Police Managers' Attitudes towards a US Marine Corps Military Model: Responses to Corps Business

Abstract

Historically, police departments have been modelled both structurally and operationally on quasi-military lines. This paper presents reactions of police managers who attended the Administrative Officers Course at the Southern Police Institute at the University of Louisville, who analysed David Freedman's book, Corps Business. This work presents 30 management principles practised by the US Marine Corps. Students were asked to rate the five best and five worst practices as they applied to police management. Their responses provide a timely analysis of the status of the linkage between police management and the military model.