NCJ Number
63187
Date Published
1976
Length
183 pages
Annotation
BASED ON A SURVEY OF OFFICERS IN THE OKLAHOMA CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT, THE DISSERTATION EXAMINES FACTORS RELATED TO ASSAULTS ON POLICE IN ORDER TO DETERMINE WHY CERTAIN OFFICERS ARE FREQUENTLY ASSAULTED.
Abstract
STATISTICS INDICATED THAT ASSAULTS ON POLICE OFFICERS HAVE BEEN INCREASING RAPIDLY, BUT LITTLE RESEARCH HAS BEEN DIRECTED AT THE PROBLEM. A REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE SHOWS THAT MOST STUDIES HAVE BEEN DESCRIPTIVE AND THAT THEORISTS HAVE FOCUSED ON THE POLICE ROLE, THE VICTIMS AS PRECIPITATOR, AND THE POLICE PERSONALITY. THE SAMPLE FOR THIS STUDY CONSISTED OF 200 OFFICERS SELECTED FROM THE OKLAHOMA POLICE DEPARTMENT AND WAS COMPOSED PREDOMINANTLY OF WHITE MALES WHO HAD BEEN ON THE FORCE LESS THAN 10 YEARS. A MAJORITY WERE PATROLMEN BETWEEN THE AGES OF 21 AND 35 WHO HAD SOME COLLEGE EDUCATION. PARTICIPANTS WERE PAID A NOMINAL SUM TO COMPLETE A QUESTIONNAIRE ON DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS, PERSONALITY TRAITS SUCH AS SELF CONCEPT, ANOMIA, CONSERVATISM, AND AUTHORITARIANISM, AND INJURIOUS AND NONINJURIOUS ASSAULTS. THE QUESTIONNAIRE AND STATISTICAL METHODS USED TO ANALYZE THE DATA ARE DESCRIBED IN DETAIL. THE NONRANDOM ASPECT OF THE SAMPLE, THE POSSIBILITY OF BIAS BECAUSE ONLY POLICE WERE SURVEYED, AND THE USE OF ONE MEANS OF DATA COLLECTION IMPOSE LIMITATIONS ON THE VALIDITY OF THE STUDY'S FINDINGS. TABULAR SUMMARIES DESCRIBE THE ASSAULT RATE INCIDENT, A DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF THE SUSPECT, TIME AND LOCATION OF THE ASSAULT, WEAPONS USED, INJURIES, AND OFFICERS' AGE AND RANK. MOST OF THE OFFICERS SURVEYED HAD BEEN VICTIMS OF SOME TYPE OF ASSAULT DURING THEIR CAREERS. ANALYSIS OF THE DATA INDICATED THAT PERSONS WHO ASSAULT A POLICE OFFICER ARE LIKELY TO BE WHITE MALES, UNDER 30 YEARS OLD, WITH A PRIOR POLICE RECORD, WHO HAD BEEN DRINKING OR ON SOME DRUG, AND WITH SMALL OR MEDIUM BUILDS. OFFICERS WHO WERE WHITE, HAD BEEN ON THE FORCE FOR 6 YEARS OR MORE, AND WERE OVER 26 YEARS OLD WERE MORE LIKELY TO BE ASSAULT VICTIMS. ASSAULTS USUALLY OCCURRED IN PUBLIC, RATHER THAN PRIVATE, PLACES. THE STUDY DISCOVERED NO SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ASSAULTS AND POLICE ATTITUDES, SUGGESTING THAT ASSAULT IS A SITUATIONAL PHENOMENON WHICH USUALLY OCCURS AS A RESULT OF A POLICEMAN FULFILLING HIS LAW ENFORCEMENT ROLE. POLICE IN THE STUDY VIEWED THE PUBLIC AS HAVING A NEGATIVE ATTITUDE TOWARD THEM, AND THIS MIGHT BE A FACTOR IN PRECIPITATING MINOR ASSAULTS. SUGGESTED AREAS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH INCLUDED SURVEYS OF PUBLIC ATTITUDES TOWARD POLICE AND INDEPTH STUDIES OF ASSAULTS WHICH INTERVIEW THE SUSPECT AS WELL AS THE POLICE OFFICER. A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY, A COPY OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE, CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE OKLAHOMA CITY POLICE CHIEF, AND A LIST OF ASSAULT LOCATIONS ARE APPENDED. (MJM)