A multimethod approach to community evaluation of police performance

The aim of the present study is to examine the ability of police peers and supervisors to predict police street performance, as measured by citizen evaluations of the service received on recent police service calls. One question to be answered was whether there was any correlation between what a police supervisor, a police peer patrol officer, and a citizen percieved as “good” police performance. It was hypothesized that peer patrol officers would more accurately predict the quality of police street performance than would police supervisors. Results supported the hypothesis. An additional finding of the present study related to the feasibility of the evaluation of police street performance by citizen consumers.     

Police service aides: Paraprofessionals for police

Increased professionalization of U.S. police patrol forces has yielded not only higher salaries but, through heightened citizen expectations, greater pressures to provide both more crime-fighting and more call-for-service answering activities. Service calls in particular, requiring diversified skills, have added to patrol workloads. Coming at a time of severe budget constraints, alternatives must be identified and evaluated that focus police skills on police matters and provide for non-law-enforcement services in other ways. Recent experience on one promising alternative resource-police service aides-is summarized here. These paraprofessionals are unarmed but uniformed civilians in marked vehicles who perform non-crime-related activities traditionally assigned to sworn officers. Included is an analysis of their effectiveness in freeing time for sworn officers to pursue crime-fighting activities; their capacity to perform different duties; and their impact on and acceptance by the sworn officers and the community. As in other professions, the introduction of police paraprofessionals will have a major impact on urban services in general and on policing in particular.     

Calling the cops: Police telephone operators and citizen calls for service

Citizen calls for police service represent direct demands on government. It is the job of police phone operators to translate these demands into official, bureaucratically recognized inputs. As “street-level” bureaucrats, police phone operators enjoy considerable discretion in how they recieve, process, and transmit information. Operators screen all calls, categorize the citizen's problem, and by that process they determine much of the initial police response to that call. This article analyzes data on citizen requests and operator responses coded from a sample of over 26,000 phone calls to police in 21 jurisdictions in three metropolitan areas. The data indicate that most citizen calls to police involve the provision of information or assistance, nuisance abatement, traffic problems, or the regulation of interpersonal disputes. Citizen calls cover a wide range of topics, but only about 20 percent involve predatory crime of any type. The typical operator response to the problems described by most citizens was to promise the dispatch of a patrol unit, although this varied by problem type and by the apparent seriousness of the call. Complaint operators seem to follow a decision rule that a patrol unit will always be sent to the scene except in those situations where it is clear that none is needed. The article concludes with a discussion of the possible impact of operator demeanor on policy-community relations.     

The impact of patrol staffing on police-citizen injuries and dispositions

This article examines the impact of one- and two-officer patrol units on police-citizen interactions which resulted in the filing of citizen complaints against the officer(s). Specifically, it is hypothesized that there is no difference between one- and two-officer units (1) in the rate of injuries to officers in hostile police-citizen interactions, (2) in the number of citizen complainant injuries received in such interactions, (3) in the number of resisting arrest-type charges placed against the citizen, and (4) in the type of charge placed against the citizen in the incident. The data indicate that the impact of staffing is felr more by citizens than officers. When controlling for shift and dangerousness of precinct of occurrence, citizens were found to be more likely to be injured in hostile police-citizen encounters than the police, especially when two officers were present. Officers in two-officer units were more likely to arrest the citizen in the incident which precipitated the complaint and the arrest of that citizen was most likely to be for the more serious charge of assaulting an officer. The results suggest that lone officers resolve more disputes without resorting to formal outcomes. The implications of these findings for police patrol strategy are discussed.     

Tennessee Citizen Police Academies: Program and Participant Characteristics

Citizen police academies (CPAs) are popular programs developed by police departments with the twin goals of educating the public about law enforcement and improving police-community relationships. Citizen police academies can help law enforcement agencies by providing them with graduates who may support police departments through volunteering, crime reporting, advocacy, and crime prevention. CPAs may aid citizens by providing them with opportunities to work with the police to make their communities safer. During the course of the citizen police academy, not only will participants have opportunities to learn more about the police depar'tment and their communities, but they may be given opportunities to patrol with police officers, solve mock crime scenes, or attend moot court. This study examines citizen police academies in Tennessee and provides an exploratory investigation of the programs and its participants. Data obtained from 31 police departments indicate CPA programs with more than a 20 year history in Tennessee. Results of a pretest and posttest of 4 citizen police academies’ participants found that attending these programs significantly and positively changed participants’ familiarity with the police chief, local law enforcement, community crime, and the criminal justice system.     

