TY - JOUR
T1 - Making sense of civil service reform
T2 - Policing, politics and power in eugene, oregon during the great depression
AU - Websdale, Neil S.
PY - 1993/2/1
Y1 - 1993/2/1
N2 - In February 1936, a vice scandal rocked the town of Eugene, Oregon, U.S.A. Evidence was produced to show that local police had allowed gambling and prostitution to continue contrary to law. Within a year, civil service rules had been introduced at the Eugene Police Department. These rules ‘reformed’ policing by breaking the direct links between police and ward politicians. By accessing a range of primary source materials including newspapers, oral histories, census data and crime statistics, and, by situating the ‘scandal’ within a broader historical framework, this article explores the ways in which civil service reform might best be understood.
AB - In February 1936, a vice scandal rocked the town of Eugene, Oregon, U.S.A. Evidence was produced to show that local police had allowed gambling and prostitution to continue contrary to law. Within a year, civil service rules had been introduced at the Eugene Police Department. These rules ‘reformed’ policing by breaking the direct links between police and ward politicians. By accessing a range of primary source materials including newspapers, oral histories, census data and crime statistics, and, by situating the ‘scandal’ within a broader historical framework, this article explores the ways in which civil service reform might best be understood.
KW - Civil service
KW - Patronage
KW - Police history
KW - Reform
KW - Rule of law
KW - Vice
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0347190488&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0347190488&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/10439463.1993.9964661
DO - 10.1080/10439463.1993.9964661
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0347190488
SN - 1043-9463
VL - 3
SP - 91
EP - 119
JO - Policing and Society
JF - Policing and Society
IS - 2
ER -