NCJ Number
191406
Journal
Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management Volume: 24 Issue: 3 Dated: 2001 Pages: 281-300
Date Published
2001
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This article presents a conceptual framework for reviewing the organizational integrity of police agencies, discusses integrity audits of police agencies in the Netherlands, and gives an overview of possible strategies and activities related to organizational integrity.
Abstract
The three types of relationships that are relevant from the perspective of integrity include the relationship between the individual and the organization, the functional relationship between employees, and the relationship between the organization and its stakeholders. Management has to safeguard the conditions in the organization that enable police officers to achieve a responsible balance between three fundamental types of conflicting interests. These include the entangled hands dilemma (a discrepancy between the personal interests of the employees and the interests of the police organization), the many hands dilemma (conflict between the functional interests of employees, managers, departments, and units), and the dirty hands dilemma (incompatibility between the interests and expectations of the stakeholders and the interests of the police organization). The analysis notes that seven organizational qualities encourage a prudent balance: clarity, consistency, achievability, supportability, visibility, discussibility, and sanctionability. An integrity audit can help clarify the implicit and explicit, internal and external conflicting expectations confronting employees. Integrity audits of six Dutch police organizations have revealed openness to be a crucial virtue, noted actual dilemmas agencies were experiencing, and analyzed which values and standards needed development to solve the dilemmas. The analysis concludes that an integrity audit can help in measuring performance and that examining the organization from this perspective makes it possible to conduct efforts to improve the organization’s integrity. Figures, notes, appended outline of audit instruments, and 27 references (Author abstract modified)