The Responsibility of the Police Command for Street-Level Actions

This article examines federal judicial doctrine concerning the responsibility of police officials for patrol misconduct. The current standard requiring a showing by plaintiffs of an "affirmative link" between street-level action and the intention of commanders is challenged in two ways. First, through the application of organizational analysis to the premises of leading cases in the doctrine, and, second, by considering three suits alleging patterns of patrol misconduct, in which the elements of a new standard of command responsibility can be discerned. The authors argue that a standard based on a strengthened doctrine of respondeat superior will help insure the preservation of due process rights in citizen encounters with the police. The article recommends the imposition of departmental record keeping requirements for personnel evaluations and for allegations and investigations of patrol misconduct. A further recommendation would require departmental regulations on the use of force.     

THE HELPING HAND OF THE LAW: POLICE CONTROL OF CITIZENS ON REQUEST*

This study examines how patrol officers respond to citizens' requests that officers control another citizen—by advising or persuading them, warning or threatening them, making them leave someone alone or leave the scene, or arresting them. Data are drawn from field observations conducted in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1996 and St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1997. Officers granted the request for the most restrictive form of control requested by the citizen in 70% of the 396 observed cases. Several factors were modeled to determine their influence on officers' decisions to grant or deny the most restrictive request. These factors include legal considerations, need, factors that attenuate the impact of law or need, the social relationship between the requester and target of control, and personal characteristics of the officer. Multivariate analysis shows that the most influential factors were legal considerations. When citizens requested an arrest, the likelihood that the police would be responsive dropped considerably. However, as the evidence of a legal violation against the targeted citizen increased, so did the odds of an arrest. Officers were less likely to grant the requests of citizens having a close relationship with the person targeted for control, disrespectful of the police, or intoxicated or mentally ill. The race, wealth, and organization affiliation of citizen adversaries had little impact on the police decision. Male officers, officers with fewer years of police experience, and officers with a stronger proclivity to community policing, had significantly greater odds of giving citizens what they requested. The implications of the findings for research and policy are discussed.     

Does police patrol in large areas prevent crime? Revisiting the Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment

Research Summary

The Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment (KCPPE) was seen by its developers to have produced “consistent evidence of the lack of effects of any consequence on crime,” a conclusion that was to have a strong impact on assumptions about police patrol for almost half a century. We identified the original official crime data from the KCPPE, and reanalyzed outcomes focusing on a comparison of the “proactive” versus “control” beats (“reactive beats” were criticized because of violations of treatment integrity); examining broad categories of crime (to increase statistical power); and using count regression models. Our findings are not unequivocal, but point to modest impacts of police patrol on crime in police beats.

Policy Implications

Our findings suggest that lessons drawn for half a century from the KCPPE need to be revisited. The KCPPE does not show that police patrol in large areas has no influence on crime, and this finding is consistent with several more recent studies. At the same time, we note that the effects of patrol in the KCPPE using our analysis strategy, and those found in other studies of preventive patrol in larger areas, are about half that found in hot spots policing studies. This suggests that police agencies ideally should invest in focused hot spots policing initiatives. However, absent an ability to manage such initiatives, or the crime analysis capabilities to identify crime hot spots routinely, simpler preventive patrol schemes to utilize uncommitted patrol time can be seen as potentially effective in preventing crime.     

Evaluating small town policing: Methodological issues

This research provides helpful information for those who evaluate police performance. While researchers commonly espouse the merit of using more than one form of research police evaluation often involves citizen surveys exclusively. Demographic factors and the “halo effect” can influence police evaluations, particularly in rural communities which are especially vulnerable to political agendas and personal relationships that can skew survey data. Our research finds that while citizens generally evaluate police favorably, a high percentage of “don't know” responses suggest that citizens are not prepared to evaluate all aspects of police services. Furthermore, police evaluator observation reveals that police services were inadequate, both within the organization of the department and the patrol practices. Finally, some questions, not traditionally included in police evaluation surveys reveal high levels of fear among citizens. These inconsistencies question the exclusive use of citizen surveys and may indicate indirect evidence of a “halo effect”. A conscientious effort to combine quantitative and qualitative measures may better capture relevant information concerning the quality of police services. Authors' Note: Loreen Wolfer, Ph.D., and Thomas E. Baker, M.S., M.ED., are Assistant Professors in the Department of Sociology/Criminal Justice, University of Scranton, Scranton, PA 18510. This research was supported by a federal grant, number, ORI# FBI ID # PA 040-2500, U.S. Department of Justice (Office of Community-Oriented Policing Services (COPS). Points of view or opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent the official position of U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice or the COPS office     

