Understanding Community Policing as an Innovation: Patterns of Adoption

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Abstract
In the 1980s and 1990s, community policing was viewed by many as a radical innovation in the field of policing, with the vast majority of police agencies reporting to have adopted the approach. Despite its overwhelming popularity, most police agencies did not adopt the central elements of community policing. This study examines patterns of community policing adoption of 474 police departments across the United States. Using an innovations framework, a model was developed that measures the extent to which community characteristics, organizational complexity, and organizational commitment can explain differences in the adoption of community policing. Findings suggest that the innovations approach can explain some variation in the adoption of community policing and should be considered in future police research.