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Recent events of police misconduct sparked a nationwide debate on the effectiveness of police ethics training. In this article, we ask: do basic police academies prepare future police officers to b...

We explore the conditions under which informal collaborations between street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) emerge and the motivations for them. From our analysis of 68 interviews with law enforcement of...

Recent controversial interactions of police with the public have become an issue of important concern for public and governmental leaders, who have openly questioned current models of police training and their effectiveness. This study is asking whether basic police academies utilize curricula that reflect the contemporary challenges of modern policing today and prepare recruits to become not only police officers but also competent and skilled, street-level bureaucrats who can provide an effective and impartial service to their increasingly diverse communities. The aim of this study is to quantify, analyze, and compare the content dedicated to the public administration domain in state-mandated basic training curricula across all 50 states. The study utilizes a mixed-methods research design with content analysis. Data were generated from 49 basic training curricula (with one state not having mandated training standards) and 17 interviews with police training officials. The result shows that despite the paradigm shift in the role of the modern-day police officer, police academies have made little to no progress in bridging the gap between the academy curriculum and the practicality of police work. On average, only 3.21% of basic training curricula are explicitly dedicated to public administration training—a training focused on public service values of fundamental importance to the practice of law enforcement. This article gives public administration scholars a voice in the national debate about the crisis in police–public relations by contributing to the literature on police training reform from a much-needed public administration lens.

This study uses the constellation approach of transition theory as a theoretical framework to depict the ways in which facilitators and barriers in police system's structure, culture, and practice interact to shape police response to persons with mental illnesses (PWMIs). The study utilizes the framework method to analyze 57 in-depth interviews with police officers in Texas. Using a hybrid approach of inductive and deductive thematic analysis, we develop a matrix of four quadrants characterizing the constellation of mental health service provision by police: (1) structural barriers (deficits in resources, unsuccessful collaboration, lack of training), (2) structural facilitators (crisis intervention teams, informal cross-disciplinary collaborations, technology), (3) cultural barriers (role conflict, perceived inability to help, stigma), and (4) cultural facilitators (the police mission ‘to serve and protect’, improving police public image, managerial support). The study ends with recommendations for the scaling up of police mental health service provision to PWMIs.

The police leader's first 100 days present a mix of unique challenges even at the best of times. What kind of challenges do new chiefs face when, during their first 100 days, a global pandemic is declared and nationwide protests and riots against police are sparked in a country under social distancing restrictions? This article discusses the first 100 days' experience of a newly appointed police chief attempting to navigate through this, already overwhelming, transition into his new role. The article identifies five first 100-day" domains that confronted police leaders with unprecedented challenges and required unprecedented actions. A re-evaluation of these five key areas would help police chiefs improve their capabilities and ability to effectively respond to current challenges as well as to unforeseen future events."

Procedural justice can impact on street-level bureaucrat (SLB)-citizen encounters as it shapes citizens’ experience with, and perception of, the delivery of public service. Specifically, in police encounters with the public, procedural justice has recently dominated the public discourse due to the tensions around police-community relations. One way to enhance the quality of SLB-citizen encounters is through procedural justice training. Utilizing a mixed methods design, we conduct a two-pronged analysis of (1) the content and teaching time of procedural justice training in state-mandated basic police curricula across U.S. states and (2) the ways training content (i.e., concepts of procedural justice) is conceptualized by the street-level bureaucrats who are the subjects of these curricula. The study identifies deficiencies in the length of the training and highlights discrepancies between the content emphasized in the training and the ways in which SLBs perceive and interpret its utility and applicability. It concludes by offering practical recommendations on how to improve procedural justice competencies, and by way, enhance SLB-citizen encounters through training.

