THE DETERMINANTS OF POLICE-SPECIFIC CONTRACT CLAUSES

RICHARD C. WILLIAMS

DOI: 10.2190/KVXX-UCE4-36DV-4QPJ

Abstract

This study investigates the environmental antecedents of a composite of twenty-eight police-specific contract clauses encompassing bargaining issues such as mandated equipment, manning, premium pay provisions, officer bill of rights, and residency rules. These specific contract clauses are viewed as central to police officers' feelings of physical and psychological security and are also seen as incursions into managerial prerogatives. The focus of this research centers on three types of environmental variables: legal, socio-economic, and internal bargaining, as independent variables. A multiple regression model is constructed and estimated for all eleven independent variables during each of seven contract data years, 1975-81. Contract data from 504 municipalities, over 25,000 population, in the United States is used at least once during the seven-year period. The dependent variable reported is the overall composite although the estimates of the individual variables and groupings produce similar results. The length of the bargaining relationship and the fear rate, a measure of crimes against persons, were the strongest environmental predictors of these particular police-specific contract clauses. Several other variables, such as existence of a state arbitration statute, legal scope of bargaining, and per capita income were not particularly strong or consistent predictors of these clauses.

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