NCJ Number
65735
Editor(s)
R BAKER,
F A MEYER
Date Published
1979
Length
238 pages
Annotation
THE AUTHORS EXAMINE EVALUATIONS OF POLICE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT POLICIES IN THE U.S. AND DISCUSS PUBLIC EVALUATIONS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT POLICIES.
Abstract
IT BEGINS WITH A BIBLIOGRAPHIC ESSAY ON THE EVALUATION OF POLICE POLICY. A REVIEW OF EVALUATION LITERATURE COVERS THE COST OF POLICING SERVICES AND THE MEASUREMENT OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF AND CHANGES IN POLICE SERVICES AS A RESULT OF POLICY CHANGE. AN EXAMINATION OF PUBLIC EVALUATIONS OF THE POLICE PRECEDES AN ARTICLE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MODEL OF INDIVIDUAL AND CONTEXTUAL EFFECTS UPON EVALUATION OF POLICE ROLES IN 13 LARGE AMERICAN CITIES. NEXT, RELATIONSHIPS OF POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS PROGRAMS WITH PUBLIC EVALUATIONS OF POLICE ARE CONSIDERED. AGGREGATE CITY-LEVEL VARIABLES ARE USED TO MEASURE POLICE PROGRAMS AND CRIMINAL ACTIVITY OF THE POLICE, WITH THE FINDINGS CALLING INTO QUESTION THE ABILITY OF SUCH EFFORTS TO IMPROVE PUBLIC EVALUATIONS OF THE POLICE. ANOTHER ARTICLE DEALS WITH THE PROBLEMS OF EFFICIENT PATROL ALLOCATION AND MEASUREMENT OF PUBLIC EVALUATIONS OF PATROL AS AN ELEMENT OF A PATROL ALLOCATION FORMULA. SEVERAL ARTICLES INVESTIGATE VARIOUS APPROACHES TO PUBLIC EVALUATION STUDIES. THEY INCLUDE THE PRESENTATION OF A MODEL OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE PRODUCTION PROCESS AND ITS APPLICATION TO POLICE SERVICES, A CRITICISM OF PUBLIC CHOICE THEORY AS APPLIED TO THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, AND AN ANALYSIS OF CURRENT PUBLIC POLICY IN RELATION TO HEROIN. THE EFFECTS OF POLICE TRAINING ON POLICE POLICY ARE EXAMINED FROM TWO PERSPECTIVES: THE IMPACT OF PROFESSIONALISM ON THE DELIVERY OF POLICE SERVICES AND IMPLICATIONS OF THE CONCEPT OF PROFESSIONALISM, AND PROBLEMS INVOLVED IN COMMUNICATING SUPREME COURT DECISIONS TO POLICE, INCLUDING POLICE TRAINING PROGRAMS. POLICE-COMMUNITY TRANSACTIONS ARE CONSIDERED, WITH DISCUSSION FOCUSING ON SOME ALTERNATIVES TO OFFICIALLY ESTABLISHED POLICIES. RESULTS ARE PRESENTED FROM A STUDY OF POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAMS IN 161 AMERICAN CITIES. FINALLY, ARTICLES ON EFFECTS OF THE MEDIA ON LAW ENFORCEMENT POLICY CONCLUDE THE BOOK WITH STUDIES PRESENTED ON MEDIA IMAGES AND PUBLIC PERSPECTIVE, AND ON EVALUATING TELEVISION IMPRESSIONS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT ROLES. TABLES, FIGURES, AND SUBJECT AND NAME INDEXES ARE INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--PRG)