Advisor(s)
Thomas H. Koenig
Contributor(s)
Glenn L. Pierce, Steven Chermak
Date of Award
2010
Date Accepted
12-2010
Degree Grantor
Northeastern University
Degree Level
Ph.D.
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department or Academic Unit
School of Arts & Sciences, Department of Law, Policy and Society
Keywords
law, civil service, community policing, leadership development, police management, problem-solving policing, recruit training
Disciplines
Law and Society
Abstract
The civil service system may not be up to the task of selecting the best police leaders for our global world. The quantitative data of this research is a survey of the Massachusetts police chiefs' attitudes about the continued utility of civil service for the chief's position and the concomitant issue as to when leadership training should begin. A number of subordinate issues were embedded in the survey to test the respondents' attitudes about technology, ethics and integrity training, working with multicultural groups and policing strategy.
Civil service, whether it is state or local, provides a measure of job security against political changes. Critics of the system have pointed to the bureaucratic rigidity of civil service and the lack of flexibility and discretion in employment decisions. Over the years, not much has changed in the civil service system. Unlike the civil service system, the policing strategy in the United States has undergone tremendous shifts. Currently, policing is in the problem-solving era. The training of leaders for the 21st century has garnered much discussion and debate among police executives. The issue of leadership is of paramount importance for a number of reasons; chief among those reasons is the global world with its varied cultures and diverse attitudes about law enforcement. Second, is the intense media scrutiny of all things law enforcement, with its attendant local, national and international publicity. Third, the economic woes facing the United States demand that fiscal resources spent on police agencies reap the most benefit for the communities they serve.
Document Type
Dissertation
Rights Information
copyright 2010
Rights Holder
Alice Elizabeth Perry
Permanent URL
Recommended Citation
Perry, Alice Elizabeth, "The evolution of police organizations and leadership in the United States: potential political and social implications" (2010). Law, Policy, and Society Dissertations. Paper 20. http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20000809
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