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
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Sam Houston State University

Kayla L. White
Master’s Student
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.
Associate Professor
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Sam Houston State University

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 (ongoing)
  • October 2015 – July 2017
  • 393 Chiefs of police participated (as of September 2016; 72.77% response rate)
Wave IV (beginning Fall 2017)
Total Participants (as of September 2016)
  • 1,932 Chiefs of police have responded over the course of the three waves
  • 1,042 unique agencies have been represented
  • Agency types:
    • Local/municipal (~71.6%)
    • Independent school district (~14.2%)
    • Special jurisdiction (~13.9%)
  • Jurisdictions:
    • 33.2% Urban
    • 26.7% Suburban
    • 40.0% Rural

Products

Peer-reviewed articles

 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, 4: 387-409.

 Jurek, A. J., Matusiak, M. C., & King, W. R. (Under review). Local police agency response to distal crises: 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(7), 753–770.

 Matusiak, M. C. & Jurek, A. J. (Under review). Does agency type matter? A comparison of chiefs’ perceptions of the institutional environment across three agency types.

 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, 1-15. doi: 10.1080/0735648X.2016.1155302

Dissertations & Theses

 Brady, Patrick Q. (In progress). Chief concerns: Exploring correlates of burnout and turnover intentions among law enforcement executives. (Doctoral dissertation). Sam Houston State University.

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 (Unpublished Master’s thesis).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

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 (Unpublished undergraduate Honor’s thesis).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

 Matusiak, Matthew C. (2013). The Dimensionality and Effect of Institutional Environment upon Police Leaders. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX.

 White, Kayla L. (In progress). How chiefs spend their time: An analysis of Texas Police Chiefs. (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.

 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.

 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.

 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.

 Wells, W.M., 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.