Texas Chiefs of Police Panel Project

OverviewLEMIT and SHSU Logos

The Texas Chiefs of Police Panel Project (TCPPP) collects information from nearly every Texas Chief of Police. The survey data collection project is on-going and will generate information about police leaders in Texas across several years. The information is rich and unique; data will provide an understanding of changes over time about a variety of different topics. We are aware of no other data collection project that will yield similar insights into police leadership. High quality research on police leadership continues to be absent from the academic literature and the TCPPP will help fill this void. The survey instruments are flexible and will be modified in order to collect information about emerging topics relevant to police professionals and police scholars. Data collection for the TCPPP launched on October 11, 2011 in order to coincide with the start of the two year cycle of the TPCLS (Texas Police Chiefs Leadership Series) at LEMIT. The support of Texas Chiefs of Police has been tremendous and their participation is making this project a success.

The TCPPP has three goals:

  1. Create an ongoing, panel design, data collection effort to gather information from police executives attending LEMIT training. We will explore pressing issues facing police chiefs and solutions chiefs have employed. We will learn about the career trajectories of police chiefs.
  2. The data can be used to change and improve LEMIT training by better addressing the problems and solutions chiefs deal with. We will also be better positioned to assist in the career development of police chiefs.
  3. The data can also be used for faculty, staff, and graduate student projects, paper presentations, and publications.

Research Staff

William King, Ph.D.
Professor and Associate Dean of Research and Program Development
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Sam Houston State University
Alicia L. Jurek
Doctoral Student and LEMIT Research Assistant
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Sam Houston State University
Matthew C. Matusiak, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Criminal Justice
University of Central Florida
Bradley A. Campbell, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Criminal Justice
University of Louisville

 

Data

Wave I

  • October 2011 – July 2013
  • 926 Chiefs of police participated (93.16% response rate)

Wave II

  • September 2013 – July 2015
  • 613 Chiefs of police participated (59.69% response rate)

Wave III

  • October 2015 – July 2017
  • 786 Chiefs of police participated (75.29% response rate)

Wave IV (ongoing)

  • September 2017 – July 2019

Total Participants (as of September 2017)

  • 2,320 surveys have been completed over the course of the three waves
  • 1,117 unique agencies have been represented
  • Agency types:
    • Local/municipal (~71.7%)
    • Independent school district (~14.8%)
    • Special jurisdiction (~13.2%)
  • Jurisdictions:
    • 32.0% Urban
    • 27.6% Suburban
    • 40.4% Rural

Products

Wave II Survey Executive Summary

How Chiefs Spend Their Time

Best Practices in Addressing Job Satisfaction, Burnout, and Turnover Among Police Chiefs

Peer-reviewed articles

Brady, P.Q., & King, W. R. (Forthcoming). Brass satisfaction: Identifying the personal and work-related correlates of job satisfaction among police chiefs. Police Quarterly.​

Brinser, K. L., & King, W. R. (2016). Organizational permeability to environmental conditions: Local police agency assessments of threats posed by disasters, accidents, and terrorism. Police Quarterly, 19, 387-409.

Jurek, A. J., Matusiak, M. C., & King, W. R. (Under review). Distal crises as local stimuli in police agencies: A pre- post analysis of changes in the impactfulness [power and influence] of institutional sectors.

Matusiak, M. C. (2016). Dimensionality of local police chiefs’ institutional sovereigns. Policing and Society: An International Journal of Research and Policy, 26, 753–770.

Matusiak, M. C. & Jurek, A. J. (2017). Does agency type matter? A comparison of chiefs’ perceptions of the institutional environment across three agency types. Policing and Society, 1-16.

Matusiak, M. C., King, W. R., & Maguire, E. R. (2016). How perceptions of the institutional environment shape organizational priorities: Findings from a survey of police chiefs. Journal of Crime and Justice, 40.

Dissertations & Theses

Brady, P.Q. (2017). Chief concerns: Identifying the personal and work-related factors associated with job satisfaction, burnout, and turnover intentions among police chiefs. (Doctoral dissertation). Sam Houston State University.