Identifying changes in spatial patterns from police interventions: the importance of multiple methods of analysis

The policing initiative of foot patrol was implemented to reduce crime and disorder as well as benefit the relationship between the community and the police in the community of Lower Lonsdale, North Vancouver, British Columbia. In this paper, police incident data are analyzed to evaluate the impact of police foot patrol on the hot spots of crime in this community. Specifically, two spatial analysis techniques (kernel density estimation and local Moran’s I) are used to show how the nuances of changes in spatial crime patterns can emerge when multiple methods of analysis are used.     

The Police Officer Perception Project (POPP): An experimental evaluation of factors that impact perceptions of the police

Objectives

To experimentally evaluate the effects of attire and patrol strategy esthetics on participants’ perceptions of police officers.

Methods

Using a rigorously controlled experimental methodology, I present participants (N = 307) with images of police officers in different attire (i.e., uniform and civilian) and patrol strategies (i.e., on a bicycle, on foot, and in a vehicle) and measure their perceptions of these officers as aggressive, approachable, friendly, respectful, and accountable.

Results

Participants express relatively positive perceptions of the police; however, their perceptions vary as a function of sociodemographics, attire, and patrol strategy. Police officers are generally perceived more favorably when presented in police uniform than when presented in civilian clothing. Police officers are also generally perceived more favorably when presented on a bicycle and/or on foot than when presented in a vehicle.

Conclusions

Merely observing police officers in different attire and patrol capacities produces substantial variation in perceptions of those officers. Given that most ‘police interaction’ occurs in relatively unceremonious settings without any exchange of formal dialogue between the public and the police (e.g., observing a police officer in passing), these findings are particularly fruitful for informing both research and practice. This is the first known study to use an experimental methodology to examine how esthetic factors of different patrol strategies can impact perceptions of the police.

     

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.     

MANAGING CITIZEN CALLS TO THE POLICE: THE IMPACT OF BALTIMORE'S 3‐1‐1 CALL SYSTEM*

Research Summary: Our paper explores the impact of implementing a nonemergency 3‐1‐1 call system in Baltimore, Maryland. We found a large (34.2%) reduction in 9‐1‐1 calls following the introduction of the 3‐1‐1 nonemergency call system. Many, but not all, of these calls simply migrated over to the 3‐1‐1 call system. Overall, we identified a 7.7% reduction in recorded citizen calls to the police post 3‐1‐1 intervention. This recorded reduction in citizen calls was confounded by an increase in high priority calls to the 9‐1‐1 system (27.5%), a large overall reduction in low priority calls (54.3%), and an estimated increase (perhaps 8%) in unrecorded calls to the police. We also note a small increase in response times to high priority 9‐1‐1 calls following the implementation of the 3‐1‐1 call system and virtually no change in the amount of officer time available for community policing or problem‐oriented policing activities. Policy Implications: Our findings suggest that nonemergency call systems, such as 3‐1‐1, can greatly facilitate police efforts to better handle citizen calls for police service. However, the intrinsic value of nonemergency call systems is tightly woven with a police department's willingness to change dispatch policies (especially for those calls received via the 3‐1‐1 system), reallocate patrol resources, and adopt organizational reforms to support alternative methods (apart from dispatch) for handling nonemergency calls for service.     

Just enough police presence: Reducing crime and disorderly behavior by optimizing patrol time in crime hot spots

Using observational data collected as part of a one-year preventive patrol study in Minneapolis, this investigation employs survival models to test hypotheses about the effects of specific instances of police patrol presence at high-crime locations on the time until the next occurrence of criminal or disorderly behavior at these locations. The results show that patrol stops must reach a threshold dosage of about 10 minutes in order to generate significantly longer survival times without disorder — i.e., greater residual deterrence — than that generated by driving through a hot spot. The optimal length for patrol stops appears to be 11 to 15 minutes. After that point, continued police presence brings diminishing returns. The theoretical and policy implications of these results are discussed.     

