The Population Ecology of Local Police Agencies in the United States: An Empirical Examination

• In Event: Police Organizations and the Police Environment

Abstract

Extant research indicates that police agencies in Ohio and North Carolina disband with regularity. Likewise, new police agencies are created, and sometimes recreated after disbanding. We do not know, however, the extent of these two phenomena at the national level. We use data gathered from a survey of more than 3,000 county sheriffs and other organizations (such as state police agencies), to determine the scope of police agency disbanding and creation in the United States. We tie our findings to county level dynamics and conditions and present a nascent population ecology model of police agencies in the U.S.

Authors

• William R. King, Sam Houston State University

• Alicia L. Jurek, Sam Houston State University