NCJ Number
87241
Date Published
1982
Length
28 pages
Annotation
Results from a survey of 1,345 respondents show that the Texas Department of Public Safety troopers were rated highest on all categories and that most respondents rated their local police positively on all categories.
Abstract
The survey examines five specific subject areas: the general perceptions that Texans have of the police, including by type of police agency ; the extent to which Texans were in formal contact with the police in 1981; perceptions of the police subsequent to formal contact; the extent to which Texans are in informal contact with the police; and the extent to which Texans make use of police services. Among the findings are that more than half of the respondents reported at least one contact with the police in 1981, and 29 percent were in contact with the police due to a traffic stop. A total of 16 percent of the respondents were victims of crimes in 1981 which they reported to the police; 54 percent indicated that the crime problem in their community had worsened in the past 3 years. A total of 88 tables and House Resolution No. 469 are included. (Author summary modified)