NCJ Number
183358
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 28 Issue: 3 Dated: May/June 2000 Pages: 189-202
Date Published
2000
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Using data collected through a survey administered to a sample of urban and suburban juveniles, this study examined the determinants of juveniles' attitudes toward the police.
Abstract
Data were collected by using self-administered questionnaires distributed to high school students in and around Cincinnati, Ohio. The sample consisted of 9th through 12th graders enrolled in two Cincinnati public schools and one Hamilton County public school. A total of 510 students who attended the two city schools and 342 students from the county public school completed the survey (n=852). All but six of the sample students returned usable surveys (99.3 percent). Surveys were administered in the spring of 1996. Eleven survey items asked juveniles about their attitudes toward the police. The police referent varied in these 11 questions. The findings generally show that the overall attitudes of juveniles toward the police are not quite as favorable as those previously reported for adults; the overall level of support for police voiced by juveniles varied, depending on the focus of the attitude question, and many juvenile selected the "neutral" response category, which meant they registered neither positive or negative attitudes toward police. Many of the descriptive characteristics of respondents that were relevant to their responses were the same as for similar adult surveys, including contact with the police, race, gender, and extent of victimization. 4 tables, 10 notes, and 45 references