The Impact of 9/11 on Organizational Development Among State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies

• DOI: 10.1177/1043986207301364
• Date: 01 May 2007
• Published date: 01 May 2007
• Author: Ivan Y. Sun,Daniel E. Marks
• Subject Matter: Articles

159

Journal of Contemporary

Criminal Justice

Volume 23 Number 2

May 2007 159-173

© 2007 Sage Publications

10.1177/1043986207301364

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The Impact of 9/11 on

Organizational Development

Among State and Local Law

Enforcement Agencies

Daniel E. Marks

Ivan Y. Sun

University of Delaware, Newark

This study examines the impact of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on organizational develop-

ment of American state and local law enforcement agencies. Content analyses of police

discourse in two practitioner magazines spanning from 1999 to 2004 are used to deter-

mine specific organizational changes that have been triggered by 9/11. Findings from

our analyses indicate that changes have occurred and continue to develop mainly in

organizational structures and processes. Changes in internal structures, such as the cre-

ation of a counterterrorism unit, tend to occur only in larger metropolitan and state

police agencies. Changes in organizational processes or operations tend to be far more

universal and typically involve an increased collaboration among police departments,

specifically greater openness toward information sharing. Implications for future

research are discussed.

Keywords: 9/11; law enforcement; organizational development; planned change

The September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon have

had a profound impact on various organizations in the United States. One group

of organizations that has been especially affected is the law enforcement community.

A small number of studies have examined the impact of 9/11 on several critical aspects

of policing, such as community policing (Murray, 2005; Scheider & Chapman, 2003),

intelligence gathering and sharing (Bureau of Justice Assistance, 2005; Carter, 2005;

Doherty & Hibbard, 2006), the relationship between the police and military (McCulloch,

2004; Perkins, 2004), allocation of resources (Perkins, 2004), changing demands in

services and technology (Brandl, 2003; Kappler & Miller-Potter, 2004; Raymond,

Hickman, Miller, & Wong, 2005), misconduct (Stuntz, 2002), and suburban policing

(Brems, 2004). Other research has focused on stress and disorder experienced by

police officers (Robbers & Jenkins, 2005; Stevens, 2004).

The purpose of this research is to assess the impacts that the events of 9/11 may

have had on organizational development among state and local law enforcement

agencies. Two reasons underlie this research. First, although state and municipal and