NCJ Number
106499
Date Published
1986
Length
105 pages
Annotation
This study compared the daily work of a community police officer in Sweden with that of a district police officer.
Abstract
Data came from observations of 56 shifts in the regular district and community police in a district outside Stockholm between September and December 1984. Researchers accompanied police officers on the shifts and recorded their activities. Another researcher provided descriptive narratives of incidents. The analysis considered three categories of activities: (1) activities at the police station, (2) activities during patrol, and (3) surveillance activities. Time at the police station largely consisted of coordination, discussion, and other cooperative functions. Patrolling occupied a good part of the regular officer's day but only about one-third of the community officer's day. However, community officers spent more time on foot patrol than did regular officers. Regular officers made about three-quarters of the arrests during the study period. About 23 percent of the community officer's time and 3 percent of the district officer's time was spent in surveillance work. This included attending community events, visiting institutions for the elderly or youth, disseminating information, and conducting visits with a social work focus. During the study period, the dominant efforts of community police related to information dissemination and cooperative activities. Tables and 37 references.