Institutions standardize agent behavior and persist beyond any individual

Evidence

In interacting with the public, police officers are acting not only as themselves, but also as extensions and agents of their organizations and as representatives of the state and of the CJS (Camp & Eberhardt, under revision). My colleagues Nicholas Camp and Jennifer Eberhardt write of the power of institutions to “standardize and coordinate the behavior of agents. By promulgating of norms, practices, and formal rules, institutions can exceed the capacities of any one individual and persist over time” (p. 7). — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 397

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains the institutional-agent framework: officers act as extensions of organizations, not just individuals.