Evaluating Organizational Environments in Law Enforcement Agencies: A Social Climate Perspective

Abstract

Law enforcement agencies are affected by a variety of factors. Evidence is increasingly denoting the importance of environmentalfactors as a variable in accounting for behavior within organizations. Much of this research indicates that police organizations, which are affected by a multiplicity of external varia bles, have an impact on the police workers. In light of such evidence, it is important to systematically evaluate the organizational setting of the law en forcement officer. The applicability of the Work Environment Scale (WES) as a means to assess the social climate of police agencies is discussed in a case example. Uses of the WES to monitor and evaluate change in the organizational social climate of law enforcement agencies are presented.