Decentralizing the Organization/Organizational Change

Of the three key characteristics of communityoriented policing—community partnerships, problem solving, and organizational transformation—the most challenging is often the transformation of the organization. While each police agency is unique and the difficulties to implement community policing will vary, an almost universal characteristic of police agencies is resistance to change. Decentralizing is one of many significant organizational changes that facilitate the delivery of police services with a community policing philosophy. This entry explores why police resist change, the various steps and recommendations for organizational transformation, and how a decentralized department or agency operates in the modern policing arena.