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18 Just. Rsch. & Pol'y 3 (2017)

handle is hein.journals/jcerhadp18 and id is 1 raw text is: Research Article Justice Research and Policy 2017, Vol. 18(1) 3-23 Prev lenc For and© The Author(s) 2017 Prevalence, Form , and Reprints and permission: Funcion of ons lid ted sagepub.com/~journalsPermnissionsnav Function of Consolidated saDOI: 10.1177/152511174107117744349 journals sagepub com/home/jrx Public Safety Departments *SAGE in the United States Jeremy M. Wilson' and Clifford A. Grammich' Abstract Most communities in the United States provide fire and police services through separate departments, but some operate a single consolidated one for police, fire, and, frequently, emergency medical services. The number of such public safety depart- ments has grown in recent years, but little systematic research has been done on them. This article presents results of a census and subsequent survey of public safety departments in the United States to examine their prevalence, form, and function. It reviews characteristics of their distribution, capabilities and structure, staffing and management, budget, and approach to community policing. It concludes by identifying future research needs. Keywords police, fire, public safety consolidation Most communities in the United States provide fire and police services through separate departments. Nevertheless, some, often for reasons of efficiency or cost effectiveness, operate a single consolidated public safety department providing police, fire, and, frequently, emergency medical services (EMS). Such departments, though receiving increasing attention and growing in numbers in recent years, are not new. Previous discourse on them has largely focused on the extent of consolidation and its potential costs and benefits. Possibly because of the lack of comprehensive data on ' School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA Corresponding Author: Jeremy M. Wilson, School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University, 655 Auditorium Road, 560 Baker Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. Email: jwilson@msu.edu

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