Title

A MULTILEVEL FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING POLICE CULTURE: THE ROLE OF THE WORKGROUP

Authors

Authors

J. R. Ingram; E. A. Paoline;W. Terrill

Comments

Authors: contact us about adding a copy of your work at STARS@ucf.edu

Abbreviated Journal Title

Criminololgy

Keywords

police culture; police typologies; police attitudes; organizational; workgroups; multilevel theory; INTERRATER AGREEMENT; OFFICERS ATTITUDES; SUBCULTURE; VARIABLES; BEHAVIOR; ISSUES; BIAS; Criminology & Penology

Abstract

Relying on a well-established theoretical paradigm from organizational psychology, the aim of the current inquiry is to apply a multilevel approach to the study of police culture that identifies workgroups as important entities that influence officers' occupational outlooks. More specifically, we propose that police culture be assessed in a way similar to concepts in criminology, such as collective efficacy and street culture, whereby the shared features of individuals' environments are considered. Within this framework, we draw on survey data from five municipal police agencies to examine how strongly officers within 187 separate workgroups share culture, as well as the extent to which culture differs across these workgroups. Collectively, the findings suggest that the workgroup serves as a viable context that patterns culture in police organizations. As such, the study provides a way to move beyond conceptualizations of police culture as either a purely monolithic or an individual-level phenomenon.

Journal Title

Criminology

Volume

51

Issue/Number

2

Publication Date

1-1-2013

Document Type

Article

Language

English

First Page

365

Last Page

397

WOS Identifier

WOS:000318626000005

ISSN

0011-1384

Share

COinS