An Analysis of Work Environmental Characteristics in Criminal Investigation Departments in Norway : the Significance of General and Situational-Specific Instruments

Abstract

Criminal investigation departments of the 21st century are under pressure due to increasing demands for performance, efficient utilization of resources and quality of police investigation. However, the literature is limited in relation to the assessment of the work environment in criminal investigation departments, and regarding the relationship between the work environment and the quality of police investigation. The current study examined to what extent the general work environment instrument Job Diagnostic Survey and the situational-specific instrument Situational Outlook Questionnaire captured the work environmental characteristics of criminal investigation departments in the Norwegian police force. Additionally, it explored in which degree work environmental features were present in the participants’ accounts of the quality of police investigation. Semi-structured, open-ended interviews were conducted on 51 participants, deriving from 16 police districts. In the analysis, 10 386 statements were coded into the scales of the two work environment instruments, as well as on four organizational levels. The results revealed a significant difference between the two work environment instruments, as the situational-specific work environment instrument SOQ captured significant more statements than the general work environment instrument JDS. Further on, the results demonstrated a significant difference in the participants’ emphasis on the different organizational levels. The present study is an important contribution to the research area and to the organization in question.