The influence of job assignment on community engagement: bicycle patrol and community-oriented policing

The purpose of this study is to compare a specialized community-oriented policing (COP) unit to a reactive unit on officer perceptions of public contact and officer perceptions of job performance. We also compare bicycle patrol officers to motor vehicle patrol officers within these units. Using a static group comparison design, questionnaires were distributed to officers within the Toronto Police Service (n = 178). Bicycle patrol is associated with more contacts with the public and higher rates of proactive policing when compared to motor vehicle patrol and bicycle officers are more likely to rate higher on several measures of crime control. Officers with a COP mandate engage with the public for a wider variety of reasons compared to those with a reactive mandate, and are more likely to rate higher on perceptions of performing job duties in a procedurally just manner. This study demonstrates the value of a specialized COP unit that includes bicycle patrol in achieving tenets of COP. It contributes to the literature on COP and the use of bicycle patrol in law enforcement by presenting the perspective of the police officer.     

Assessing the impediments to organizational change: A view of community policing

This article identifies and assesses the impediments to implementing one aspect of community-oriented policing (COP): designated patrol assignments. The research was based on 126 interviews with three different levels of police practitioners (top, middle, and street-level) in three different southwest police departments. While this exploratory study examined several factors that could potentially impede or facilitate change, it was found that individual attitudes towards COP and pressure had the most significant effect on the process of change.     

INVESTIGATING THE NORMATIVE ASPECTS OF PUBLIC POLICY

This article challenges the idea that political philosophy must be of peripheral concern in the study of public policy through an exploration of the concept of harm and the debate over aggressive police patrol. This exploration begins with a brief discussion of the ways the concept of harm figures in the justification and administration of police work. It proceeds through an exposition of differing ways the concept of harm can be defined, the normative overtones of these varying definitions, and some of their policy ramifications with regard to police work. Finally, the way conceptual variation figures in policy debate is explored in the context of the debate over aggressive police patrol—the policy of maximizing the surveillance and criminal interception aspects of police activity as a patrol strategy.     

The urban anti-crime patrol phenomenon: A case study of a student effort

During the past decade Americans have engraved property, joined block watch organizations, and organized anti-crime patrols, often because they believed crime was out of control. In general such efforts tend to be short-lived, progressing from initial enthusiasm to a relatively brief period of operation and eventual death. What are the key factors in this natural history of citizen anti-crime actions? Drawing on interviews of patrol leaders and members, participant observation, an analysis of campus newspaper stories, and responses to open-ended survey items, this paper tries to answer this question by examining a student patrol at Drake University. The research reveals that the campus crime “problem” was largely the product of student newspaper emphasis, the patrol was able to function because the university provided the necessary resources, and participants joined for a variety of motives. The patrol eventually declined, however, because the student newspaper no longer emphasized the crime problem; student participation decreased because of the monotony associated with surveillance and the existence of organizational problems, especially the lack of strong leadership.     

The Salience of Social Contextual Factors in Appraisals of Police Interactions with Citizens: A Randomized Factorial Experiment

Objectives

Prior research indicates that public assessments of the manner in which the police exercise their authority are a key antecedent of judgments about the legitimacy of the police. In this study, the importance of context in influencing people’s assessment of police wrongdoing is examined.

Methods

A randomized factorial experiment was used to test how respondents perceive and evaluate police–citizens interactions along a range of types of situations and encounters. 1,361 subjects were surveyed on factors hypothesized to be salient influences on how citizens perceive and evaluate citizen interactions with police. Subjects viewed videos of actual police–citizen encounters and were asked for their evaluations of these observed encounters. Contextual primes were used to focus subjects on particular aspects of the context within which the encounter occurs.

Results

Structural equation models revealed that social contextual framing factors, such as the climate of police–community relations and the legality of the stop that led to the encounter, influence citizen appraisals of police behavior with effects comparable in size to and even larger than demographic variables such as education, race, and income.

Conclusions

These results suggest that the understandings and perceptions that people bring to a situation are important determinants of their assessment of police fairness. The police can positively influence citizen interpretations of police actions by striving to create a climate of positive police–community relationships in cities.     

THE MANAGEMENT OF VIOLENCE BY POLICE PATROL OFFICERS*

This study examines the dynamics of potentially violent encounters between police and public. It is based on systematic observation of about 350 eight-hour tours of duty by patrol officers in three precincts of New York City during the summer of 1986. It compares the tactics and resulting outcomes found in encounters handled, respectively, by patrol officers believed by their peers to be especially skilled at minimizing violence and a cross section of all other patrol officers. Its major conclusions are (1) violence, even verbal aggression, is relatively rare in police work: (2) most conflict is dampened by the arrival of the police, leaving little scope for the use of defusing tactics: and (3) the behavior of officers judged by colleagues to be skilled in minimizing violence is measurably different from the behavior of “average” patrol officers, and in ways that suggest that colleagues may be good judges of on-street performance.