NCJ Number
89673
Editor(s)
R R Bennett
Date Published
1983
Length
166 pages
Annotation
The seven papers in this volume focus on current issues involving the police working environment -- performance evaluation, occupational stress and turnover, and the process by which police respond to community demands for service.
Abstract
The first three essays address police performance measures and supervisory problems. Using data on over 1,600 police-citizen encounters from 3 medium-sized cities, one analysis reveals that expressions of concern, attention to the problem, and use of informal sanctions enhance police effectiveness. Thus, abilities to reduce tension and promote citizen satisfaction should be included in performance evaluations. The next discussion argues that knowledge of the community is another indicator of a patrol officer's effectiveness, although data from the same area show that many officers were unable to identify even one citizens' organization in their neighborhood. A study of patrol officers and their supervisors in Louisville, Ky., supports the bargaining model of supervision over the traditional command approach by demonstrating that supervisory emphasis on quantity of work did not affect officers' arrest behavior. Research studies on occupational stress describe differential stress symptoms and reactions to stressors observed among officers with differing occupational-career orientations and explain why individuals voluntarily leave the police force. A major turning point leading to the resignation of 58 persons in the Memphis Police Department (Tennessee) was the feeling of stagnation in a job with little hope of advancement, rather than dissatisfaction with the work itself. Another author discusses the impact of widespread discretion in the gatekeeping and response coordination functions of police telephone operators and dispatchers on community service delivery, citizen attitudes, and police performance. Finally, research on true response time documents considerable delays in citizen reporting of crimes which brings into question the presumed benefits of reducing police response times. References accompany individual papers. For separate papers, see NCJ 89674-80.