Police: Organization and Management

Discovering the best way to organize and manage the police is a popular topic among police managers and administrators, researchers, reformers, and others interested in improving the American police. Over the past century, police organization and management have changed tremendously. Many of these changes can be attributed to changes in the environment of policing: the development of new technologies, the emergence of new offense types, differences in public opinion about the police, and managerial innovations in the public and private sectors. This entry highlights some of the important changes that have taken place in the organization and management of American police agencies, explains briefly why these changes occurred, and discusses some of the current trends that provide a hint of changes to come.