You are here

Power and the Police Chief
Share

Power and the Police Chief
An Institutional and Organizational Analysis



March 1993 | 176 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
What does a police chief do, exactly? Little has been written and little is known about today's police chief. An institutional treatment of American police that focuses on the person and function of the police chief, Power and the Police Chief thoroughly describes the role of the police chief in the contemporary urban setting. The authors utilize institutional theory as a framework for analyzing the police-in-society. From this perspective, they review long-term tendencies toward the rationalist modernization of American police agencies and the ongoing "professionalization," unionization, and bureaucratization of police work today, a process that is resulting in entirely new law-enforcement models. They highlight the internal and external conflicts and power struggles that converted police organizations into tension-filled arenas. At stake in these conflicts, the authors argue, is the fundamental definition of police work. New policing paradigms have emerged that would move it away from rule-based, law-enforcement models toward service alternatives that emphasize the situational imperatives and discretionary essence of police work. Professors, students, and professionals in criminology, sociology, and organizational studies will find Power and the Police Chief a valuable asset.

 
PART ONE: INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE IN POLICING
 
Introduction
 
The Institutional Perspective
 
The Meaning of Modernity
 
Modernization of the American Police
 
Politics and the Police Chief
 
The Police Chief as Manager
 
The Institutional Context of Police Organization
 
The Institutional Position of the Police Administrator
 
Chiefs and the Rank and File
 
Shaping Police Roles
 
The American Culture of Policing
Content and Conflict

 
 
Summary and Conclusion
 
PART TWO: INTO THE POLITICAL ARENA: ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS
 
Introduction
 
The Nature of Power in Organizations
 
The Political Arena
 
Conflict, Management Styles, and the Dynamics of Power
 
Power and Leadership
The Police Chief as Change Agent

 
 
The Police Chief and the Culture of Policing
 
Changing the Culture of Policing
 
Leadership in the New Paradigm of Problem-Oriented Policing
 
Modern Police Roles

Select a Purchasing Option


Paperback
ISBN: 9780803946552
$95.00