PRELIMINARY MARKOV MODEL OF INTERACTION BETWEEN POLICE AND CITIZENS CONSIDERED AS GENERAL SYSTEMS

• NCJ Number: 14378
• Author(s): R E SYKES
• Date Published: 1974
• Length: 25 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01 MH17917-02
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Health, Education, and Welfare
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

A MODEL FOR PREDICTING INTERACTION PATTERNS BETWEEN POLICE AND CITIZENS WHICH TAKES INTO ACCOUNT THE TWO IMMEDIATELY PRECEDENT INTERACTIONS.

Abstract

HUMAN GROUPS MAY BE RECONCEPTUALIZED IN TERMS OF GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY. IN THIS ARTICLE ONE EPHEMERAL HUMAN GROUP, THE ENCOUNTER BETWEEN POLICE AND CITIZENS, IS RECONCEPTUALIZED AS AN INPUT-OUTPUT-FEEDBACK RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A CITIZEN AND A POLICE SYSTEM. THESE RELATIONS ARE THEN EXAMINED FOR THEIR FIT TO A MARKOV MODEL OF INTERSYSTEM INTERACTION. INTERACTION PROCESS DATA COLLECTED BY OBSERVERS IN AN EXTENSIVE STUDY OF UNIFORMED POLICE-CITIZEN ENCOUNTERS IS UTILIZED. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE TWO SYSTEMS APPROXIMATELY FITS THAT EXPECTED IN A SECOND ORDER MARKOV CHAIN. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)