RT Article
T1 The birth of an organisational field: the institutionalisation of civilian crisis response services in the de-tasking era
JF Policing and society
VO 34
IS 5
SP 434
OP 448
A1 Giacomantonio, Chris 1980-
LA English
YR 2024
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1891167073
AB Civilian-led, non-police crisis response services – which attend mental health crises that previously had received uniformed police response in many jurisdictions – have multiplied substantially alongside widespread calls for ‘de-tasking’ of police. Yet, these services inevitably engage in forms of ‘policing’ in both practical and sociological terms, if we understand policing to involve reducing harms and maintaining order under the shadow of police (state coercive) power. Seeing the rapid expansion of these services as the birth of a new organisational field, following organisational and institutional theories, this paper delineates possible futures of these services as they coalesce into increasingly isomorphic forms. The paper then considers the potential bases of legitimacy, organisational ethos and accountability that will develop around these services, and sets out challenges that the organisational field will face if it is to avoid becoming an extension of ‘the police’.
K1 Isomorphism
K1 de-tasking
K1 crisis response
K1 Organisational theory
DO 10.1080/10439463.2024.2302593