Exploring officers' acceptance of community policing: Implications for policy implementation

Organizations interested in implementing community policing should be cognizant of the attitudes of line officers toward this policy due to the fact line officers are responsible for implementing community policing on the street level. Successful implementation of organizational change may rely on identifying individuals who are most supportive of community policing. What remains unclear is what factors are related to officers' acceptance of community policing. This research examined the factors related to acceptance of the community policing philosophy. Surveys were administered at roll calls by researchers to a total of 445 officers of all departmental ranks. It was found that officers who supported informal problem-solving tactics perhaps involving agencies outside the police department, and officers who were non-White were more likely to support concepts of community policing. At the same time, several factors, which presumed to be related to community policing, did not materialize, including previous work on structured problem-solving projects, rank, education, and desire for autonomy. Explanations and policy implications are discussed.     

Will ‘broken windows policing’ work in Trinidad and Tobago? A critical perspective on zero tolerance and community policing in a multi-ethnic society

Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) is a multi-ethnic Caribbean nation currently experiencing problems with disorder and violent crime. In response, practitioners have considered the merits of introducing broken windows policing. This article examines the literature on zero tolerance policing, also known as ‘broken windows policing,’ and explores the dangers of potentially harmful interpretations of this approach, particularly in the context of racial and political conflict in a developing society. It also explores whether broken windows can be effective in T&T, where there is social unrest and declining public support for police. Based on prior research, it is suggested that broken windows policing, when incorporated with targeted problem-solving approaches, could be successful in reducing crime in the short-term. Several problem-solving strategies that were effective in New York City and other American cities are also recommended. It is suggested that community-oriented policing strategies designed to increase citizens’ trust and confidence in police be properly implemented before the adoption of any of these problem-solving strategies.     

Investigating perceptions of race and ethnic diversity among prospective police officers

Many have suggested police diversity will improve police-community relations, but research testing this hypothesis is inconclusive. We investigated perceptions of police race, ethnicity, and diversity in a heterogeneous sample of prospective police officers. Data are drawn from interviews with 42 criminal justice college students in the Southwestern United States, of which 15 were Hispanic, and who each wanted to become a police officer. Participants supported diversity in policing, and collectively expressed a belief that race plays a central role in policing today. Furthermore, participants expressed support for the ideals of both passive and active representative bureaucracy. Hispanics in the sample in particular anticipated they would positively affect police relations in Hispanic neighborhoods and encourage immigrants to cooperate with police.     

Exploring officer views of community policing in counterterrorism

Abstract

Recently there has been increased emphasis on actionable intelligence in counterterrorism. Building from the process-based model of regulation, police chiefs and scholars generally agree that community policing has promise in this regard. Yet, it is not clear the extent to which police officers concur. Since officers are in a position to implement community policing practices, it is important to understand variants in officer-level support. Using data collected from 741 officers in three departments, this project explores officer-level views of community policing’s utility to address terrorism and more common crimes. Overall, officers view community policing as appropriate to address both common crimes and terrorism. Results suggest that department-level policy itself is not the key driver of support. Rather, an officer’s own experience with community policing and support for the practice in general determine views on community policing in counterterrorism. Results also highlight the importance of comparative research across departments.     

Race and Officer Decision Making: Examining Differences in Arrest Outcomes between Black and White Officers

Since the 1960s, one of the major reform efforts in law enforcement has been to increase the number of Black Americans within police agencies and on patrol in the streets. The general premise behind these efforts has been that increased diversity will improve police–community relations and will decrease biased police behavior, particularly against Black citizens. Policies seeking to reform policing through increasing the numbers of African American officers have been implemented with little empirical evidence that an officer's race (or ethnicity) is actually related to their behavior towards citizens, in particular arrest decisions. Using data from systematic social observations of police–citizen encounters in Cincinnati, OH, this study examines the influence of officer race on arrest outcomes, focusing on the behavior of Black officers. Findings suggest that officer race has direct influence on arrest outcomes and there are substantive differences between White and Black officers in the decision to arrest. In general, White officers in our study were more likely to arrest suspects than Black officers, but Black suspects were more likely to be arrested when the decision maker was a Black officer.     

