The neighborhood enhancement team: Contemporary initiatives in community-oriented policing

Determined to combat high levels of crime in two neighborhoods, a southern city implemented the Neighborhood Enhancement Team (NET) to focus on gang and drug activity through a combination foot and bicycle patrol. With the support and assistance of the community and its various agencies, the program's initiatives and outcomes have been successful. Compared to arrest rates before the implementation of NET, the communities experienced declining arrest numbers far surpassing those of national trends: The total number of arrests for these two communities over the first five years of NET implementation declined by 40%. Furthermore, the annual arrest numbers are continuing their downward trend. Since the inception of the NET program, many youth are now choosing alternatives to gang affiliations, and as a result, social order is returning to the communities. It is the purpose of this article to delineate those initiatives and present findings of the outcomes. Authors' Note: Ferris Byxbe, Ph.D., is Associate Professor, Director of Criminal Justice and Graduate Coordinator, in the Division of Social Sciences, Criminal Justice Program, Delta State University, Cleveland, MS 38733. Philip Carlan, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work & Criminal Justice, University of North Alabama, Florence.     

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.     

Awareness of community-oriented policing and neighborhood perceptions in five small to midsize cities

Although past research in large urban areas showed that community-oriented policing (COP) had a positive effect on citizens' views of the police and their neighborhood, very little was known about its impact on citizen perceptions in smaller cities. In the present study, multiple-regression was used to analyze survey data from 524 respondents in five small cities or towns in North Carolina to examine the success of local police departments in disseminating information about their COP program. The association between resident awareness of COP and their ratings of police/community relations, self-protection strategies, fear of crime, and community integration was also assessed. Police agencies in each city implemented COP at least one year before the survey. Results indicated that 20-50 percent of residents were aware of community policing efforts in their neighborhoods, but most did not participate in these efforts. Awareness of COP was associated with greater self-protection efforts, lower fear of crime, and stronger feelings of community attachment, controlling for demographic, perceptions of neighborhood problems, and victimization. Awareness of COP also had a stronger association with the outcome variables compared to a more traditional policing strategy, perceived visibility. The implications of these findings for COP programs, especially for small to midsize cities, are discussed in the Conclusion.     

Race and repeats: The impact of officer performance on racially biased policing

This study explored the impact of the repeat phenomenon on racial disparities in police motor vehicle stops. The repeat phenomenon is the existence of a small proportion of people or places (officers, citizens, places, victims) that account for a much larger proportion of events. While this phenomenon has been identified and discussed in other areas of criminal justice and criminology, little attention has been given to its existence in officer behavior. This study examined the impact of repeat officers on the level of racial disparity in a population of motor vehicle stops in a midwestern city during a portion of the year 2001. Results indicated that officer performance has a significant impact on the level of racial disproportionality in motor vehicle stops. Areas of future research addressing possible theoretical explanations for racial disparity in motor vehicle stops are also explored.     

Spousal violence: Police officer attitudes and arrest response

Conclusion On the 15 propositions, three propositions were found to support the general hypothesis. The findings indicate that as police officers showed an increase in attitudes supporting spousal violence the following occurred: (a) “frequent calls for police assistance from the household” became less important to police officers who were deciding to arrest; (b) “Jail overcrowding” became more important to police officers who were deciding not to arrest; and (c) “participant’s first encounter with the police” became more important to police officers who were deciding not to arrest. The other 12 propositions did not support the general hypothesis which suggested that the priority of all extralegal factors would relate to the ABUSE score.     

The thin blue line meets the big blue sky: perceptions of police legitimacy and public attitudes towards aerial drones

Police departments across the United States are now integrating new visual monitoring technology (e.g. unmanned aerial vehicles [UAVs or ‘drones’], body cameras) into routine police practices. Despite their potential use in multiple areas of proactive and reactive policing, public attitudes toward police use of UAVs, and visual monitoring technology overall, is mixed. As an extension of previous research, the current study uses a national survey to assess how well individuals’ perceptions about police legitimacy, effectiveness, and other criminal justice attitudes predict the level of public receptivity and opposition toward police UAV use in various contexts. The implications of these findings for public policy and law enforcement practices are discussed.     

