Street-level bureaucracy is the subset of a public agency or government institution where the civil servants have direct contact with members of the general public. Street-level civil servants carry out and/or enforce the actions required by a government's laws and public policies, in areas ranging from safety and security to education and social services. A few examples include police officers, border guards, social workers and public school teachers. These civil servants have direct contact with members of the general public, in contrast with civil servants who do policy analysis or economic analysis, who do not meet the public. Street-level bureaucrats act as liaisons between government policy-makers and citizens and these civil servants implement policy decisions made by senior officials in the public service and/or by elected officials.
Street-level bureaucrats interact and communicate with the general public, either in person (as with a police officer doing a random checkpoint to check for drunk driving or a civil servant in a department of transportation who helps people to register a newly purchased car and provide them with licence plates); over the phone (as with a government call center, where civil servants answer phone calls from people who are applying for or receiving unemployment insurance); or, in jurisdictions which have implemented electronic government technologies, via the Internet (e.g., a person finding out about the government's taxation laws by going onto the taxation department's official website and asking questions to a civil servant via email).
Street-level bureaucrats often have some degree of discretion on how they enforce the rules, laws and policies which they are assigned to uphold. For example, a police officer who catches a speeding motorist typically can decide whether to give the driver a warning or apply a penalty such as a fine or criminal charge; a border guard who finds undeclared rum in a border-crossing motorist's car trunk can either give the person a warning, confiscate and destroy the contraband item, or levy a fine or other penalty; a government social worker who meets with an unemployed person can decide whether or not to provide social assistance or unemployment insurance benefits; and a high school principal who finds that a student is skipping school can decide whether or not to suspend the person, taking into account the student's unique circumstances and situation. Even though front-line bureaucrats have this degree of discretion, they typically must operate within the rule of law, the system of government regulations, laws and administrative procedural rules. These regulations, laws and rules help to ensure that the street-level bureaucracy operates fairly and ethically, and that each citizen is treated fairly.
History The concept of street-level bureaucracy was first coined by Michael Lipsky in 1969,Lipsky, Michael (1969). Toward a Theory of Street-Level Bureaucracy (IRP Discussion Papers No. 48-69) (p. 45). Madison, WI: Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP), University of Wisconsin. Retrieved from http://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/dps/pdfs/dp4869.pdf who argued that "policy implementation in the end comes down to the people [(the street-level bureaucrats)] who actually implement it". However, the process of street-level bureaucracy has been around for a much longer period. A "government will be better accepted if its administrators [e.g., bureaucrats] reflect the origins [and needs] of its people",Cooke, Scott A.; Klay, William Earle. "George Washington's Precedents: The Institutional Legacy of the American Republic's Founding Public Administrator". Administration & Society 2015: 75-91. Online. an ideal which embodies the goals of an effective street-level bureaucracy in America. Some of the first street-level bureaucrats in the US were post office officials and administrators. The presidency of Woodrow Wilson helped to spur a large growth in public administration and government policy-making, which in turn led to larger-sized and better-funded street-level bureaucracies. However it was not until the 1950s with the baby boom that street level bureaucracy became as strong as a presence in society as it is today.
Lipsky describes street level bureaucrats as the "human face" of policy, since these individuals interact directly with citizens.Lipsky, Michael. Street-level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation, 1980. Print. The history of street-level bureaucracy follows the history of policy development and the scope of government in America, with areas with larger populations and more government policies employing more public servants (e.g., Chicago which employs 26,680 teachers). Due to street-level bureaucrats' close interactions with citizens, day-to-day application of discretion in their assessment of people's cases and issues, and their role as policy interpreters, Lipsky claims that "in a sense the street-level bureaucrats implicitly mediate aspects of the constitutional relationship of citizens to the state. In short, they hold the keys to a dimension of citizenship."Lipksy, Michael. Street-level Bureaucracy. N.p.: n.p., 1980. Print. The interpretation of the duties, scope, and responsibilities of street-level bureaucrats are still debated in the 2000s, with ongoing discussion on the roles of discretion, accountability, lack of resources, and technology and concerns raised about the risks of corruption.
