Organizational Values and Police Officer Evaluation: A Content Comparison Between Traditional and Community Policing Agencies

Abstract

Although criminal justice literature has suggested that the values and objectives of the community policing philosophy differ from traditional law enforcement, little is known about the specifics of how this approach may have changed formal performance expectations for individual officers. This study incorporates a content analysis of 1,474 individual rating items on 150 officer evaluation instruments from agencies across the United States to determine whether organizational values and performance criteria differ between traditional and community policing agencies. Evaluation content was compared according to five key officer appraisal elements: (a) stakeholder focus, (b) police officer role emphasis, (c) level of service expectation, (d) employee traits encouraged, and (e) type of reinforcement (motivation) utilized. Results indicate that most evaluation content remains focused on the organization, emphasizes internal process aspects of performance, and has little to do with investigation, enforcement, patrol, community service, or other forms of activities that are specific to police work.