2008, p. 1). Interestingly, in many cases nearly all police trainings spend considerable time on crime fighting and an insignificant amount of time on community oriented policing or the service style of policing. It must be constantly emphasized that the police department is the gatekeeper of the criminal justice system as officers investigate nearly all criminal cases before the cases are adjudicated. They are also first responders to calls about certain basic community disruptions such as domestic disputes and mental health crises. Patterson (2008) therefore suggests Law Enforcement Academies emphasize the development of skills police officers routinely use such as "referrals, mediation, and conflict resolution, as well as criminal law" (p. 1) in their curricula. Conversely though, given the scholastic status of some entry-level police officers entering the academy (high school diploma, GEDs, or through transitions from non-commission military rank and file) effectively learning and mastering specialized skillsets such as those suggested by Patterson may not be easily achieved. Thus, crisis intervention teams comprised of specially trained police officers and clinical social workers aware of the nuances of effectively working specifically with people in crises. The police can always utilize diversion programs and even make misdemeanor citations and reduce the legalistic component of an intervention. The Memphis Police Department has partnered with the Memphis Chapter of the Alliance for the Mentally Ill since 1988 and this partnership has considerably reduced the high incidences of conflict between the police and communities.

Social service provision
Providing social services within the community has been accomplished by many police departments in the past (Roberg & Kuykendall, 1999;Roberts, 2007), and with the advent of an increased call for community policing, more specialized services need to be provided (Schmalleger, 2010). Generally, community members call police departments for many reasons, including domestic violence, mental health issues, child maltreatment, juvenile justice issues, and drug abuse. Thus, police are bound to exhibit the roles of "veterinary surgeon, mental welfare officer, marriage guidance counselor, homehelp to the infirm, welfare worker friend and confident" (Punch & Naylor, 1973, p. 360, cited in Landau, 1996. Police departments are the few public agencies that operate a 24 h service model and typically, poor families readily call them, unlike middle class individuals who may call their doctors or religious leaders if they are in a crisis (Landau, 1996;Roberts, 2007). According to Schmalleger (2010) "calling the cop has been described as the cornerstone of policing in a democratic society" (p. 114).
In spite of the many social services police departments provide, media coverage seldom, or hardly, depicts these roles since the police are consistently shown fighting crime (More, 1985;Patterson, 2012;Schmalleger, 2010). The provision of social services entails many ambits of social work professionalism such as social justice, effective communication, and timely intervention. Hundreds of victims come forward daily to give statements and help convict criminals as they deal with crimes committed against their family members; in some cases they may need services. In its Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power adopted by the United Nations General Assembly of 29 November 1985, the United Nation defines "victim" as the "immediate family or dependents of the direct victim and persons who have suffered harm in intervening to assist victims in distress or to prevent victimization" (United Nations Rule of Law, 1985, p. 1). In some cases the perpetrator of a crime may be a breadwinner, and arresting the individual may leave the rest of the family in need of social services.
Part of early childhood socialization in the US is to dial 9-1-1 in times of emergency. In fact as children grow up, and even when they become adults, the only telephone number they have for the police is 9-1-1. Even in the case of non-emergency, individuals call 9-1-1 since they do not have, or know, the non-emergency numbers for their local police departments. Thus, the introduction of 9-1-1 telephone systems have subsequently led to less informal contact between the police and community members (Roberg et al., 2012). Over the years some police departments have introduced the 3-1-1 system for community members to call the police in nonemergency situations, a fact mostly unknown and therefore, seldom used.

