NCJ Number
89674
Date Published
1983
Length
24 pages
Annotation
An analysis of over 1,600 police-citizens encounters revealed that specific behaviors enhance police service effectiveness in the community, such as expressions of concern, attention to the problem, and informal sanctions.
Abstract
Evaluations which measure the impact of police action on citizen satisfaction, attitudes toward the police, and reduction of emotional tension are more reflective of the police service mission than traditional measures of arrest and conviction. This study focused on an individual officer's responses to Part I property crimes, disturbances, domestic problems, and other interpersonal conflicts. Trained observers collected information on 28 separate behaviors by riding with patrol officers in the St. Louis, Mo., Rochester, N.Y., and Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla., metropolitan areas. An officer's effectiveness was judged according to the ability to induce emotional change that left the citizen calm at the end of the encounter, be treated with some respect at the incident's conclusion, and produce citizen satisfaction. The data showed that patrol officers undertook a vast number of different activities and that activity seemed to be discretionary. Sanctioning behavior by police was likely to elicit lower satisfaction, indicating that persons request informal use of police authority to handle a disturbance but do not wish to invoke any formal process. Effective responses included providing solace as well as information on crime, searching the premises, conducting additional investigations away from the premises, writing a report, and giving a warning or lecture. Referral was rated as ineffective in a domestic crisis, but useful in other disturbances. Extraordinary force, while extremely infrequent, had a very significant negative impact on citizen judgments. Tables, 9 footnotes, and 28 references are included.