NCJ Number
45589
Date Published
1977
Length
130 pages
Annotation
CORRELATIONS BETWEEN ADOPTION OF NEW PRODUCTS BY POLICE AGENCIES AND THE VARIABLES OF COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT, SPECIFIC DEMAND, AND ORGANIZATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND ENVIRONMENT ARE EXAMINED.
Abstract
THE ANALYSIS APPLIES A MODEL DEVELOPED IN A STUDY OF PROCESS INNOVATIONS BY LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. DATA PERTAINING TO THE VARIABLES NOTED AND TO THE USE OF HAND-HELD RADIO TRANSCEIVERS, SOFT BODY ARMOR, LOW-LIGHT SURVEILLANCE DEVICES, NONLETHAL WEAPONS, WEAPONS DETECTION DEVICES, VOICE IDENTIFICATION EQUIPMENT, VEHICLE LOCATORS, AND COMPUTER-AIDED DISPATCHING SYSTEMS WERE GATHERED FROM 49 LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES. A GENERALLY POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP IS FOUND BETWEEN THE NUMBER OF CRIMES IN A COMMUNITY (SPECIFIC DEMAND VARIABLE) AND NEW PRODUCT ADOPTION, AND BETWEEN ADOPTION AND THE SIZE OF THE DEPARTMENT (ORGANIZATIONAL CHARACTERISTIC VARIABLE) AND THE CITY SPENDING LEVEL (ORGANIZATIONAL ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE). ANALYSES OF OVERALL ADOPTION, ADOPTION OF SPECIFIC PRODUCTS, AND ADOPTION OF PRODUCTS CATEGORIZED BY LEVEL OF SOPHISTICATION SUGGEST THAT THE MODEL IS A SIGNIFICANT BUT WEAK PREDICTOR OF ADOPTION. PATH ANALYSIS OF THE MODEL INDICATES THAT THE ORDERING OF VARIABLES IN A CAUSAL SEQUENCE IS JUSTIFIABLE. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THE MODEL, ALTHOUGH INTERNALLY DEFENSIBLE, PROVIDES ONLY LIMITED PREDICTIVE POWERS WITH REGARD TO THE ADOPTION OF EQUIPMENT INNOVATIONS BY POLICE AGENCIES. SUPPORTING DATA AND DOCUMENTATION ARE INCLUDED. (LKM)