NCJ Number
182101
Journal
Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management Volume: 23 Issue: 1 Dated: 2000 Pages: 37-53
Editor(s)
Lawrence F. Travis III
Date Published
2000
Length
17 pages
Annotation
Using survey responses from 852 public high school students in Cincinnati, Ohio, this survey compared the attitudes of black and white teenagers toward the police.
Abstract
Data were collected using self-administered surveys distributed to public high school students in and around Cincinnati in the spring of 1996. The 852 responses represented a survey completion rate of 99.3 percent. Information was sought on juvenile attitudes toward police performance in the areas of service, law enforcement, and order maintenance. Survey items were also included on respondent demographic characteristics, actual and vicarious contact with the police, frequency and type of victimization, perceptions of neighborhood crime, and police visibility. The survey demonstrated that overall attitudes of black and white juveniles toward police performance were significantly different, while their evaluations of police performance during personal encounters were more similar. Black juveniles held less positive attitudes toward the police than white juveniles. Further research using a process-oriented approach is recommended to assess juvenile attitudes toward the police. An appendix briefly compares various studies conducted to examine the relationship between race and public attitudes toward the police. 45 references and 3 tables