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NATURE AND CORRELATES OF CRITICISM OF POLICE

NCJ Number
16577
Author(s)
C H MCCAGHY; V THIESSEN
Date Published
Unknown
Length
23 pages
Annotation
A RESEARCH STUDY ON PUBLIC ATTITUDES TOWARD POLICE WHICH EXAMINES THEM IN TERMS OF OVERALL SATISFACTION LEVELS AND AS SUBJECTIVE OPINIONS, AND WHICH ATTEMPTS TO INDICATE DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ANTI-POLICE GROUPS.
Abstract
BASED ON A RANDOM SAMPLE OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT RESIDENTS, THE CONCEPT AND CORRELATES OF 'ATTITUDE TOWARD POLICE' WERE EXAMINED. THE MAJOR CONCLUSIONS ARE THAT VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE CHARACTER AND PERFORMANCE OF POLICEMEN ARE PERCEIVED AS STRONGLY INTERRELATED, PERMITTING THE CONSTRUCTION OF A RELIABLE 'CRITICISM OF POLICE' SCALE, AMONG VARIABLES PREVIOUSLY STUDIED, NONE, INCLUDING RACE, ARE STRONGLY RELATED TO THIS SCALE, AND TRADITIONAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ON CRITICISM OF POLICE PROBABLY MEASURE GENERAL OVERALL SATISFACTION AS MUCH AS SPECIFIC SATISFACTION WITH POLICE. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)