Citation

Johnson RR, Olschansky EL. Crim. Justice Stud. Crit. J. Crime Law Soc. 2010; 23(2): 119.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/1478601X.2010.485465

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Klinger's ecological theory of police response (1997) posits that differences in officer enforcement 'vigor' across districts within a police agency will be influenced primarily by district levels of social disorganization and serious crime. The present study tested the theory's validity within a state police agency. While the violent crime rate and social disorganization level of each district was correlated with some measures of enforcement vigor, the greatest influence on enforcement vigor was the calls for service workload and responsibility for patrolling an interstate highway. The potential research differences between municipal and state police agencies are also discussed.