In the historical development of police management, six different management theories have been used. First was the traditional model, which was based on the concept of centralized administration designed along the military organizational model. Next was the scientific management model, which emphasized efficiency.

The human relations and participative management approach considered police supervisors as team leaders who create a cooperative effort among the officers. Then there is the behavioral approach model, which attempted to establish a criterion for success, and the systems approach, which uses a number of systems for accountability, forward planning, and fiscal organization. The last management theory is the proactive one, which has a strong commitment to community involvement. During what different time spans were each of the management theories considered as viable theories?