Candidate: Terry L. Fisk

Degree of: Doctor of Public Administration

Department: School of Public Affairs and Administration

Title: A Comparative Study: Factors Related to Adoption, Management, and Impact of Police Consolidation and Amalgamation in Norfolk County, England and Kent and Ottawa Counties, Michigan

Committee:
Dr. Peter Kobrak, Chair
Dr. Barbara Liggett
Dr. Jonathan White

Date: Friday, October 3, 2003, 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.
SPAA Conference Room, 2nd floor E. Walwood Hall

Abstract: Most literature agrees that there are approximately 20,000 separate police departments in the United States. Studies over the last few decades have determined that such a large number of independent police forces creates a fragmented system of law enforcement and that it is inefficient. The advisability and feasibility of consolidating some of these small police forces into larger forces was the focus of the study. More specifically, the study explored the issues involved in police consideration that influence the decision.

Interviews were conducted with police officials in Ottawa County and Kent County in Michigan, and Norfolk County, England. The interviews were analyzed using an ethnographic program. Nine primary factors were identified as the core issues of consolidation. Management concerns and local control and local identity were found to be the most dominant of these factors. Others include efficiency, fiscal concerns, and impact on the officers and citizens.

While the results of these findings are not generalizable, they do provide a foundation for discussion of consolidation. Further study should determine how these factors influence those public officials responsible for making decisions regarding consolidation.

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