Civilianization of the American Police - 1970-1980

• NCJ Number: 90021
• Journal: Journal of Police Science and Administration Volume: 11 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1983) Pages: 200-205
• Author(s): B L Heininger; J Urbanek
• Date Published: 1983
• Length: 6 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Study findings suggest that using civilians in police work may not lead to cheaper police protection, that it does displace sworn officers, and that there is no apparent relationship between civilians and either the quality of police protection or the risk of danger which must be assumed by sworn officers.

Abstract

Civilians in police work include (1) those who work largely outside the regular police operation, such as crossing guards and meter maids; (2) those who replace sworn officers in routine positions, thus freeing sworn officers for duties more consistent with their training; and (3) those in specialist staff positions, such as planning and research chiefs, administrative support personnel, and data processing directors. Data were taken for a random sample of 100 cities, including information on demographic variables (population levels and levels of Index crime), organizational variables (e.g., number and types of employees), and fiscal variables (e.g., municipal and police department expenditures). Findings show many more civilian police employees in 1980 than in 1970. The average number of civilians per department rose from 34.4 in 1970 to 55.8 in 1980. Also, civilians comprised a significantly larger proportion of police employees at the end of the decade (from 15.2 percent of all police employees in 1970 to over 20 percent in 1980). It does appear that the increase in the percentage of civilians in police departments has displaced sworn officer positions. It was impossible to predict that a department which had a higher percentage of civilians at the end of the decade provided police services at a lower per capita cost. Further, it was found that the rate of growth of Index crimes per 100,000 citizens was significantly associated with the increase in the percentage of civilian police employees. Graphic data and 13 references are provided.