Evans, C. (2014). Homeland security preparedness in Texas municipal police agencies: An empirical analysis. (Master’s thesis). Sam Houston State University.

Falgout, R.L. (2016). Police chiefs’ tolerance of officer misconduct: An empirical inquiry. (Undergraduate Honor’s thesis). Sam Houston State University.

Matusiak, M.C. (2013). The Dimensionality and Effect of Institutional Environment upon Police Leaders. (Doctoral dissertation). Sam Houston State University.

White, K.L. (2017). Police chiefs’ tasks, time, and contingency theory: An empirical examination. (Master’s thesis). Sam Houston State University.

Reports

Jurek, A. J., & King, W. R. (2016). The Texas Chiefs of Police Panel Project: Research summary. Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas. Sam Houston State University.

Jurek, A. J., Matusiak, M. C. & King, W. R. (2017). Local police agency response to distal crises. Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas. Sam Houston State University.

King, W. R., & Campbell, B. A. (2013). The Texas Chiefs of Police Wave I report. Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas. Sam Houston State University.

King, W. R., & Matusiak, M. C. (2012). Texas police chiefs: Preliminary findings from attendees of the Texas Police Chiefs Leadership series. Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas. Sam Houston State University.

King, W. R., Matusiak, M. C., & Campbell, B. A. (2013). Texas Police Chiefs: Findings from attendees of the Texas Police Chiefs Leadership Series, 2011-2013. Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas. Sam Houston State University.

Li, Y. (2017). Executive summary: Police chief turnover in Texas. Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas. Sam Houston State University.

Matusiak, M. C. (2015). Executive Summary: The dimensionality of police agency constituents. Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas. Sam Houston State University.

Presentations

Brady, P.Q., & King, W.R., (2016, September). Chief Concerns: Identifying Correlates of Job Satisfaction Among Texas Law Enforcement Executives. Presented at the Midwest Criminal Justice Association, Chicago.

Brady, P.Q., & King, W.R., (2016, November). Stress and Burnout Among Law Enforcement Executives: A Study. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, New Orleans, LA.

Brinser, K., & King, W. R., (2015, March). Organizational permeability to environmental conditions: Local police agency assessments of disasters and terrorism. Presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Orlando, FL.

Jurek, A. L., Matusiak, M. C., & King, W. R. (2017, March). Local police agency response to distal crises in policing. Paper accepted for presentation at the meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Kansas City, MI.

King, W. R., Matusiak, M. C., & Chism, K. (2012, May). Texas Police Chiefs: Preliminary Findings from attendees of the Texas Police Chiefs Leadership Series. Presented at LEMIT, Huntsville, TX.

Li, Y. (2017, March). Police chief turnover in Texas: Do institutional environments matter? Presented at the meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Kansas City, MO.

Li, Y., & Wells, W. (2015, November). Correlates of police chief turnover in Texas. Presented at the meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Washington, DC.

Matusiak, M. C., & Chism, K. (2012, May). Police and Business/Administration Leadership: A Systematic Review and Comparison of the Literature. Presented at LEMIT, Huntsville, TX.

Matusiak, M. C., & Jurek, A. L. (2016, November). Does agency type matter? A comparison of chiefs’ perceptions of the institutional environment across three agency types. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, New Orleans, LA.

Matusiak, M. C., & King, W. R. (2013, November). The Dimensionality and Effect of Institutional Environment upon Police Leaders. Presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Atlanta, GA.

Shadwick, J. T. (2017, September). An exploration of police chief’s perceptions of internal and external procedural justice. Presented at the meeting of the Midwestern Criminal Justice Association, Chicago, IL.

Wells, W., Schafer, J., & King, W.R. (2016, November). Police Chiefs’ Assessments of Leadership. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, New Orleans, LA.

White, K. L. (2016, September). A time task analysis of local chiefs of police. Presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Criminal Justice Association, Chicago, IL.

White, K. L., and King, W.R. (2016, November). Police chiefs’ tasks, time, and contingency theory: An empirical examination. Presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, New Orleans, LA.