NCJ Number
111633
Date Published
1986
Length
150 pages
Annotation
To enhance police human relations training, this study examined police citizen encounters in the British cities of London, Birmingham, and Bristol.
Abstract
Two observers worked in each of the three forces, and they observed 149 constables during 238 citizen encounters. The study first examines the expectations which police officers and citizens bring to their encounters. Aspects of entering the encounter are then discussed, including advance warnings, arrival, entry, opening manner, and officer-citizen agreement on the purpose of the encounter. Human relations issues identified during the middle stages of an encounter are considered under two main headings: respect for people's feelings and control and deference. The study also examines how encounters come to an end and how constables resolve the issues they raise. Overall, the purpose of the study was to obtain material for use in training rather than to explore teaching strategies. One central message for training is that human relations training should not focus on how to manipulate people, and another is that what training requires is more questions and fewer answers. The report also notes that problems in police-citizen encounters may derive less from inadequate officer training than from the procedures and regulations under which officers are expected to manage citizen encounters. Appended case studies, methodology, and 57 references.