{"id":{"repo_id":"utc","oai_identifier":"oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-2087"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/utc/oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-2087","repository":{"repo_id":"utc","name":"University of Tennessee - Chattanooga","base_url":"https://scholar.utc.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Law enforcement professionalization: the accreditation of law enforcement","abstract":"Rapid social change has led many law enforcement agencies to explore various options that would serve to enhance service delivery, department credibility within communities, and overall professionalism. From a historical perspective, professionalism has been an elusive state for law enforcement agencies ever since the inception of the first police department. A search for such professionalism has taken a turn toward accreditation. Accreditation for law enforcement was studied to determine if the process enhanced the perceived level of credibility and professionalism enjoyed by police departments in the southeastern states of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Three hundred and seven southeastern law enforcement departments were surveyed; of these, 76 were accredited, 231 were not accredited. Agencies were asked a series of questions to gamer opinions on professionalism, credibility, accreditation and the importance of these items for law enforcement. The majority of accredited departments observed a rise in citizen support and a decrease in citizen complaints after accreditation. Accreditation appears have a positive overall impact on law enforcement agencies in the southeastern United States. Reduction in liability insurance cost, lawsuits filed and settled, and an increase in community and federal financial support indicates accreditation benefits outweigh costs associated with the process of departments becoming accredited.","abstract_html":"Rapid social change has led many law enforcement agencies to explore various options that would serve to enhance service delivery, department credibility within communities, and overall professionalism. From a historical perspective, professionalism has been an elusive state for law enforcement agencies ever since the inception of the first police department. A search for such professionalism has taken a turn toward accreditation. Accreditation for law enforcement was studied to determine if the process enhanced the perceived level of credibility and professionalism enjoyed by police departments in the southeastern states of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Three hundred and seven southeastern law enforcement departments were surveyed; of these, 76 were accredited, 231 were not accredited. Agencies were asked a series of questions to gamer opinions on professionalism, credibility, accreditation and the importance of these items for law enforcement. The majority of accredited departments observed a rise in citizen support and a decrease in citizen complaints after accreditation. Accreditation appears have a positive overall impact on law enforcement agencies in the southeastern United States. Reduction in liability insurance cost, lawsuits filed and settled, and an increase in community and federal financial support indicates accreditation benefits outweigh costs associated with the process of departments becoming accredited.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Geoghagan, Angel D."],"institution":"University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["VanNess, Shela R.","College of Arts and Sciences"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":null,"date_issued":"","date_published":null,"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:47:21Z","subjects":["Police--Accreditation--United States","Police professionalization--United States"],"languages":["English","eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["LB2369.2 .G463 2000"],"render_values":[{"text":"LB2369.2 .G463 2000","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/908","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["VanNess, Shela R.","College of Arts and Sciences"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Geoghagan, Angel D."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2000-05-01T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","Chattanooga (Tenn.)"]},{"key":"dc:relation","label":"Dc Relation","values":["Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Masters theses","Text"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Police--Accreditation--United States","Police professionalization--United States"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English","eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["LB2369.2 .G463 2000","https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/908"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Dept. of Criminal Justice and Legal Assistant Studies","M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Rapid social change has led many law enforcement agencies to explore various options that would serve to enhance service delivery, department credibility within communities, and overall professionalism. From a historical perspective, professionalism has been an elusive state for law enforcement agencies ever since the inception of the first police department. A search for such professionalism has taken a turn toward accreditation. Accreditation for law enforcement was studied to determine if the process enhanced the perceived level of credibility and professionalism enjoyed by police departments in the southeastern states of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Three hundred and seven southeastern law enforcement departments were surveyed; of these, 76 were accredited, 231 were not accredited. Agencies were asked a series of questions to gamer opinions on professionalism, credibility, accreditation and the importance of these items for law enforcement. The majority of accredited departments observed a rise in citizen support and a decrease in citizen complaints after accreditation. Accreditation appears have a positive overall impact on law enforcement agencies in the southeastern United States. Reduction in liability insurance cost, lawsuits filed and settled, and an increase in community and federal financial support indicates accreditation benefits outweigh costs associated with the process of departments becoming accredited."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Law enforcement professionalization: the accreditation of law enforcement"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["VanNess, Shela R.","College of Arts and Sciences"],"dc:creator":["Geoghagan, Angel D."],"dc:date":["2000-05-01T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description":["Dept. of Criminal Justice and Legal Assistant Studies","M. 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Three hundred and seven southeastern law enforcement departments were surveyed; of these, 76 were accredited, 231 were not accredited. Agencies were asked a series of questions to gamer opinions on professionalism, credibility, accreditation and the importance of these items for law enforcement. The majority of accredited departments observed a rise in citizen support and a decrease in citizen complaints after accreditation. Accreditation appears have a positive overall impact on law enforcement agencies in the southeastern United States. Reduction in liability insurance cost, lawsuits filed and settled, and an increase in community and federal financial support indicates accreditation benefits outweigh costs associated with the process of departments becoming accredited."],"dc:identifier":["LB2369.2 .G463 2000","https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/908"],"dc:language":["English","eng"],"dc:publisher":["University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","Chattanooga (Tenn.)"],"dc:relation":["Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations"],"dc:rights":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["Police--Accreditation--United States","Police professionalization--United States"],"dc:title":["Law enforcement professionalization: the accreditation of law enforcement"],"dc:type":["Masters theses","Text"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:47:21Z"}