Joseph Schafer
Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Southern Illinois University
Key Findings
- Small police agencies have not uniformly adopted preparedness policies for homeland security.
- For small police agencies, interactions with large agencies contributed to their likelihood of being prepared.
- Small agencies proximity to large agencies had no direct effect on homeland security preparedness.
- The more geographically isolated small agencies were from large agencies, the less the two agencies interacted.
Description
In the article, “A Stone’s Throw from the Metropolis: Re-Examining Small-Agency Homeland Security Practices,” Schafer and his co-authors examine how prepared small police agencies are for threats to homeland security based on their proximity to large agencies. The researchers conducted their study using the Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies survey to identify a stratified random sample of small police agencies ranging from rural to urban totaling 350 participating agencies. The survey included questions about preparedness and their relationships with the nearest large agency. The results showed that the small police agencies have not uniformly adopted preparedness policies for homeland security. For small police agencies, interactions with large agencies contributed to their likelihood of being prepared. Small agencies proximity to large agencies had no direct effect on homeland security preparedness. The more geographically isolated small agencies were from large agencies, the less the two agencies interacted. The authors note that future studies are needed to understand diffusion of new police practices in the industry.