Demand and need Where there is population growth, there is usually growth in demand for these occupations, because there are more citizens who need public services. The demand for these occupations will vary by region but generally, the job outlook in these careers is on the rise in many countries and/or regions where there is an increase in population.
Education In the United States' education sector there is a strong demand for teachers in numerous regions across the country. There are currently fifty-one "hot spots" with a demand for educators in these regions. Amongst these fifty-one hot spots, five of the regions are with an incredible need for educators in both the primary and secondary education sector. The areas of desperate need include: Las Vegas, Nevada; the Northern region of Oklahoma; Kansas City, Missouri; the Central region of Arkansas; and the Western region of Mississippi.
Police The demand for police officers is another occupation that will experience growth over the next ten years. Because urbanized and metropolitan regions are amongst the fastest growing in the United States, that is generally where the demand for these individuals will be.
Firefighters Firefighters are another case in protective services where an increase in demand is expected over the next decade. A seven percent increase in career outlook is to be expected by the year 2022.
Social workers The demand for social workers has an average growth rate in the United States. With a general population increase social workers are needed in all areas of the career field. The demand for social workers is extremely high. The national average for growth in all careers stands at eleven percent, while a projected nineteen percent increase in social work is needed to fulfill the sectors responsibility to the general public.
Street-level bureaucrat Number of employees—2012 Projected work force—2022 Percentage growth Police 780,000 821,000 5% Firefighters 307,000 372,300 7% Teachers 1,361,200 1,529,100 12% Social workers 607,000 721,500 19%
Problems
Corruption and accountability Corruption in street-level bureaucracy is a violation of the ethical codes of conduct, laws and regulations that have been established by the government and its agencies. An example of corruption would be cases where a police officer or border guard accepted a bribe from a member of the public in return for not enforcing a law or regulation. There are many agencies which define and interpret what is acceptable ethical behavior and what is not. Violation of these rules or ethical codes of conduct by street-level bureaucrats has repercussions that effect not only the person or agency involved, but also the general public that these street-level bureaucracies serve. Neutrality and impartiality in following policies and procedures is what is expected and most remain separate from person feelings or views. Here is a link to a social work case that let personal feelings override their ethical responsibility.
Another example for corruption in street-level bureaucracy are black market payments for doctors and nurses, as part of the shadow economy. The term "black market medicine" refers to a variety of illegal actions that individuals take in order to obtain healthcare services for themselves. Such actions include direct payments to doctors in government hospitals to improve one's position on the waiting list (especially for surgeries) or payments to doctors so they will treat the patient personally.
According to Lipsky, many of these street-level bureaucrats will "often spend their work lives in these corrupted world of service... doing the best they can in adverse circumstances" This can highlight the inherent problems associated with the public policy-making process.Lipsky, M. (2010) Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services. New York City: Russell Sage Foundation
Accountability is the means by which these codes are upheld and to ensure moral and ethical practices within these bureaucratic agencies. There is much debate over the methodology of how exactly these agencies should be held accountable. Accountability is divided into five categories: transparency, liability, controllability, responsibility, and responsiveness.
Two major accountability processes are compliance based and performance based. "Traditionally, accountability has involved defining rules and procedures and then employing various means to ensure compliance with these expectations" Performance-based practices rely on standardized processes that measure performance in terms of output and results. Yet compliance based, and performance based accountability has limitations for measuring the efficiency, effectiveness, equity, and economy of the bureaucracy. Furthermore, accountability stems from a multidimensional perspective, which includes the general public the bureaucracy serves, peers and co-workers, office managers, public administrators, and elected officials.
Discretion
Discretion can be defined as a component in the decision making process that determines an individual's action or non-action. Carrington divides discretion into two major components as the freedom the decision maker has to choose between different actions; and the decision to act or not act through the rules and judgment of the decision maker. Michael Lipsky states street level bureaucrats have discretion because human judgment is in the nature of service work that machines could not replace. Street level bureaucrats are responsible for making appropriate decisions that are appropriate for clients and their situations. Lipsky states all street level bureaucrats will confront situations in which they need to depart from service ideals in order to cope with both expectations from their jobs and the public ideals.