Tension on the thin blue line: Police officer resistance to community-oriented policing

While over 60% of police agencies in the United States are either implementing or planning for community policing (Annan, 1995), actual implementation of community policing practices is disjointed and has produced more problems than solutions. One such problem is the resistance among officers to the philosophy itself. In a study of the orientations of noncommunity policing officers in the largest public safety department in the US, it is determined that elements of the organizational culture of the police agency are not significant predictors of support for the community policing philosophy. Rather, individual orientations toward citizen involvement in crime prevention and job involvement are predictors of officer support. Implications for police managers are discussed.     

Effect of racial misclassification in police data on estimates of racial disparities

Research on race and policing increasingly draws upon data collected by police officers to estimate racial disparities in police contact. Many of these data sets, however, rely on officer perception of a stopped person's race, which may be inconsistent with how those individuals self-identify. Furthermore, researchers frequently benchmark contact data where race is perceived by police officers against census and survey data where race is self-identified. We argue that discordance between how individuals self-identify and how they are classified by officers can bias estimates of racial disparities. Using a unique data set, which allows us to compare officers’ racial classification of stopped persons with those same persons’ racial self-identification, we characterize rates of racial misclassification in administrative police records. We find evidence of racial misclassification in police records, especially among Hispanic and Asians/Pacific Islanders. We find that officer classification of Hispanics as (non-Hispanic) White is the most common form of racial misclassification in our sample and that its substantive consequences are significant. Specifically, we find that officer classification of Hispanics as White may lead analysts to incorrectly conclude that Hispanics are no more likely than Whites to be cited by police.     

College students’ perceptions of police use of force: do suspect race and ethnicity matter?

Incidents of police use of force continue to draw a considerable amount of attention from both researchers and the public alike. The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between suspect race and ethnicity and perceptions of police use of force among college students. Using a vignette research design with manipulated independent variables, this study seeks to answer the question: Do suspect race and ethnicity affect college students’ perceptions of police use of force? Three vignettes were developed regarding an incident in which an encounter between a suspect and a police officer resulted in the officer using force. College students were randomly assigned to one of the three vignettes and were asked to complete a questionnaire. Results indicate that although suspect race and ethnicity do not predict perceptions of police use of force among college students, there are significant respondent race and gender effects. Male and white respondents are significantly more likely to perceive police use of force as justified compared to female and non-white respondents. The policy implications of these findings for police-citizen interactions are discussed.     

Attitudes of College Students Toward Women in Policing

Attitudes toward women in policing among undergraduate college students were examined. The findings revealed that feminist orientation was the most consistent predictor of support for women in policing, with academic major also having a significant influence. Gender, race/ethnicity, classification in school (i.e., academic year), and support for the police were generally not significant predictors. Separate analyses completed for men and women indicated that there was some difference in the factors that predicted support for women in policing. Implications of the research are discussed.     

Repairing the Divide

Abstract

In this paper, we use responses from a 1998 Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) survey to investigate how the concept of community policing and the individual strategies associated with this public safety policy shape African American, Latino, and white perceptions of police officers. Community policing exerted differential effects on Latino, African American, and white perceptions of the police. Despite intentions to improve police-minority relations, community policing most strongly and positively affects whites' perceptions of neighborhood police. Both the public pronouncement and actual tactics of community policing had a greater impact on white perceptions of the police than they did for Latino and African American views toward the police, even though community policing also fulfills its promise to reduce tensions between the police and racial and ethnic minorities. Understanding the differences among African Americans, Latinos, and whites is critical to the evolution of community policing policies. Recognizing the importance of these differences, instead of adopting a “one size fits all” approach, puts the police and community members in a position to better realize the potential benefits of community policing.     