Occupational stress and the line correctional officer

Stress is clearly a part of the human condition, especially in today’s crowded and complex society. In the criminal justice system in particular, occupational stress can be seen to be a problem for its employees. The present study examined aspects of stress for the line correctional officer, utilizing a number of approaches. Situations perceived as stressful were identified by interviews conducted with correctional officers. Information was then gathered by interviewing a second sample as to the types of coping responses available to correctional officers in these situations. The results indicated that officers reported periodic work overload, the handling of promotions, and conflicts with supervisors and initiates to be the most stressful situations. Correctional officers also indicated that in most of the stressful situations generated, there were few coping responses available to them, and that they had little or no control over these situations. Since most of the situations presented to correctional officers resulted in no constructive coping responses, the hypothesis was advanced that correctional officers who stay on the job develop cognitive coping processes in order to handle stressful situations. Furthermore, correctional officers tended to deny the stresses of the occupation and consequently experience feelings of helplessness and alienation.     

Police supervision on the street: An analysis of supervisor/officer interaction during the shift

This article examines a major assumption of street supervisors in police agencies—that control of police officer behavior is dependent on strict hierarchical organization. The intellectual roots of this assumption are examined, and an emerging perspective developed from direct observation of patrol operations is presented. The research questions are addresses with data that were collected from observations of patrol activities in 60 residential neighborhoods in 24 agencies. The analysis, which is referenced to officers' shifts of duty, shows that the effect of supervision is in the direction posited by the authors of traditional police administration texts, but the magnitude of the effect is not overly strong. The findings are used to inform the evaluation of a common policy option directed at improving officer performance through supervision.     

Procedural justice in policing: the first phase of an Australian longitudinal study of officer attitudes and intentions

Despite the prominent role that procedural justice has taken in policing research, we know surprisingly little about police perceptions of procedural justice as an effective tool in their encounters with members of the public. In this study, we start with a focus on the perceptions of police recruits in a major police service, exploring their perceptions of procedural justice and its role in policing. Using data from a questionnaire of 450 police recruits in the early stages of their initial training, we find that orientations supportive of procedural justice significantly predict reported intentions to use procedural justice approaches in interacting with others, as well as the prioritization of procedural justice responses to a typical policing encounter (traffic violation). We also find that belief in an obligation to obey the law is significantly associated with perceived procedural justice outcomes. We argue that early supportive orientations towards procedural justice may be important in understanding police officers’ future interactions with members of the public, promoting positive evaluations of justice among citizens, and minimizing the risk of coercive encounters involving officer use of force.     

Police culture,individualism, and community policing: Evidence from two police departments

According to the conventional wisdom, the police culture consists of a set of values, attitudes, and norms that are widely shared among officers, who find in the culture a way to cope with the strains of their working environment. Some research implies that the conventional wisdom is overdrawn, and recent research has begun to question it more directly. Changes in the composition (i.e., the race, sex, and education) of police personnel, as well as philosophical and organizational changes associated with community policing, could be expected to further fragment police culture and to shift the distribution of police attitudes. Here we examine variation in outlooks that, according to conventional wisdom, are part of the police culture, using survey data collected in two police departments. We also examine the relationships between these outlooks and characteristics of officers—sex, race, education, length of service, community-policing training, and community-policing specialist assignment—that are associated with the changes in policing. We find that officers' outlooks do not conform to the pattern that we would expect on the basis of conventional wisdom. We also find that the variation in officers' occupational attitudes is not patterned to a great extent by their characteristics. We conclude with directions for future research on police attitudes.     

