Examining Students' Perceptions of Policing and the Affect of Completing a Police-Related Course (From Practical Applications for Criminal Justice Statistics, P 195-209, 1998, M.L. Dantzker and Arthur J. Lurigio, et al., eds. -- See NCJ- 175404)

• NCJ Number: 175413
• Author(s): M L Dantzker; N Ali-Jackson
• Date Published: 1998
• Length: 15 pages
• Sale Source: Butterworth-Heinemann
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the perceptions of police held by students entering a police-related course and how those perceptions changed at the end of the course.

Abstract

Students were primarily criminal justice majors of various ethnicities, ages, and gender whose employment goals ranged from law enforcement to the practice of law. Measurement was achieved through a 20-item questionnaire given in pretests and post-tests to three sections of police courses at two universities. The questionnaire consisted of statements about policing to which respondents indicated their level of agreement with the statement. A five-point Likert scale was used. A purposive sample of students was selected to participate, and questionnaires were distributed to all students attending the first day of selected criminal justice classes (Fall 1995) at two Chicago-area universities. During the first stage of the data collection, among the three classes 96 students completed questionnaires. At the end of the semester, 92 students completed questionnaires. Initial student perceptions of police were not very positive; however, at the completion of the course, reported perceptions were more positive. This was particularly true for nonwhite students, who initially were much more negative toward police than the white students. Females had more positive perceptions than males, both initially and at the end of the course. Based on the analyses used, researchers can only speculate that course content over time did assist in changing initial perceptions. 3 tables and 15 references