| Resource dependency theory claims that organizational structure and behavior reflect changes intended to secure a flow of resources from the environment. With regard to law enforcement, resource dependency theory may help explain organizational change consistent with community-oriented policing because of funding from the Justice Department's Office of Community-Oriented Policing Services (COPS). This paper draws on resource dependency theory and investigates the role of the COPS office in explaining organizational change in municipal and county law enforcement agencies employing more than 100 full-time, sworn officers/deputies. The primary substantive independent variables include the awards given to law enforcement agencies for specific COPS programs; control variables include county size, crime, citizen dissatisfaction, and social disorganization; and the dependent variables include composite measures of internally-focused and externally-focused change. |
Updated 05/20/2006