Police Organization and Community Relations

Abstract

Police scholars approached the decade of the 1970s with optimistic expectations that the use of alternative organizational designs could improve the responsiveness and effectiveness of American policing. These expectations were not fulfilled. The 1970s ended with the traditional bureaucratic philosophy more firmly entrenched in the police managerial psyche than it was in the 1960s. The author argues that this is not because the traditional bureaucratic arrangements are superior, and proposes specific changes to police organization to improve community relations and the effectiveness of the police function.