Police officer perceptions of the impact of Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) programs

The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program is an approach for law enforcement officers to safely response to individuals who are experiencing a mental health crisis. Research must identify the components of CIT that are instrumental to the overall effectiveness of the program. For instance, recent studies report that CIT may have a transformative effect on officers' attitudes by increasing exposure to and familiarity with mental illness. This study explores this possibility further by examining 57 CIT officers' experiences with mental illness and attitudes about CIT. Specifically, we assessed how personal and professional exposure to mental illness associates with officers' perceptions about CIT generally, as well as with opinions about the officers' confidence in their abilities and the perceived effectiveness of the police department in responding to individuals in mental health crisis. Our findings indicate that CIT is rated very positively by officers. We found that officers' attitudes about the impact of CIT on improving overall safety, accessibility of services, officer skills and techniques, and the preparedness of officers to handle calls involving persons with mental illness are positively associated with officers' confidence in their abilities or with officers' perceptions of overall departmental effectiveness. There is further evidence that personal contact with individuals with mental illness affects the relationship between attitudes that CIT impacts overall safety and perceived departmental effectiveness. The results of this exploratory study underscore the importance of CIT officers' perceptions of key elements of CIT and the role of exposure to mental illness in examining program effectiveness.     

Walking the line: Specialized and standard probation officer perspectives on supervising probationers with serious mental illnesses

Specialized probation programs were developed to more effectively address the unique needs of probationers with serious mental illnesses. Probation officers are tasked with serving both law enforcement and rehabilitative functions, and officers play an important gatekeeper function in helping probationers with serious mental illnesses avoid long incarceration sentences. The purpose of this paper was to explore specialized and standard probation officers' work in supervising probationers with serious mental illnesses. Twenty-one probation officers (11 specialized and 10 standard) participated in semi-structured interviews. Qualitative analyses examined: 1 — beliefs on the relationship between mental illness and crime; 2 — purpose of specialized and standard probation units; and 3 — approaches to supervising probationers with serious mental illnesses. Implications for developing more effective probation supervision programs are discussed.     

Police officer attitudes and use of discretion in situations involving the mentally ill. The need to narrow the focus

Research to date has very effectively highlighted the fact that the mentally ill are vulnerable to systematic criminalization. The reasons cited for this range from decreasing mental health resources, to restrictive civil commitment statutes, to increased numbers of mentally ill citizens in the community as a result of deinstitutionalization. However, the research has also shown that the presence of a criminalization phenomenon is not yet generalizable. The prevailing research emphasizes a macro-level approach, using either archival data or large groups of police-citizen contacts without regard for factors intrinsic to the police-citizen exchange. This article examined two such variables (police-citizen contact type and police officer type) to illustrate the need to narrow the focus in the research. We contend that our emphasis moves the criminalization debate forward and helps provide a more comprehensive understanding of the interaction between the police and the mentally ill. Further, we submit that by controlling for these two variables, research findings will more likely be generalizable and replicable.     

Officer gender and traffic ticket decisions: Police blue or women too?

Contradictory scholarly arguments and limited previous research currently compromise understanding of whether officer gender affects street-level police actions. This research probed those contradictions and added to the limited previous research by examining traffic ticket decisions by women and men Boston police during April and May of 2001. The multivariate story the data tell was one of no differences between women police and men police. If gender propels women and men police in different directions, as some scholars argue, then evidence of those differences simply was not visible when viewed through the lens of the present research.     

A Multilevel Examination of the Relationship Between Racial Tension and Attitudes Toward the Police

Prior research has established the effect of race and ethnicity on citizens’ perceptions of the police. This paper serves to build on this body of literature by examining the effect of racial tension on attitudes toward the police. Specifically, we conduct multilevel analyses using survey data from Seattle, Washington to explore whether individual perceptions of racial tension and/or community-level racial tension are related to residents’ attitudes toward the police. The results show that attitudes toward the police were generally less favorable among respondents who perceived racial tension or mistrust in their communities. Additionally, community racial tension had significant contextual effects on residents’ perceived racial profiling by the police. This study has implications for future police policy: understanding how racial tension shapes perceptions of the police will assist in selecting and adapting crime control strategies.     

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.     

German Police: Marching Ahead on the Road to Elitism

In the recent years the police in Germany have been given higher status by eliminating lower ranks and making it possible for new recruits to start with a “commissioned officer'’ rank which means at the level of a lieutenant. This has been done in order to give them more salary and give recognition to the complexity of street‐level police work. The paper examines whether this change is bringing about positive results, particularly in narrowing the gap between the police and the public which has been a historically significant challenge for the police in Germany.