An Institutional Perspective of Policing

This article suggests that American municipal police departments are highly institutionalized organizations and should be studied in terms of how their formal structure and activities are shaped by powerful myths in their institutional environment. The incorporation of powerful myths into the struct...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of criminal law & criminology 1992-07, Vol.83 (2), p.338-363
Main Authors: Crank, John P., Langworthy, Robert
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Civil service
Crime prevention
Criminal arrests
Criminal justice
Criminal Law
Criminal procedures
Criminology
Institutional aspects
Institutions
Law enforcement
Local Government
Organization
Organizational structure
Police
Police administration
Police departments
Police services
Policing
Rituals
Social institutions
U.S.A
USA
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Summary:This article suggests that American municipal police departments are highly institutionalized organizations and should be studied in terms of how their formal structure and activities are shaped by powerful myths in their institutional environment. The incorporation of powerful myths into the structure and activities of police departments enables them to attain legitimacy; with legitimacy comes stability and protection from outside interference by powerful sovereign actors who are present in the enveloping institutional environment. However, legitimacy problems arising from conflicting institutional myths may precipitate full-blown organizational crises. Such police department crises are resolved ceremonially through a ritual that combines the public degradation of the department and the removal and replacement of the disgraced police chief by a new chief with a "legitimating" mandate.
ISSN:0091-4169
2160-0325
DOI:10.2307/1143860