Results of the 1980 Survey of Small Iowa Cities (N=833) To Determine Their Law Enforcement Capabilities

• NCJ Number: 80076
• Author(s): M L Cohan
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 26 pages
• Grant Number(s): 80-BJ-CX-0021
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Corporate Author: Iowa Office for Planning and Programming
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

These tables illustrate the results of a survey conducted to determine the law enforcement capabilities of Iowa's smaller cities.

Abstract

The survey was part of a larger study to gather the opinions of Iowa's police chiefs on various criminal justice issues. Of the 833 smaller cities contacted by postcard, 640 responded by indicating which types of law enforcement services are provided to the community. A second effort resulted in an additional 153 responses. Finally, telephone calls were made to the remaining nonparticipants (N=40). Results of the survey show that 218 cities employ full-time, paid police officers, while an additional 180 hire only part-time individuals (i.e., a town marshal) to perform police duties. Over half of those surveyed (N=425) indicated that the county sheriff's office is primarily responsible for provided law enforcement services, while the remaining 10 cities reported some other arrangement (i.e., contractual agreement with another police department for services). Numerous tables and a copy of the postcard are included. (Author summary modified)