This document provides an overview of police organizations and management structures. It discusses the quasi-military style of police organizations and how they resemble and differ from the military. Police departments are described as complex bureaucracies with hierarchical structures and authoritarian management. The document also notes criticisms of bureaucracies and examines theories like contingency theory, institutional theory, and resource dependency theory to understand police organizations.

1. Police Organizations
Chapter Four
• The Police In America
• Samuel Walker and
Charles M. Katz
• 9th Edition
• McGraw Hill Education

2. Police Organizations
Chapter Four
• Gregory L. Riley, Sr.
• Adjunct Instructor
• Retired Community Police
Officer
• Norwalk Community College
• Norwalk, CT
• Introduction to Law
Enforcement

3. Learning Objectives
• To have a basic understanding of a quasi-
military style of police organizations.
• Familiarize yourself with the police
departments as organizations and
bureaucracies, the positive/negative aspects
of police bureaucracy.
• To understand the contingency, institutional
and resource dependency theory.

4. The Quasi-Military Style of Police
Organizations
• Police resemble the military in the
following aspects:
1) PO wear uniforms
2) PD uses military-style rank
3) Hierarchical command structure
4) Authoritarian style
5) PO carry weapons, use deadly
force, physical force, deprive
people of their liberty through
arrest. (103)

5. Quasi-Military Style
of Police
Organizations
• Police are different from the
military in the following aspects:
1) Serve a citizen population
rather than fight a foreign
enemy.
2) PO provide services to help
people.
3) PO are constrained by laws
protecting the rights of citizens.
4) PO routinely exercise individual
discretion.

6. Criticisms of the Quasi-Military Style
1) It cultivates an “us vs. them” attitude
used to justify mistreatment of
citizens.
2) Encourages the idea of a “war on
crime” which is inappropriate for
serving citizens.
3) Authoritarian style is contrary to
democratic principles of
participation.
4) Authoritarian style produces low
morale, it fails to provide sufficient
job satisfaction for police officers.
(103)

7. Dominant Style of American Police
Organizations
• A typical police
department is a
complex bureaucracy
with a hierarchical
(hahy-uh-rahr-ki-kuhl)
structure and an
authoritarian
management style.
(105)

8. Police Organizations as Bureaucracies
1. Complex organization
2. Separate divisions or bureaus
3. Hierarchical, clear division of labor
4. Specific tasks delegated to lower-ranking
employees
5. Clear chain of command
6. Clear unity of command
7. Written rules and regulations
8. Flow of info according to chain of command
9. Clear career paths

9. Problems with Bureaucracy
1. Bureaucracies are often rigid, inflexible, and
unable to adapt to external changes.
2. Communication often breaks down.
3. Tend to become inward looking, self-serving,
and isolated from the police they serve.
4. Are criticized for not using the talents of their
employees and even stifling creativity. (108)

10. Positive Contributions of Bureaucracy
1. Development of many
specialties like juvenile,
traffic, community
relations, training, and
criminalistics.
2. Control of police
discretion & reduction
of misconduct. (108)

12. Informal Aspects of Police Organizations:
Vertical & Horizontal Cliques
• Vertical cliques are formed
between lower and higher
ranking officers.
• Horizontal cliques are
formed between similarly
ranked officers. (109)

13. Changing Police Organizations
Community Policing
1. Decentralize
2. Deformalize
3. Despecialize
4. Delayerize

14. Civil Service
1. Rewards hierarchy-officer’s rank/seniority
2. Seniority hierarchy-officer’s years on job
3. Status hierarchy-assigned specialize units
4. Rank hierarchy-carries rank permanently,
until promoted. A sergeant would be
restricted to those jobs in his/her rank. (115)

15. Contingency Theory
• That
organizations
are created
and structured
to specific
goals, such as
crime control.
• (122)

16. Institutional Theory
• The belief that the organization
and activities of the police must
be understood in the context of
their institutional environment.
• IE refers to powerful actors,
called sovereigns. They would
be mayors, the city council,
special interest groups, citizens,
and other criminal justice
agencies. (122)

17. Resource Dependency Theory
• Suggests that
organizations must
obtain resources to
survive and that to
obtain these
resources they must
engage in exchanges
with other
organizations in their
environment. (123)