NCJ Number
69882
Date Published
Unknown
Length
91 pages
Annotation
Police efforts to improve community relations and recruit minorities in Rochester, N.Y., are described.
Abstract
The project was comprised of three phases. In the first, 30 police personnel were taught conversational Spanish at a local community college. The results were improved communications and understanding and increased recruitment within the Puerto Rican community. In the second phase, a 'Special Projects Associate,' who was a prominent, indigenous athlete, was hired in order to help reduce hostility towards the police and to aid in the recruitment of minority youths. Together with a police trainee and a specially trained police officer, the associate conducted assembly programs in all city high schools, in neighborhood centers, and in YMCA-Outreach projects; and he organized a youth athletic tournament. As a result, the police-community relations in the city improved considerably. The third phase involved the development of announcements and programs describing police functions, goals, and viewpoints for use on radio and television. Three short television films and 15 tapes for radio which were geared to police recruitment were produced. These tapes and films were especially effective in the police recruitment campaign, which was the most successful in 20 years. The language course is described in detail, and appendixes contain additional information on all three project phases. A reference list is not included.