Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine police officers’ attitudes toward community policing and order maintenance, as well as the facets of the work environment that impact those attitudes.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data come from a sample of officers in a mid-sized police department. Ordinary least squares regression modeling is used to examine community-policing, order-maintenance and law-enforcement role orientations.
Findings
Officers endorse community partnerships, but are less enthusiastic about order maintenance. They also display mid-level support for traditional law enforcement. Work–environment variables have inconsistent impacts across the three role orientations.
Research limitations/implications
This was a survey of attitudes in one department. Future research should examine officers’ involvement in community-policing and order-maintenance activities and any impediments to such activities.
Practical implications
The findings have implications for police leaders seeking to implement community policing and ensure street-level officers are carrying out partnership and order-maintenance activities. In particular, top management must foster a positive work environment and personally model commitment to policing innovations.
Originality/value
This paper adds to the currently sparse body of literature on officer attitudes toward community policing and order maintenance, and incorporates traditional law-enforcement attitudes as a point of contrast. This paper advances the scholarly understanding of police officers’ role orientations.
A Study on the Role Orientations of Publication Employees
