2015 journal article
Goodbye Mayberry: The Curious Demise of Rural Police Departments in North Carolina
ADMINISTRATION & SOCIETY, 47(3), 320–337.
author keywords: police; organizational demise; life course
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
(Web of Science)
Source: Web Of Science
Added: August 6, 2018
For some time, police departments have been disappearing from rural communities in North Carolina. This article seeks to locate the factors facilitating the disbandment of small police departments and speculate on the implications for public safety in small jurisdictions. Using structured interviews with key informants in 19 North Carolina municipalities, the final stages or “turning points” of organizational life are chronicled and analyzed. Certain events and conditions contribute significantly to the decline and death of police agencies, including political turbulence, organizational atrophy, and environmental atrophy. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are also examined.