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

    Authors

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

    Comments

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    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

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