BEYOND REFORM: BETTER POLICING THROUGH SYSTEMS THINKING

Police reform is a long-standing objective in America. In one form or another, the same fundamental problem persists: police have never consistently navigated the tension between effectively policing society and being a part of it. In part, systems theory helps explain why traditional best-practice reforms have not been consistently effective. The solution to these problems may lie not in reform but in reframing the approach to police organizations through systems thinking. This thesis seeks to answer a key question predicated on the assumption that reform is not enough: How can systems thinking improve policing? Using gap analysis, this thesis identifies ways to improve American policing and its processes through application of systems theory, specifically systems thinking. This research considers some of the problems that face policing from a systems-thinking perspective and finds that managing systems structures, building agent capacity, understanding context and goal-setting, and pursuing feedback could improve policing in ways that traditional reform strategies have not. Finally, it recommends that law enforcement agencies adopt systems-thinking strategies to improve performance.Civilian, Bakersfield Police DepartmentApproved for public release. distribution is unlimite