Power and the police chief : an institutional and organizational analysis

Bibliographic Information

Power and the police chief : an institutional and organizational analysis

Raymond G. Hunt, John M. Magenau

(Studies in crime, law and justice, v. 10)

Sage Publications, c1993

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Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. 147-152) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

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.

Table of Contents

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

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