Using Police Department Mission Statements to Develop a Typology of Policing Styles

• In Event: The Development of Police Organizations and Administrative Practices

Abstract

The police have an impossible mandate, imposed by the public but exacerbated by amorphous department missions. Further, the content of these mission statements, and how they vary thematically by geographic location and size of department, is unknown. In 1978, James Q. Wilson’s seminal book “Varieties of Police Behavior” highlighted three styles of policing: the watchman, the legalistic, and the service styles. Drawing on Wilson’s work, this study seeks to expand the current understanding of typologies of policing styles. Using the 2013 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) as a sampling frame, mission statements from 2,826 departments were manually collected from official law enforcement websites. This study presents findings from a qualitative content analysis of the sampled mission statements. Implications for policy and future research are also discussed.

Authors

• Lisa M Dario, Florida Atlantic University

• Vaughn J Crichlow, Florida Atlantic University