Item – Theses Canada

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OCLC number
31168053
Author
Horne, David G.(David Gordon),1956-
Title
Reproducing the municipal police organization, or, If it ain't broke, don't fix it
Degree
Ph. D. -- Carleton University, 1993
Publisher
Ottawa : National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1993.
Description
4 microfiches.
Notes
If it ain't broke, don't fix it
University Microfilms order no. UMI00440513.
Includes bibliographical references.
Abstract
Recently, in response to potential fiscal crises in the local state, and calls for police reform, the police have adopted "community-based" policing a wide-ranging and vague strategy aimed at sharing responsibility for social control with the public. Related to the ideology of community-based policing, the police have also adopted a information gathering technique which demonstrates the strong public support which the police institution has in Western society, the public opinion survey. Public opinion surveys offer the senior police official the ability to demonstrate the legitimacy of his organization and, as such, act as a resource for ensuring the continued public acceptance of the police institution. Drawing upon the theoretical perspective of Weber, the study adopts the concept of social action, insofar as humans intervene in their social world in response to what they believe to be a legitimate order. The study also recognizes that human action will sustain institutions such as the police, as part of the legitimate social order. Police not only intervene in their social world as "reproducers of order" (Ericson, 1982) in society, but also embark upon social action to reproduce the institution of police itself. Senior police officers are not only purposively rational actors, but act in such a way that the bureaucratic police institution is viewed as legitimate. Thus, the study relies upon Weber's concept of "bureaucracy" to explain the actions of police officials. The study is interpretive in nature in that it seeks to understand the motives of senior police officials with respect to engaging in public opinion surveys. As such, the study seeks a understanding of senior bureaucratic police officials purposive rational action insofar as the "overt action" and the reasons or engaging in the avert action have been comprehended by the researcher (Weber, 1947:99). To accomplish this understanding of senior police official action, the study relies upon intensive interviews with relevant senior police officials and documentary evidence to reach its conclusions. This study considers the use of public opinion surveys by two geographically adjacent police organizations, and a third police agency (adjacent to the first two) which considered a survey but did not pursue this course of action. The study compares the organizations on a number of dimensions including, community-based policing, opinions concerning consolidation of police organizations, reasons for engaging in public opinion surveys, and, uses of survey results. The study concludes that senior police officials engage in public opinions survey concerning their organizations so as to demonstrate public support to internal and external audiences and thereby, preserve their bureaucratic autonomy within the local state. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
ISBN
0315840390
9780315840393