NCJ Number
186488
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 67 Issue: 11 Dated: November 2000 Pages: 69-73
Date Published
November 2000
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Research on the organizational structure of municipal police agencies compared the structural dimensions of community-oriented police agencies and traditional police agencies, examined the characteristics of community-oriented police agencies, and developed a model for the components of successful community-oriented police agencies.
Abstract
The research focused on agencies with 200 to 2,000 officers. The analysis compared 20 community-oriented police agencies recommended by 6 organizations interested in community policing with 10 agencies that did not receive a recommendation regarding community policing. Twenty-eight of the 30 agencies completed the study questionnaire. Results revealed that community-oriented police departments have become similar in structural characteristics, including complexity, centralization, occupational differentiation, and administrative density. In addition, these agencies have made the structural changes recommended by community policing reformers. Thus, community-policing organizations were less centralized, had more occupational differentiation, and had less administrative density than did traditional agencies. 10 references