Dans son ouvrage le plus célèbre, The Functions of the Police in Modern Society (1970), il soutient que la police doit être définie par sa capacité à faire usage de la force.
Publications
The Functions of the Police in Modern Society: a Review of Background Factors, Current Practices, and Possible Role Models, Chevy Chase, Md., National Institute of Mental Health Center for Studies of Crime and Delinquency, Crime and delinquency issues, 1970.
« Objectivity and realism in sociology », in G. Psathas (ed.), Phenomenological Sociology, p. 109-125, John Wiley, 1973.
« Florence Nightingale in pursuit of Willie Sutton : A theory of the police », in H. Jacob (ed.), The Potential for Reform of Criminal Justice, Sage Criminal Justice System Annuals, Beverly Hills, California, Sage Publications, 1974, 17-44.
avec Sheldon Krantz, Standards relating to police handling of juvenile problems, recommended by the IJA-ABA Joint Commission on Juvenile Justice Standards, Irving R. Kaufman, chairman, William S. White and Margaret K. Rosenheim, chairmen of Drafting Committee I ; Egon Bittner and Sheldon Krantz, reporters, Cambridge, Mass. : Ballinger Pub. Co., 1977.
Popular interest in psychiatric remedies: A study in social control, New York, Arno Press, 1980 (ISBN978-0405129537).
Aspects of Police Work, Boston, Northeastern University Press, 1990 (ISBN978-1555530693).
« De la faculté d'user de la force comme fondement du rôle de la police », in Les Cahiers de la sécurité intérieure, 3, 221-235, 1991.