Reappreciating the varieties of police behavior: a national examination of contemporary police mission statements
Policing: An International Journal
ISSN: 1363-951X
Article publication date: 25 August 2022
Issue publication date: 15 November 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The current and ongoing police legitimacy crises demand a renewed analysis of the police mission in American law enforcement. This research aims to examine the mission statements of a national sample of police agencies, and generates an organizational typology of contemporary policing styles.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the responsive agencies listed in the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) as a sampling frame, mission statements from 2,826 departments were collected from official law enforcement websites. Wilson's (1968) seminal typology of policing styles was then used to classify the emergent patterns from the mission statements. Mission statement patterns that did not fit squarely into Wilson's model (i.e. watchman, service and legalistic styles of policing) were classified to update the model and account for contemporary police goals and organizational orientations.
Findings
A theme of outward-facing legitimacy among police organizations emerged as a new variety of police behavior, according to collected mission statements. The researchers’ findings suggest that public perceptions of police legitimacy are a primary concern for today's police forces.
Originality/value
This research reappreciates the utility of Wilson's typology of policing styles, and provides insight into the cultivation of police legitimacy. The authors identify a fourth typology of organizational behavior, legitimacy, that may be an emerging, professional police response to both contemporary crime issues and public antipathy.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge and thank the editor and reviewers for their thoughtful feedback on earlier drafts of this manuscript.
Citation
Dario, L.M., Cesar, G.T. and Crichlow, V.J. (2022), "Reappreciating the varieties of police behavior: a national examination of contemporary police mission statements", Policing: An International Journal, Vol. 45 No. 6, pp. 893-907. https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-02-2022-0026
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited