Deconsolidation of Public-Safety Agencies Providing Police and Fire Services

Abstract

In recent years, a growing number of communities have consolidated their police and fire agencies into a single “public-service” agency. Consolidation has appealed to communities seeking to achieve efficiency and cost-effectiveness, but resistance has arisen from organized labor and firefighters. Some communities have even begun to abandon the model. Exploring the reasons for disbanding can help cities considering the public-safety model determine whether it is right for them. Such analysis can also help cities that have already adopted the model understand what may cause it to falter. In this work, we analyze six case studies of public-safety agencies, chosen for their diversity in geography, date of consolidation and deconsolidation, form of consolidation, and other community characteristics. We explore their reasons for consolidation and deconsolidation in the context of broader police organizational research, particularly that regarding organizational theory, change, and performance. We place our findings in the context of structural contingency and institutional theories of organization, finding both to explain many of the reasons these organizations consolidated but later deconsolidated.