The irony of broken windows policing: A micro-place study of the relationship between disorder, focused police crackdowns and fear of crime

In their seminal “Broken Windows” article in Atlantic Monthly, J. Q. Wilson and G. L. Kelling (1982) suggested that police could more effectively fight crime by targeting minor offenses. They hypothesized that untended disorder increases fear of crime in a community, starting a chain of events that eventually leads to heightened levels of crime. By targeting disorder, police can thus circumvent this cycle of neighborhood decline (Skogan, 1990). This study aimed to improve knowledge of the relationship between disorder and fear of crime in the context of the broken windows hypothesis by using a micro-place level research design involving a police crackdown on disorder and minor crime at hot spots. The results of the current study suggest that perceived social disorder and observed levels of physical disorder have a strong impact on fear of crime. This confirms the relationship between disorder and fear hypothesized by the broken windows literature, and implies that police may be able to reduce fear of crime by reducing disorder. It was also found, however, that the police intervention itself significantly increased the probability of feeling unsafe. Accordingly, any fear reduction benefits gained by reducing disorder may be offset by the fact that the policing strategies employed simultaneously increase fear of crime. These findings suggest the importance of a careful focus on “how” broken windows policing programs are implemented. Such programs must be geared not only to reduce disorder, but also to prevent increases in citizen fear that accompany crackdowns and other intensive enforcement efforts associated with broken windows policing.     

Differences in Perceptions of Organizational Fairness Based on Job Characteristics among Police Officers

Profuse research supports that organizational work environments are linked to varying police officers’ work-related attitudes and behaviors. Yet, there remains a lack of information pertaining to how perceptions of organizational fairness may differ among police officers based on job characteristics. To help fill this void, this exploratory research examines differences in fairness perceptions based on officers’ tenure, rank, duty assignment, and department size with their perceptions of organizational fairness. To examine this relationship, an online survey of police officers (n = 1649) in a southern state in the United States that were members of a police officer association was conducted. Findings support that differences in overall fairness perceptions exist for all the aforementioned job characteristics. This study furthers our knowledge and understanding of how job characteristics (e.g., tenure, rank, duty assignment, and department size) may be associated with police officers’ work-related attitudes.     

Police use of force: an examination of the minority threat perspective

The minority threat perspective suggests that the criminal justice system may be one mechanism through which the majority group (i.e. Whites) maintains control of culturally dissimilar minority groups. Although numerous studies have examined the relationship between minority representation and various policing outcomes, few have extended this research to police use of force in the context of stop-and-frisk practices. Using stop, question, and frisk data from the New York Police Department, this study examines (1) whether racial and ethnic composition influences police use of force, and (2) whether an individual’s race/ethnicity interacts with the racial/ethnic composition of a police precinct to produce disparities in police use of force. The results provide partial support for the minority threat perspective.     

Determinants of citizen support for community-oriented policing

The extent to which community members are willing to cooperate with the police and become involved with various community crime prevention programs depends on citizen perceptions of the police and of the community in which they reside. The purpose of the present study is to explore factors that affect support for community policing in a small rural city. Findings revealed that the majority of respondents supported community policing. Using community survey data collected from over 400 citizens in a small metropolitan area in the intermountain West, this study also explored the importance of demographic factors, community characteristics, and public perceptions and experiences with police in predicting citizens’ support for community policing. Citizen support for community-oriented policing varied somewhat by demographic factors (i.e., gender, education), and by community characteristics (i.e., disorder, social cohesion).     

Police Manipulations of Crime Reporting: Insiders’ Revelations

Social scientists have theorized about the corruption of crime reports (Bayley, 1983; Campbell, 1976). Yet, scant empirical research has examined the impact of modern policing methods on the accuracy of crime reporting. Our research uses an anonymous survey of 1,770 retired New York City police officers examining retirees’ experiences with crime report manipulations across their years of retirement. This includes retirees from the community policing as well as police performance management eras. We subject the data to various statistical tests including tabular analysis, graphical trends to visualize the data, MANOVA, and logistic regression to explain report manipulations. Results indicate that the misuse of the performance management system and pressures on officers from management are key explanations for manipulating crime reports. Individual explanatory variables such as gender, educational status, rank, race, and marital status had no effect. Our research supports Bayley’s and Campbell’s theories. We recommend greater transparency to remedy this.     

