NCJ Number
80107
Journal
Journal of Police Science and Administration Volume: 9 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1981) Pages: 335-345
Date Published
1981
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This article describes the results of a telephone survey of Montgomery County, Md., residents. The survey sought to determine citizens' perceptions of strengths and weaknesses of the Montgomery County Department of Police.
Abstract
A number of recordkeeping forms were designed before the telephone survey could be implemented. They were designed to guide the training of 20 volunteer callers and to collect, record, and evaluate the results. A sample of 346 telephone numbers were employed in the study. Persons under age 18 were not interviewed. A total of 220 respondents were female and 126 were male. A total of 281 completed all the questions in the survey. According to the respondents, the police department is doing a fine job. Citizens have a high regard and respect for police officers and expect the police department to be a service-oriented organization. A large portion of citizens base their opinion of police services on visibility and behavior observed on the street. Of those who had contact with police, most were victims of crime and were most favorable toward the handling of the situation. Their primary concerns were rapid response, competent handling of the situation, and the politeness exhibited toward the victim. Implications for inservice training are that standards of interpersonal interaction with individual citizens must be maintained and that first-line supervision is critical. Seven tables, footnotes, and four references are provided. The survey instrument is appended. (Author summary modified)