POLITICAL INFLUENCE UPON ADMINISTRATIVE DECISION-MAKING IN LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT

VERNE HAROLD MCCLURG, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of political influence upon Police Chiefs and Sheriffs, in the State of Nebraska, when making specific administrative decisions. Pursuant to this purpose an attempt was made to determine the source of these influences. The hypotheses selected were: (1) There will be differences in the amount of political influence exerted upon the police administrator in cities governed by a mayor-council form of government as compared to cities with a city-manager form of government; (2) There will be a difference in the amount of political influence exerted upon the law enforcement administrator by individual citizens or interest groups in the community as compared with government officials; and, (3) There will be a difference in the amount of political influence exerted upon the law enforcement administrator in the decision areas of budget and personnel practices as compared with operational decisions. A total of (N = 76) Police Chiefs and (N = 60) Sheriffs, in the State of Nebraska, made up the population of this study. A survey instrument was developed and distributed to all respondents. The collected data were coded and analyzed by use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Hypothesis Number One was not supported due to an insufficient number of city-manager forms of government reported in the study. The relationship hypothesized between government officials, local citizens, and interest groups was supported. The data indicated there was more influence exerted by the Board of Commissioners, City Council, the Mayor, and City-Manager upon the law enforcement administrator than by Individual Citizens or Interest Groups in the Community. Individual analysis revealed there was a greater percentage of influence directed toward the Police Chief by the City Council than toward the Sheriff by the Board of Commissioners/Supervisors. In addition, Police Chiefs indicated they received more influence from Interest Groups and Individuals than did the Sheriffs. Hypothesis Number Three was also supported by the data, which indicated there was more political influence exerted on the law enforcement administrator in the decision areas of the budget (Increasing Departmental Authorized Strength, Purchase of Police Vehicles/Cruisers, and, Purchase of Police Equipment), and Personnel variables (hiring of New Police Officers/Deputy Sheriffs, Police-Union Management Negotiations, and Promotion of Personnel to Supervisory or Administrative Positions), than Operational Decisions (allocation of Personnel to Duty Assignments, Community Relations Programs in the Community, and Treatment of Minorities in the Community). Personnel decisions ranked second in the amount of influence exerted upon the law enforcement administrator. Also, Police Chiefs indicated a slightly stronger degree of influence exerted upon them than did the Sheriffs in all three decision areas. Overall, Police Chiefs indicated more influence exerted upon them than did Sheriffs. This factor may be attributed to differing law enforcement philosophies of Police Chiefs and Sheriffs. The former is appointed and the latter elected, suggesting that one responds more to citizen input than the other. The author recommends a continual effort be made by law enforcement administrators to analyze and interpret their organizational philosophy to insure compatibility with community desires.

Subject Area

Public administration

Recommended Citation

MCCLURG, VERNE HAROLD, "POLITICAL INFLUENCE UPON ADMINISTRATIVE DECISION-MAKING IN LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT" (1980). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8100437.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8100437

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