Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3865-6614

Date of Award

Spring 1-1-2025

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Criminal Justice

First Advisor

Dean Dabney

Second Advisor

Joshua Hinkle

Third Advisor

Natasha Johnson

Fourth Advisor

Thaddeus Johnson

Fifth Advisor

Joseph Schafer

Abstract

Leadership studies have gained significant momentum over the years, with research in fields such as management science and psychology isolating leadership styles/types, emphasizing that sound leadership skills are imperative in achieving organizational goals, and observing that effective leadership plays a key role in the future and mentorship of police agencies in reaching their capacity. Nonetheless, there exists a paucity of empirical work examining how aspects of police leadership relate to specific organizational outcomes. Historically, the upper level of police leadership has been dominated by White males. Though police reform, ongoing changes and calls for diversity, representation and uniformity in police agencies seem to be gaining presence and impact, much remains to be done. Efforts such as the “30 by 30” initiative seek to increase representation of women police agencies. The principle of diversity in leadership is not just a matter of representation; in the context of police leadership, it shows that the race and sex of police leaders will serve as major determinants for the outlook or identity of the departments they lead. This study investigates the racial and sex composition of executive leadership in American policing. Building on the premise that employees prefer to work for an organization where their personal identity is represented and that reflects their personal ideals, it seeks to understand how the demographics of the police executive correlates with year-to-year overall as well as race and sex-based staffing composition of the organization. Using data from multiple publicly available database and PPML multivariate statistical models, this study tests two hypotheses on the impact of the race and sex of the police chief on retention and hiring outcomes. Findings show that non-traditional police chiefs have meaningful impacts on staffing composition among the non-sworn employees but not the sworn officers of an agency. Theoretical and policy implications are considered.

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