Vinzant, Janet Coble : Arizona State University Main
Janet Coble Vinzant is an associate professor in the School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University.
Crothers, Lane : Illinois State University
Lane Crothers is an assistant professor of political science at Illinois State University.
Summary
Examining public service from the perspective of the worker, this book provides a new framework for understanding
the roles and responsibilities of front-line public servants and assessing the appropriateness of their actions.
Public employees who work at street level face some of the most intractable, pervasive, and complex problems in
contemporary society. Drawing on more than 1500 hours of observation of police officers and social service workers
in four states, this book explores the types of situations they confront, the factors they consider, and the hard
choices they make. Presenting numerous cases of how these individuals acted in various situations, the authors
show how public servants translate the expectations of administrators and others into legitimate street-level action.
Vinzant and Crothers propose the concept of leadership as a positive and realistic framework for understanding
what these public servants do and how they can successfully meet the daily challenges of their very difficult and
complex jobs. They show how changing the theory and language we use to describe street-level work can encourage
decisions that are responsive both to the needs of the clients being served and to the broader community's need
for accountability. They also examine how street-level leadership can change the way agencies recruit, train, and
manage these employees and how society defines their role in governance. This book offers valuable insights for
those working in or studying public administration, policy analysis, criminal justice, and social work.