NCJ Number
190559
Journal
Crime & Justice International Volume: 17 Issue: 53 Dated: June 2001 Pages: 11-12,28
Date Published
June 2001
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article presented results from a 1999 survey of community attitudes toward the police within the City of Los Angeles.
Abstract
In 1999, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), School of Public Policy and Social Research joined in partnership to survey community attitudes toward the police in four distinct communities within the City of Los Angeles. Survey results indicated that the once believed negative attitudes toward the police department were far less prevalent than presumed. In addition, the media's emphasis and preoccupation with an issue did not necessarily parallel the public's interest or disinterest, in the same issue. The most impressive result showed that in each community surveyed respondents wanted more LAPD presence and resources. The questionnaire utilized by graduate students in interviewing was designed to begin, not end, with the expression of attitudes. Respondents were questioned about two recent and highly publicized actions of the LAPD, one positive incident and one negative incident. Through the partnership an impartial, outside view of the department was obtained. The LAPD received information they could not have acquired with an open-minded third party. The survey can serve as a baseline for community attitudes.