A partial test of the ecological theory

Abstract

Klinger (1997) advanced research on police behaviour when he developed his ecological theory as a means to predict or explain the influence of the ‘patrol district’ on police behaviour. He proposed an inverse relationship between the levels of crime and disorder in the officer’s working environment and the amount of formal legal authority used by an officer. That is, the greater the level of crime and disorder in the patrol district, the lower the amount of formal legal authority expended by the officer. Past studies framed within the ecological theory found limited support for Klinger’s notion. It is suggested that prior studies inaccurately operationalised the ‘patrol district’ variable because the study areas were too large to adequately assess his theory. This study expands on past research framed within the ecological theory by operationalising the police patrol area based on US Census ‘block groups’. Results indicate that the rate of arrests in a block group was related to higher levels of calls for service, which is contrary to what is expected with the ecological theory. It is possible that a measure of ‘patrol district’, as an officer understands it, is not the same as the measures commonly accessible to scholars.