How the FBI Has Advanced the Effectiveness of Policing and Law Enforcement in America, While Serving as the Nation's Homeland Security Agency
| Author | Terrance A. Johnson |
| Published date | 01 September 2007 |
| Date | 01 September 2007 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1350/pojo.2007.80.3.217 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
TERRANCE A. JOHNSON
Lincoln University (PA), USA
HOW THE FBI HAS ADVANCED
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF
POLICING AND LAW
ENFORCEMENT IN AMERICA,
WHILE SERVING AS THE
NATION’S HOMELAND SECURITY
AGENCY
In America the FBI has advanced the effectiveness of policing
and law enforcement, while at the same time serving as the
nation’s homeland security agency. The concept of culture,
which is the unique configuration of norms, values and beliefs
that characterise the way that people agree to do things, has
played a major part in this advancement. Management has had
a great influence on how the FBI has become more effective.
Early theories of organisations say that the proper way to
manage is through control mechanisms. In the early 1800s,
policing was the task that provided basic public safety services.
The idea of dedicating human and financial resources to
catching criminals can be traced back to Roman times. From
these roots, the FBI has evolved and had tremendous success
in crime fighting. Many of the FBI’s efforts have been concen-
trated on fighting domestic terrorism; however, the FBI has
had successes in a wide range of law enforcement tasks, from
handling bank robberies to dealing with plots to overthrow the
government.
Introduction
The terms policing and law enforcement have been used by
public safety and non-public safety officials as though they
have the same meaning. According to Johnson (2001a, 2002;
Dempsey, 2003), however, policing is the routine physical patrol
of men and women in tightly fitting uniforms (with badges and
guns) in order to establish and maintain the peace. Dempsey
(2003) has noted that as far back as ancient Roman times, the
concept of having individuals concentrate solely on the process
of investigating crimes that have been committed, while the
important practice of general police patrols continues, has helped
The Police Journal, Volume 80 (2007) 217
to broaden the policing vocation to establish the stand-alone
function of investigative work. As the population in the United
States shifts from the rural to an urban setting, there is a
developing need to address the growing crime wave of violent
acts accompanying the migration of large-scale immigrant popu-
lations to the cities (Lyman, 2004; Peak, 2000, 2003, 2005).
The state, local, and federal law enforcement community had
been unable to undertake the newly formed specialty of investig-
ative work (Lyman, 2004) and private security firms provided
the investigative services for law enforcement during the 1900s
(Schnabolk, 1983; Johnson, 2001a). However, the appointment
of J. Edgar Hoover as Director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) in 1924 signalled a change in the perform-
ance of federal law enforcement as well as at the local and state
levels (Peak, 2000, 2003, 2005). Director Hoover was credited
with professionalising the FBI and passing down that same idea
to local and state law enforcement. The FBI took the lead in
setting professional standards for officers at the state and local
level (Schnabolk, 1983; Lyman, 2004; Peak, 2000, 2003, 2005)
and has made significant contributions to the peace and tranquil-
lity of the United States. The Bureau’s impact has come in the
form of investigating matters involving civil rights violations or
assisting state and local authorities in the same endeavour. One
only needs to chronicle the activities of the Bureau over the last
eight decades in investigating, for example bank robberies,
communist plots to overthrow the government, and violations of
civil rights, to advance the belief that the FBI has been the
country’s first line of defence and, perhaps, the first homeland
security agency (Johnson, 2004). The Bureau has demonstrated
tremendous capability in these kinds of investigations, with strict
administrative and legal restrictions.
The FBI has performed its investigative functions while its
organisation has gone through some cultural and subcultural
changes and while the cultural and political mood swings of the
country have also changed. The literature on organisation culture
and behaviour reminds us that an organisation can contain
multiple cultures and subcultures, which can work against any
change initiated from within the organisation by the leadership
and from outside observers (Argyris, 1999; Bass, 1990, 1993;
Burns, 1978; Cangelosi & Dill, 1996; Cochran & Bromley,
2003; Crank, 1998; Crossan & Guatto, 1996; Crossan et al.,
1999; Hofstede, 1991, 1998; Hubert, 1991; Johnson & Gill,
1993; Katz & Kuhn, 1978; Keller, 1992; Schein, 1984; Schein &
Ott, 1962; Shrafitz & Ott, 1991, 1992; Smircich, 1983; Van
218 The Police Journal, Volume 80 (2007)
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