Contemporary organizational change in community-oriented policing: A contingency approach

The issue of public agencies's representativeness and responsiveness in a democratic society has always drawn the attention of political scientists. The fundamental issue is how can public agencies change in the way that meets the required role of public agencies in a democratic society. Police organizations are no exception.;This dissertation examines contemporary organizational change in American policing. Community Oriented Policing which serves as a symbol of such police organizational change is the focus of this research. This dissertation can be divided into two major parts. In the first part, Community Oriented Policing innovative programs and strategies are evaluated based on a national survey of 241 police agencies in 47 states. The second part is to provide a theoretical framework in order to understand the nature of organizational change in American policing based on what they have done.;The findings concerning organizational change in American policing show that this change primarily is a forced change. Moreover, the locus of the change is from the external environment which forces police organizations to adopt themselves to the changing external environment. The nature of organizational change in American policing at present stage is superficial and not substantial. The findings also suggest that future change of police organizations in America depends on the success of present Community Oriented Policing programs. A substantial change will happen only if these innovations can produce positive results to show their effectiveness.