This second part of a two-part series on Australians' public satisfaction with police contacts focuses on satisfaction with citizen-initiated police contacts.
The findings are based on data from the 2002-03 Australian National Survey of Community Satisfaction With Policing, which involved telephone interviews with 22,433 persons ages 15 and older. The survey was conducted between July 1, 2002, and June 30, 2003. The focus of this analysis of survey responses is on the nature of citizen-initiated police contacts and factors that influenced citizen assessments of police service quality, with attention to situational factors and individual factors. Almost half of the respondents reported at least one police contact during the last year, and 42 percent of these respondents indicated that this contact was self-initiated. Approximately 75 percent of those who initiated contact with police were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with the service they received. Younger respondents were significantly less satisfied with the police service than older respondents. Respondents' perception of the appropriateness of the police response to the reason for the citizen-initiated contact generally determined whether or not citizens were satisfied with the contact. The author suggests that citizen satisfaction with the police might improve if officers explain to the citizen why they are taking a particular action, including the steps they will take following the contact. The results of any action following the contact should then be reported to the citizen. 2 tables, 4 figures, and 12 references