ON IMPROVING POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS - FINDINGS FROM THE CONDUCT AND EVALUATION OF AN OEO-FUNDED EXPERIMENT IN WASHINGTON, DC

• NCJ Number: 11329
• Author(s): R M KELLY
• Date Published: 1972
• Length: 32 pages
• Grant Number(s): OEO-B00-5133
• Sponsoring Agency: US Executive Office of the President
• Corporate Author: American Institutes for Research
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

RECOMMENDATIONS TO REDUCE COMMUNITY TENSION, AND IMPROVE POLICE SERVICES BY IN-SERVICE TRAINING AND INCREASED CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT.

Abstract

THE THREE MAJOR AREAS OF THIS PAPER FOCUS ON 1) THE PROJECT'S HISTORY, GOALS, AND UNIQUENESS, 2) THE NATURE OF POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS (PCR) AND A PROPOSED CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK, AND, 3) LESSONS DERIVED FROM THE PROJECT. ALTHOUGH THE EXPERIMENT WAS NOT OUTSTANDINGLY SUCCESSFUL, THE UNIQUE FEATURES OF MAJOR COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND GREATER INTERPLAY OVER THE PROFESSIONALISM VERSUS POPULISM ISSUE, PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO THE GENERAL PROBLEM. ADDITIONALLY, THE EXPERIMENT PERMITTED AN ASSESSMENT OF ASSERTIONS BY MINORITY GROUP LEADERS, AND ALLOWED DIRECTION OF POLICE IN-SERVICE TRAINING BY AN ELECTED CITIZENS' BOARD. DRAWING ON A BRIEF DISCUSSION OF THE RESEARCH DESIGN AND SAMPLES STUDIED, THE AUTHOR PRESENTS A NEW PCR DEFINITION INCORPORATING THE IDEAS OF EFFICIENCY, RESPONSIVENESS, AND REPRESENTATION. A BEHAVIORAL FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYZING EXISTING PROBLEMS AND ESTABLISHING CRITERIA FOR IMPROVING POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS IS DISCUSSED. THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF RACIAL RECRUITMENT AND INSERVICE TRAINING IS ALSO BRIEFLY REVIEWED. SUGGESTIONS ARE OFFERED INVOLVING THE COMMUNITY, CONTROLLING NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF POPULISM ON PROFESSIONAL QUALITY, AND REDUCING THE POLICE HOSTILITY TO TRAINING WHICH INVOLVES THE COMMUNITY. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF WORKABLE PCR PROGRAMS ARE INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)