The police function in Australia is trying to accommodate a very wide range of demands. This has created a situation where officers within the same organization must strive to…
Abstract
The police function in Australia is trying to accommodate a very wide range of demands. This has created a situation where officers within the same organization must strive to achieve a publicly acceptable level of interaction with the community at large with all its day‐to‐day needs, a capability to control the terrorists and the organized crime regime and all those other requirements which lie between these two extremes. Questions the ability of Australia’s police services to satisfy that range of requirements from within one organization.
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Change is a feature of the liberal democracies. Despite its ubiquitous nature, however, one key factor in these democracies, the police, has been noted for its conservatism. This…
Abstract
Change is a feature of the liberal democracies. Despite its ubiquitous nature, however, one key factor in these democracies, the police, has been noted for its conservatism. This bastion of traditionalism, this upholder of the law of the land, has changed little in structure or purpose over the first half of this century but it has not been the case during the latter half. Change now appears to be manifesting itself in new organisational structures and forms; modifications to role and focus; and, in accommodating revised views on the need for agencies whose composition reflects gender equity and minority representation, as authorities struggle to satisfy the array of demands on contemporary police services. This paper speculates as to what may have prompted change to the police, examines what it considers to be some of the main areas of change, and then postulates the consequences for police and policing.
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Megan Alderden and Wesley G. Skogan
The purpose of this paper is to examine the correlates of job satisfaction among civilian employees of law enforcement agencies, to assess how features of the policing workplace…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the correlates of job satisfaction among civilian employees of law enforcement agencies, to assess how features of the policing workplace influence employee morale.
Design/methodology/approach
The data for this study were drawn from surveys conducted as part of the National Police Research Platform. In total, 472 civilians from 19 police agencies completed the survey.
Findings
The findings indicate that contentment with pay and benefits, lower levels of work-related stress, equality in the workplace, and feelings of acceptance were associated with civilian employee satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
The analyses presented here focusses on factors more unique to policing and did not include all of factors correlated with job satisfaction in past literature. Future research should address this as well as control for the effect of organizational-level factors.
Practical implications
The research identifies key factors in each of those categories that inhibit the effective incorporation of civilians into the workforce. It indicates that reaping the full advantages of civilianization is complex and requires attention to fundamental aspects of police organizations. How administrators deal with this reality will impact the efficiency and effectiveness of their organizations in important ways.
Originality/value
To date, much of what has been written about the place of civilians in policing consists of descriptions of their numeric representation and discussions of the presumed advantages of hiring them in larger numbers. Less is known about how well civilians have been integrated into the policing workforce.
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A few years ago, in an effort to promote co‐operation between the two professional associations of librarians in Ireland, a Liaison Committee, consisting of members nominated by…
Abstract
A few years ago, in an effort to promote co‐operation between the two professional associations of librarians in Ireland, a Liaison Committee, consisting of members nominated by the Council of the Library Association of Ireland and members nominated by the Committee of the Northern Ireland Branch of the Library Association was formed. The first fruit of its endeavours was found in the establishment of an Annual Joint‐Conference of the two bodies, the first one being held at Portrush, in Northern Ireland in 1963.
A FEW years ago, in an effort to promote co‐operation between the two professional associations of librarians in Ireland, a Liaison Committee, consisting of members nominated by…
Abstract
A FEW years ago, in an effort to promote co‐operation between the two professional associations of librarians in Ireland, a Liaison Committee, consisting of members nominated by the Council of the Library Association of Ireland and members nominated by the Committee of the Northern Ireland Branch of the Library Association was formed. The first fruit of its endeavours was found in the establishment of an Annual Joint‐Conference of the two bodies, the first one being held at Portrush, in Northern Ireland in 1963.