SOME POLICEMEN TRY CASUAL ATTIRE IN BID TO REDUCE ANTAGONISM - BLAZERS AND SLACKS SUBSTITUTED FOR UNIFORMS - CRITIC SEE DANGER... (FROM POLICE PATROL READINGS, 2D ED. 1970, BY S G CHAPMAN - SEE NCJ-01974)

• NCJ Number: 15163
• Author(s): C B CAMP
• Date Published: 1970
• Length: 3 pages
• Corporate Author: Charles C. Thomas
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. ARTICLE FROM WALL STREET JOURNAL, JUNE 26, 1969

Annotation

A BRIEF DISCUSSION OF A STRATEGY TO IMPROVE THE IMAGE OF THE POLICE, IMPROVE RELATIONS WITH MINORITIES, AND TO MAKE LOCAL CITIZENRY FEEL MORE AT EASE BY SUBSTITUTING STREET CLOTHES FOR POLICE UNIFORMS.

Abstract

THE AUTHOR STATES THAT THE MILITARY-STYLE UNIFORM OF POLICE IS OFTEN VIEWED AS A SYMBOL OF OPPRESSIVE AUTHORITY. EXPERIMENTS IN VARIOUS COMMUNITIES HAVE BEEN UNDERTAKEN IN WHICH THE OFFICERS WEAR BLAZERS AND SLACKS INSTEAD OF UNIFORMS. PROBLEMS OF CONFUSED IDENTITY ARE CITED AS ONE RESULT OF THE EXPERIMENTS, BUT THE AUTHOR REPORTS THAT CITIZENS SEEM TO APPROVE OF A LESS MILITARY UNIFORM. RESULTS OF A SURVEY IN SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO ARE REPORTED IN WHICH 46 PERCENT OF THE CITIZENS APPROVED OF THE NEW CLOTHING WHILE ONLY 24 PERCENT OPPOSED IT.