Effect of broken windows enforcement on clearance rates

Originating in the New York City Transit System, “broken windows” enforcement has become a widely implemented policing strategy. Research testing the effectiveness of focused enforcement upon minor offenses and “uncivil” behaviors, however, has been inconclusive. There has been no study which has addressed broken windows enforcement as an explanatory factor for clearance rates. Most previous research on clearance rates were completed more than two decades ago, well before the implementation of structured broken windows enforcement. Utilizing official crime data for the thirty-five largest municipal police agencies in Texas from 1990 through 2004, this research examined the relationship between broken windows enforcement and clearance rates for UCR Part I offenses. Using hierarchical multivariate linear modeling (HMLM) analysis to capitalize upon the longitudinal characteristics of the data allowed examination of the influence of broken windows enforcement across a wide spectrum of agencies over a long time period.Broken windows enforcement showed inconsistent results across the different crime types. Broken windows enforcement had a positive impact on the clearance rates for burglaries and a marginal impact on auto theft clearance rates. In the case of larceny clearance, greater levels of broken windows arrests actually had a negative relationship. For all of the offense categories, the number of sworn officers was negatively related to the clearance rates. Crime per officer measures showed negative significant effect on the clearance rates for the property offense categories.     

Traffic Stop Encounters: Officer and Citizen Race and Perceptions of Police Propriety

The continued legacy of racism and discrimination contribute to racial and ethnic differences in attitudes about the police. This research investigates citizen reports of proper police behavior during traffic stops to understand how officer/citizen race and ethnic pairs influence reports of impropriety. Analysis of 6,301 citizen reports of traffic stop encounters with the police from a unique national survey reveals that net of other important explanatory variables, African-Americans are less likely than whites to report proper police behavior when they encounter officers of any race. In addition, citizen reports indicate that the white/black and black/white officer/citizen encounters are significantly less likely to result in a report of proper police behavior than the white/white officer/citizen pairing. The results show limited support for the importance of citizen race and officer/citizen pairs in determining perception of police behavior.     

Switching on,switching off: reflections of a practitioner researcher examining the operational behaviour of police officers

ABSTRACT

Evidence-based policing is rapidly becoming adopted by policing agencies among policing jurisdictions. Many academic programmes have been established in higher education to train police managers in applied criminology. However, there is a lack of literature for police officer practitioner researchers (POPR) who might undertake qualitative research, especially research projects that examine police behaviour. This paper reflects on the changing role of the practitioner-researcher and suggests that police officers undertaking qualitative research need to learn to ‘switch off their police role’ and ‘switch on their researcher role’. The author’s insights are drawn from his own experience of qualitative fieldwork working with police officers from New Zealand Police and South Australian Police.     

Race,Immigration, and Policing: Chinese Immigrants’ Satisfaction with Police

A considerable body of research focuses on racial and ethnic minorities’ perceptions of police, yet non-Black, non-Hispanic minority groups, Asians in particular, are largely overlooked. Meanwhile, despite a fast growing immigrant population and the increasing demand on local police to enforce immigration law, research on police–immigrant relations remains limited. Using data from over 400 Chinese immigrants, this study examines the issues of race/ethnicity, immigration, and policing with a focal concern on Chinese immigrants’ attitudes toward police. Results indicate that the majority of Chinese immigrants rate police positively in overall performance and specific areas of effectiveness, integrity, and demeanor. Both universal and immigrant-specific factors are important predictors of immigrants’ attitudes. Chinese immigrants’ evaluations of police are not only affected by exposure to media coverage of police misconduct, neighborhood conditions, and city context, but also are intertwined with their opinions of their home country police and perceptions of US immigration authorities.     

Procedural Justice and Order Maintenance Policing: A Study of Inner‐City Young Men’s Perceptions of Police Legitimacy

There is tension between the core tenets of procedural justice and those of order maintenance policing. Research has shown that citizens’ perceptions of procedural justice influence their beliefs about police legitimacy, yet at the same time, some order maintenance policing efforts stress frequent stops of vehicles and persons for suspected disorderly behavior. These types of programs can threaten citizens’ perceptions of police legitimacy because the targeted offenses are minor and are often not well‐defined. Citizens stopped for low‐level offenses may view such stops as a form of harassment, as they may not believe they were doing anything to warrant police scrutiny. This paper examines young men’s self‐described experiences with this style of proactive policing. Study findings highlight that order maintenance policing strategies have negative implications for police legitimacy and crime control efforts via their potential to damage citizens’ views of procedural justice.