First Advisor

Charles A. Tracy

Date of Publication

1995

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Urban Studies

Department

Urban Studies

Language

English

Subjects

Community policing -- Oregon -- Portland, Portland (Or.). Bureau of Police, Police administration -- Oregon -- Portland

DOI

10.15760/etd.1155

Physical Description

3, v, 296 leaves 28 cm.

Abstract

Four research questions guided this documentation and assessment of the Portland Police Bureau's conversion to community policing. These questions generated a description of the events and circumstances that created the perceived need for change in the Bureau's role and function; a search for justification for selecting community policing as an alternative policing approach; a comparative analysis of past attempts to implement innovative change of a similar dimension in police organizations; and an assessment of the process by which the Bureau implemented this new policing strategy. The findings indicate that the prominent factors driving this change are first, the limitations of conventional policing tactics against emerging new patterns of crime and disorder; second, an intensification of public interest in quality-of-life issues; and third, an increase in the numbers of progressive police officers that are influencing change in the traditional police culture. The process by which the Bureau effected changes in its organizational structure and design to accommodate community policing strategies was assessed using theoretical guidelines abstracted from the organizational change literature. This assessment led to a hypothesis that innovative change which is incongruent with organizational traditions and culture must be implemented organization-wide, in an "all-or-none" fashion, to maximize the probability that the change will become institutionalized. The Bureau's inadvertent adherence to most of the guidelines suggests that a pattern may exist to guide the implementation of innovative organizational change. It was also found that the traditional bureaucratic policing structure has been relaxed, but remains quasi-bureaucratic in character, as a function of retaining the traditional military rank structure.

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Comments

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Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/4541

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