Are those who teach and do research in colleges and universities (academicians) out of touch with the realities of what goes on in the world? Are those who work in that real world (practitioners) so wrapped up in their job that they cannot see the big picture of what effects their actions have on that world? These questions speak to a weak link between academicians and practitioners in public administration that can possibly be helped by better networking between academicians and practitioners. To remain current with the many changing issues which impact the criminal justice community, criminal justice practitioners must be aware of shifts in demographics, understand the dynamics of social and scientific change, and have a greater appreciation for the politics of both organizations and government than many others in the traditionally accepted professional fields might normally have. Criminal justice professionals must also keep current with the various interpretations of the laws by the federal courts as legal decisions are made. These decisions may result in changing the character of the criminal justice profession. But just how much interaction is there between criminal justice practitioners and academicians and what is the value of this interaction? This study involves an exploration into networking practices in one of public administration's largest subfields, law enforcement. Both have much to gain by establishing a closer relationship. Criminal justice involves far more hidden issues than those engaged in the study and research of social problems can possibly comprehend from simply examining statistical data. The criminal justice field, because of its environment, is facing new problems every year, not only with the emergence of new sophisticated crimes, but also with intemal problems related to compensation, retention of trained employees, and the effects of constant shifting of policies by political appointees in the executive branch. These are but a few of the areas in which academicians can provide a valuable service to the criminal justice practitioner. By gaining insights into the environment in which practitioners operate, the academic profession can provide the practitioner with a better understanding of the political aspects of organizations and offer innovative recommendations as how best to deal with the constantly changing environment associated with this field. Results Of the returned responses, 73 percent were from practioners and 27 percent were from academicians. All of the respondents had some college education with 13 percent having a bachelor's degree, 56 percent having a master's degree, and 30 percent having a doctorate. Age was distributed so that 7 percent were in their 20s, 20 percent were in their 30s, 50 percent were in their 40s, 18 percent were in their 50s, 3 percent in their 60s, and 2 percent were over 70. Males comprised 79 percent of the sample and females 21 percent of the sample. Thirty percent of the sample were presently attending graduate school and 55 percent of the sample were involved in doing research. The amount of contact between practitioners and academicians had a modal category of 1-2 days per month (30 percent) but more than 10 days per month was the second most common category (26 percent) (Table 1). The nature of contact was categorized as being as a friend, as a consultant, as a colleague, or working on a project together. The respondents could select more than one. The most common way to characterize the contact was as a colleague (62 percent) closely followed by as a friend (61 percent) (Table 2). When asked what other types of contact the respondents had, the most often-listed types of contact were through classes (n = 23) and through meetings (n = 8). When asked what means were used for contacting academicians (practitioners) and how often each of these means were used, telephone and personal contact were the most-used means with mail and computer being much less common (Table 3). …
Read full abstract
Jul 1, 2014
Gemma Birkett 
Open Access