Public management scholars have long speculated on the importance of interagency collaboration among public agencies in the delivery of public services. This study examines barriers to public interagency collaboration in the area of public safety. Interjurisdictional collaboration among law enforcement agencies at all levels has become emblematic of “new governance” models for enhanced public safety delivery. However, such collaborative efforts encounter many challenges. The purpose of this research is to examine the ways in which cultural fragmentation among law enforcement officials constrain interagency collaboration. This study collected information from 45 law enforcement officers and command personnel from 18 different local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies in a large metropolitan area in Texas. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews and focus groups. Analysis of the data revealed three potential dimensions of cultural fragmentation that impede collaborative efforts between agencies and departments: the agency-type dimension, the rank-segment dimension, and the leadership style dimension. Implications for practice and future research are discussed as well.

Recent reforms have sought to increase accountability and flexibility in the public sector’s personnel systems. One radical reform has witnessed a dismantling of civil service systems and replacing of them with employment at will (EAW) systems. Reforms of this kind have been more pronounced at the state and local government levels. Amid the reforms, scholars and public employees are skeptical of moving public employees to EAW systems, fearing the ethical status of EAW policies. This article moves beyond the basic question of whether the public sector should or should not adopt an EAW policy; instead, it focuses on analyzing primary ethical concerns associated with the implementation of EAW practices. Practical recommendations are presented to assist public at-will managers in meeting their ethical obligations toward their EAW employees.

Turnover research has traditionally examined intention to turnover rather than actual turnover. Such studies assume that leave intent serves equally well as both a proxy for and predictor of employees’ actual turnover behavior. The purpose of this study is to provide an agency-level evaluation of the usefulness of turnover intention as a reliable proxy and predictor of actual turnover across 180 U.S. federal agencies, using hierarchical (stepwise) multiple regression. Our findings suggest that, at the organizational level, turnover intention and actual turnover are distinct concepts, predicted by different sets of variables. Based on these findings, we conclude that public managers tasked with retention might have better foresight concentrating on their agencies’ unique demographic characteristics and specific management practices, rather than on their employees’ self-reported aggregated turnover intention rate.

To analyze patient satisfaction in Israeli Defense Forces primary care clinics (PCCs), and to compare different satisfaction indices that best correlate with general satisfaction index.Large-scale patient satisfaction survey throughout all PCCs, classified as active front clinics, training schools clinics, and home front clinics.Participants (5,103) filled out standardized questionnaires. Patients in active front clinics were more satisfied with their PCCs than in the other two settings. Patients showed the highest satisfaction level in the environment questions and the lowest satisfaction level in the accessibility questions. In training school clinics and home front clinics, accessibility questions were most important, whereas in active front clinics, health outcome questions prevailed.Overall patient satisfaction is the highest in active front clinics, lower in training school clinics, and lowest in home front clinics. Accessibility is the most important factor in patient satisfaction in training school and home front units, and is less important in active front units.

The delivery of medical health care to soldiers serving in active front units in the Israeli Defense Forces requires the ability to adjust to different military activity settings. This study was conducted to compare patient satisfaction, as a tool for assessing quality of care, in different activity settings: training and Low-intensity conflict setting. A patient satisfaction survey was conducted simultaneously in battalions during low-intensity conflict and training activities. Data analysis showed that patients' perception of the quality of care they received and of medical staff attitude was higher in the conflict setting. Correlation analysis revealed that patients during conflict perceived outcome of care and accessibility as most important in evaluating overall satisfaction. We suggest that perception of high-quality medical care can be obtained during conflict conditions. Interestingly, in the conflict setting, the physical environment of the clinics appears to be less crucial to patient satisfaction than physician availability and medical outcome. These results may serve as a basis for changing health delivery systems by health policy makers.

Orlando Winfield Wilson (May 15, 1900–October 18, 1972), also known as O. W. Wilson, was the most prominent policing leader and scholar of the twentieth century. His writings on policing and police administration, and his work as Police Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, dominated the law enforcement field from the 1940s through the early 1970s. Keywords: community policing; criminal justice; justice; law enforcement; police