Police social work
In the last three decades police social work has not had as much success as other areas of specialization in CSWE accredited social work programs. Patterson (2012) asserts that police social work is very critical to the function of police departments, since most of what they do involves "a social service response" (p. 49). Barker (2014) defined police social work "as professional social work practice within police precinct houses" (p. 326). Police social workers generally provide case management and crisis intervention to families, especially since there is a prevalence of mental health issues and a host of other crises that police responds to. Patterson (2012) points to the importance of educational training and the acquisition of practical skills that guide police social workers in their practice. In many cases police officers may lack both. Also, social workers are expected to uphold the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics as they work with people. In spite of this many police departments across the country, except Texas and Wisconsin and a few other states, do not hire social workers to perform police social work or services in non-crime situations (Roberts, 2007). Social workers serving in police departments usually attend police department staff meetings where they provide professional opinions and recommendations on mental health cases, effective case management strategies, and "consultation on appropriate cases in order to determine the type of intervention needed" (Kara Kakis, 2015, p. 2). Police social workers can also train police officers in stress management, counseling, how to recognize the signs of mental illness, engagement techniques and skills, intervention strategies, case management and community resources identification, and stabilization techniques. They can also train police officers about the valuable aspects of human dignity, drawn from the NASW (2008) Code of Ethics that could potentially reduce tensions in engagement. Police officers experience many traumatic events such as the murder of their colleagues on the job, suicide, and depression, and in many cases police departments are rarely prepared to handle such situations. So, having police social workers available to officers could be helpful. Since nearly every police department is open 24 h a day and 7 days a week, police social workers would be readily available during nights and weekends, times of high propensity of crisis situations for families. Police departments are called to intervene in numerous instances of domestic violence, marital disputes, and other tension-producing situations within the family. On this note, Michaels and Treger (1973) postulated "These problems do not usually involve criminal action and rarely require arrest, prosecution, trial and punishment" (p. 67). Thus, these situations need more of a social and psychological solution rather than a legal one, which could easily be available were social workers reinstated in police departments.

Methods
The study commenced after the Institutional Review Board of St. Cloud State University approved the study as exempt. All participants were given the consent forms to sign, allowing the interviews to be recorded.

Methodology
A qualitative case study methodology was employed to "uncover the manifest interactions of significant factors characteristic of this phenomenon, individual, community, or institution" (Berg & Lune, 2012, p. 327). Case studies focus on contemporary events. This is an exploratory case study (Yin, 2009). In this case the police departments that constitute law enforcement or part of the public safety departments of Minnesota municipalities made up the study. In this study, interviews and observations form significant components as well as documents specifically "extracted from the Internet" (Hancock & Algozzine, 2006, p. 51). Thus, the use of interview data in case studies is significant as participants are given the opportunity to discuss the phenomena that is being explored.

Sample
The study utilized the Minnesota Municipal Law Enforcement membership directory to contact heads of police departments for interviews. However, it would have been very cumbersome to interview all of these units of the 330 Municipal Law Enforcement units in the state of Minnesota, some rural police departments employ just two officers while others, such as the Minneapolis Police Department, employ over 800 police officers working in five precincts. Therefore, researchers narrowed the sample size to police departments with more than 15 police officers and randomly selected 40 units for the study. The researchers employed research assistants who conducted face-to-face and well as phone interviews, especially in cases where travelling to a location was time-consuming or there was incremental weather. At every stage of the research, confidentiality was paramount as maintained by research protocols.

Instrument
In this study, data was collected through a semi-structured interview script with 12 open-ended questions developed through an extensive literature review (Sevinc & Gizir, 2014). The interviews lasted approximately 30-60 min. The interviews consisted of questions designed to gather information from the participants about the services the police provided and whether these departments hired social workers. With their consent, the interviews were audio-recorded solely for transcription purposes. The research assistants transcribed the recordings of the recorded interviews, which were subsequently transcribed and numbered from 1 to 40 in such a way as to avoid identifying research participants or police departments, even if these were directly quoted in the final report.
Data triangulation, which is the validation of data through cross verification from two or more sources (Baxter & Jack, 2008), was carried out to promote credibility and transferability in the study. The researchers used transcripts of the interviews and compared them with information provided by the police departments via Internet and some publications printed by municipalities. This was done in order to confirm details provided by all sources. Member checking was also done as some individuals were provided the opportunity to read the transcripts, to submit additional information, or to clarify details. Lincoln and Guba (1985) define member check as: Whereby data, analytic categories, interpretations, and conclusions are tested with members of those stake holding groups from whom the data were originally collected, is the most crucial technique for establishing credibility. (p. 314) Transferability refers to the extent to which study findings are applicable to other contexts (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). In terms of transferability the aim is not to generalize findings to all police departments in the country but to be an explanation of the phenomenon under study. Content analysis was ongoing throughout data collection. Transcripts were reviewed line by line and coding of the pages to the sources. The researchers looked for themes across the transcripts and they are presented in the results.

Data analysis
In this study, the analysis of the data included the process of identifying, coding and categorizing the transcripts of the interviews. This was done through the use of Atlas.ti; a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (Yin, 2011). With completion of coding we reassembled the data looking for themes. As a result, four main categories emerged, (1) police social work, (2) crisis interventions, (3) youth services, and (4) non-emergency police phone numbers.

