NCJ Number
94057
Date Published
1984
Length
47 pages
Annotation
The 1982 British Crime Survey (BCS) focuses on the entire spectrum of citizen contacts with the police, revealing that while the overall state of citizen-police relations is good, certain sections of the public are dissatisfied with police service; the report suggests ways to improve police-public relations.
Abstract
The BCS obtained information from representative sample of the public about its experience of crime and interactions with the police. This report details the survey's findings on police-public contact. The survey found that most citizen contacts with the police are unrelated to crime, as public demands for the provision of general advice and assistance, the resolution of conflict, and the control of nuisance and disorder greatly outnumber requests for dealing with crime and enforcing the law. Police-initiated contacts tended to involve suspicion that some offense had been committed. This indicates that while the public seeks service-oriented help from the police, the police give higher priority to crime-related citizen contacts. Three-fourths of the respondents agreed that 'taking everything into account,' the police in their area did a good job; however, a significant minority of citizens complain of misconduct, inefficiency, and rudeness by police. There should be provision for dealing with relatively minor complaints against the police and for increasing the quality, not just the quantity, of police contact with the public. Further, police-initiated contacts with citizens should become more helpful and positive. Also, informing the public of police powers and capacities as well as the nature and rationale for police policies could do much to disarm criticisms of the police. Tables, figures, and about 60 references are supplied.