NCJ Number
57626
Journal
Criminal Justice Review Volume: 3 Issue: 1 Dated: (SPRING 1978) Pages: 17-29
Date Published
1978
Length
13 pages
Annotation
POLICE ROLE PERCEPTIONS ARE MORE COMPLEX THAN FORMERLY THOUGHT; THEY TRANSCEND THE LAW-ENFORCEMENT, ORDER MAINTENANCE, AND SERVICE CATEGORIES AND CAN BE SEEN AS PROACTIVE, REACTIVE, PEACEKEEPING, AND SERVICE ROLES.
Abstract
A FACTOR ANALYSIS OF POLICE ROLE PERCEPTIONS WAS DONE TO DIVIDE THEIR WORK INTO FOUR COMPONENTS: PROACTIVE, WHICH CALLS FOR ACTION BEFORE AN INCIDENT OCCURS; REACTIVE, POLICE ACTION AFTER THE EVENT HAS HAPPENED; PEACEKEEPING, SUCH AS SETTLING FAMILY ARGUMENTS; AND SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY. PROACTIVE AND REACTIVE JOBS WERE RATED HIGHEST IN IMPORTANCE BY 308 POLICE IN GEORGIA AND SOUTH CAROLINA ON A PAPER-AND-PENCIL QUESTIONNAIRE AND OTHER ATTITUDINAL SURVEY ITEMS, WITH PEACEKEEPING NEXT AND SERVICE DUTIES LAST. CORRECTIONS BETWEEN COMMUNITY CHARACTERISTICS AND RANKING OF JOBS SUGGEST THAT POLICE IN LARGE CITIES SPEND MOST OF THEIR TIME SOLVING MAJOR CRIMES WHEREAS IN SMALLER COMMUNITIES WITH LOWER CRIME RATES, THEY EMPHASIZE PEACEKEEPING AND SERVICE DIMENSIONS. THE PERSONALITY OF THE POLICE OFFICER DID NOT CORRELATE WITH MOST POLICE ROLE ORIENTATION, AND THE STRONGEST CORRELATION SEEMS TO BE BETWEEN THE SERVICE ORIENTATION AND THE OFFICER'S PERSONALITY. THUS, POLICE ROLE PERCEPTION CANNOT BE EASILY CHARACTERIZED AS SUGGESTED BY JAMES Q. WILSON WHO DEVISED THE TYPOLOGY OF LAW ENFORCEMENT, ORDER-MAINTENANCE, AND SERVICE. ROLE PERCEPTIONS TRANSCEND THESE CATEGORIES AND ARE RELATED TO LEVELS OF SERIOUS CRIME IN THE COMMUNITIES. TABLES AND NOTES ARE INCLUDED. (STB)