Results
The analysis of the data revealed that there are a number of common issues that the police departments in this study are involved in and these are presented below.

Police social work
In response to the question, "Does the Police Department hire social workers?" one police chief stated, "No, it does not." The chief went on to say that "we work with social workers, either through community mediation and other avenues, and I believe they have social work professionals within those organizations." The chief further explained that "as the name implies, the police can provide community members with access to social services; if we need to we can do so. More importantly, I think the social workers that we deal with the most are the ones that work within schools." Another police chief explained, No we do not hire social workers. Instead, we use a phone line to get in touch with a person that is available via telephone seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. We mainly contact them in regard to psychological issues we run into. … County Human Services has a unit we utilize for the community that is on-call social worker for children, or vulnerable adults, to reach out to and offer help for them.

Crisis interventions
Participants were asked about their departments' provisions for crisis intervention, such as counseling, and information for crime victims and witnesses. Below is an excerpt of what one of the police departments does in the area of counseling, and providing information for crime victims and witnesses: Ah, we do outreach at every level but certainly at the patrol level, when we deal with victims. Honestly, in the state of Minnesota we carry a little card that has a list of services that the victim can call but we certainly can't force them to do that. We certainly suggest that they utilize all of our sources here. We take it on a case-by-case basis, but we certainly advise them and connect with the appropriate services under the circumstance of demand.
Another police chief explained, "Several officers are trained in crisis intervention and will get individuals referred to the County if it is a continual thing. The best thing is to immediately connect with individuals. We do house a domestic violence advocate along with sexual assault advocate in the police department."

Youth services
In what ways does the department provide neighborhood youth outreach, and coordinate services with schools, community agencies, and the court system? The police chief remarked, "The biggest way we respond is by having two police officers assigned at the ... high school and middle school. These are full-time jobs for the officers. The school and the police department are able to work together. We call then school resource officers." The chief explained, "There are a lot of programs that our department provides. The Anti-Crime Commission meets with chief and officers one day a month." Another police chief explained that his department provides Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) to fourth, fifth, and sixth graders about the problems associated with drug use, especially at an early age.
The study found that nearly all Minnesota police departments offer programs conducted in collaboration with community entities, as noted in the excerpts below.
In what ways does the department provide personal advocacy, legal resources, and assist victims with filing for monetary reimbursement?
It's not our function to do that (provide advocacy and legal services, we make that stuff available to people. As far as advocating goes, we do that by serving them, and we do that by working with some of our partners, whether they are governmental or non-governmental agencies. We advise them that there are places in town to get help. There are a dozen agencies, governmental and nongovernmental.
Another police chief explained that his department works closely with the local sexual assault center to provide support and assurance to victims during investigations so that they feel comfortable providing details of their cases.
A good number of police departments in this study operate a Citizen Police Academy that gives community members the opportunity to become familiar with police officers and basics of the law. The Alexandria Police Department holds a "Community Night Out" annually to provide resources for community members.
The Saint Cloud Police Department provides information and informative links on its website for services it provides. Eye on the South Side (EOSS) is collaboration between St. Cloud State University and property owners in South quadrant of the city of St Cloud. EOSS is "intended to foster communication, interaction, cooperation and trust between the participants and to maintain the pride of ownership within this unique core neighborhood" (St. Cloud Police Department, n.d.). The department also offers a Rental Training Program, a curriculum designed for rental licensing in the city of St. Cloud, as well as Rental Property Information, a helpful resource guide to rental property owners, managers, and tenants. The department also operates a program known as "The Police Activities League" in collaboration with the Boys and Girls Club of Central Minnesota. It is open to all kids, ages 5-14. During the summer, St. Cloud Police officers coach and mentor young children in a wide array of sports and activities. Kids who attend more than five sessions are given tee shirts to encourage weekly attendance.
One of the police chiefs further delineated on services the department provides: We have reinstated our PAL (Police Activities League) program in the summer, and we do that two times a week, and there are age specific programs and a meal component because we found out when school is out, a lot of kids don't eat. We have a youth leadership academy that we run in partnership with District 742; we take at-risk boys, and we have a structured program for them where we mentor them. We use our school resource officers as mentors. With the court system, we accept kids on a case-by-case basis with community corrections, and we have allowed some youth to be diverted to do community service here at the station. I'll talk to probation officers and they believe a kid doesn't belong in the system, but a kid has to know there is a consequence to unacceptable behavior On the Hutchinson Police Department's webpage, its police chief encourages community members to access the website for information. "I believe a well-informed citizenry is law enforcement's greatest ally. Working together makes a positive difference. I encourage you to explore this website, and to stay apprised of the various public safety issues highlighted by this service."

