Policing and terrorism: the impact of 9/11 on the organizational structure of state and local police departments in the United States
Date
2005
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
This thesis examines how 9/11 has impacted the organizational structure of state and local policing institutions in the United States. Content analyses of police discourse in two practitioner journals spanning from 1999 to 2004, as well as college level criminal justice textbooks issued in 2004 are used to determine the specific organizational changes that have been triggered by 9/11. Findings from the analyses indicate that change is occurring on both the internal organizational level and as well as on the level of organizational boundaries. Changes to internal structure, such as the creation of a counterterrorism unit, tend to occur only in the larger metropolitan and state police agencies, but are not present in the more common local departments. However, changes in organizational boundaries tend to be far more universal and typically involve an increased collaboration between police departments, specifically greater openness towards information sharing. The thesis concludes with an examination of the theoretical and policy implications of these findings.