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POLICE DEPARTMENTS UNDER SOCIAL SCIENCE SCRUTINY

NCJ Number
43379
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: (SUMMER 1977) Pages: 105-118
Author(s)
D GUYOT
Date Published
1977
Length
14 pages
Annotation
A COMMON FLAW IN RESEARCH ON POLICE WORK IS FAILURE TO OBSERVE PRINCIPLES OR ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS. RECENT STUDIES ARE REVIEWED FOR ATTENTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL UNITY, ANALYSIS OF SUBGROUPS, AND ENVIRONMENT.
Abstract
ORGANIZATIONS ARE DELIBERATELY STRUCTURED GROUPINGS OF PEOPLE, AND THOSE WHO REVIEW POLICE WORK MUST CONSIDER THE EFFECT OF THE ORGANIZATION ON BEHAVIOR OF INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS. PERSONS IN THE FIELD REALIZE THAT EACH POLICE DEPARTMENT MUST BE TREATED AS A UNIT. WHEN THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHIEFS OF POLICE WISHED TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST RIOTERS, IT RECOGNIZED THAT EACH CITY'S POLICE DEPARTMENT WOULD BEAR PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY FOR MAINTAINING ORDER AND THEY BROUGHT THE CHIEFS TO WASHINGTON, D.C., FOR TRAINING. THIS WAS FAR MORE EFFECTIVE THAN ISSUING BROAD DIRECTIVES TO THE FORCE IN GENERAL. IN ADDITION TO ORGANIZATIONAL UNITY, POLICE DEPARTMENTS MUST ALSO BE EXAMINED FOR SUBGROUPS. WHENEVER A SPECIAL UNIT IS CREATED, FRAGMENTATION BECOMES PART OF THE PATTERN AND MUST BE CONSIDERED IN THE STUDY. THE POLICE DEPARTMENT ALSO FUNCTIONS IN AN ENVIRONMENT CREATED BY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS IN THE COMMUNITY. JUST AS POLICE ALONE CANNOT MAINTAIN ORDER, SO THE RESEARCHER CANNOT ASSESS POLICE PERFORMANCE WITHOUT KNOWING THE CLIMATE CREATED BY OTHER RELEVANT AGENCIES. A SERIES OF EIGHT STUDIES IS ANALYZED FOR THEIR ATTENTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL PRINCIPLES: DUNCAN'S 'THE CLIMATE FOR CHANGE IN THREE POLICE DEPARTMENTS;' RUBINSTEIN'S 'CITY POLICE;' HOOBLER AND MCQUEENEY'S 'A QUESTION OF HEIGHT;' KANSAS CITY'S PREVENTIVE PATROL EXPERIMENT; AND STUDIES IN NEW YORK, PHILADELPHIA, AND CHICAGO. STUDY OF 34 RECENTLY PUBLISHED ARTICLES IN THE JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND IN CRIMINOLOGY SHOWED THAT ONLY THREE PAID ATTENTION TO ALL ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS, FIVE DID NOT PAY ATTENTION TO THE ORGANIZATION AT ALL, AND THE REST CONSIDERED AT MOST TWO OF THE THREE FACTORS. RESEARCHERS NEED TO BE MORE CAREFUL IN THE DESIGN OF THEIR PROJECTS.