Non-emergency police phone numbers
Do you have non-emergency police phone numbers on your police cars? The St. Cloud police chief replied, "No, we don't have the non-emergency numbers on our cars. We have the non-emergency number on our business cards." Another police chief explained, "We get about 4,500 calls a year. Most calls to our office come in on a non-emergency line. The … County handles the 9-1-1 calls, so I am not sure how many go in there."

Discussion
The aim of this study was to explore the provision of social services by police departments, and also collaboration with and the hiring of social workers. Out of the 40 police departments interviewed, none of them display the non-emergency police contact on their squad cars. Thus, this could be a major reason why many people call the emergency 9-1-1 number in the case on non-emergency events. Social work professionals have been influential in corrections and have helped initiate many progressive policies in criminal justice, including using probation and parole as alternatives to imprisonment and community policing (Warde, 2014). Many police departments provide a host of social services to victims of crimes, school aged children, and the youth in their communities. Although the police departments do not hire social workers, they collaborate with agencies in the communities that utilize social workers. Nearly all of the police departments offer prevention strategies that deter crime and other social ills through neighborhood patrols. This move has not only increased communication and interaction between community members and police departments, it has opened up opportunities for better police-minority community relations across Minnesota.
The study found that all police departments provide a host of social services. All police departments provide social services to their communities such as services to crime victims and witnesses, and to residents seeking social services in non-crime situations. The study found that a key component of police work was the referral of victims or community members needing services from human services agencies. Police departments partner with centers that advocate for sexual abuse victims, help with the investigation and the prevention of human trafficking, assist domestic violence victims with warning signs of domestic violence, participate in safety planning, and make referrals to community resources.
Study findings suggest that many police officers need more training and education in order to work effectively in social services areas. In 2000, 62.9% law enforcement units in the US required applicants to hold a high school diploma (Patterson, 2012). However, when looking at the complexities of community policing required today, the educational prerequisites should be increased to at least two-year degree. This would allow some individuals to acquire critical thinking skills and other people-person skills to do their work. For instance, dealing with mental health issues demands an extensive array of knowledge building and skills development that the police academy may find difficult to provide to its police officers. As first responders to nearly every call, police officers may need to acquire case management skills and adopt new referral strategies if they are not availed of social workers during non-law enforcement interventions like those related to behavioral and mental health disturbances. Thus, a new crop of police officers with the requisite education and training, especially problem-solving skills, is needed more than before. Police officers need to be attuned to community needs, able to address community concerns, and participate in the building of communities.

Conclusion
The findings of this study clearly show the need for police social workers in police departments since they offer a wide array of skills beneficial to victims of crime or citizens engaged in non-emergency situations. Police departments are usually called first and 9-1-1 is the most popular telephone number in the US Thus, responding to crisis situations may require some social work skills, especially as "fifty to ninety percent of a police officer's time is allocated to gathering information and providing social service referral" (Roberts, 2007, p. 128). At present, the Houston Police Department in Texas and the Madison Police Department in Wisconsin deploy clinical social workers on teams that intervene during mental health crisis interventions. Although there may be commonalities in the provision of social services by police departments, many provide unique social and community services to fit the distinctive needs of their communities.
The established need of police social workers in police departments may not translate into a fullfledged collaboration between the police force and social workers during interventions because this marriage of sorts will not happen overnight. While up to 69% of the study participants agree that collaboration will reduce the amount of avoidable casualties as well as build, or increase, policecommunity trust, they were also hesitant about being required to pair with social workers at all times during interventions. It is for this reason that we suggest further exploration of how social workers and the police will partner in such a way that will ensure the best possible results-trust building with one another that will then translate into an increase of community trust. While the benefit of working together is an agreed upon fact, we are hesitant to confirm the hypothesis that "collaboration between the police force and social workers during interventions will reduce the amount of avoidable casualties as well as build, or increase, police-community trust." More still has to be done through legislation and partnership-building activities for such a lofty goal to be achieved in Minnesota. A good way to engage in this initiative is to look at how this partnership was created and is being maintained in neighboring Wisconsin and faraway Texas.