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Big Six: Policing America's Largest Cities

NCJ Number
130955
Author(s)
A Pate; E E Hamilton
Date Published
1991
Length
272 pages
Annotation
This report presents data on policing in the Nation's six largest cities: New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, and Houston.
Abstract
To facilitate the sharing of information among police departments, this study prepared and sent a questionnaire to the police chiefs of the police departments serving the six largest cities in the Nation. The questionnaire solicited information on the policies and operations of the six agencies in 1986. The data cover the characteristics and distribution of personnel by unit and rank; expenditures; recruitment, selection, and entry requirements; salaries and benefits; equipment; operations; calls for service; recorded crime; arrests; police vehicle accidents; firearm discharges and police and civilian injuries and casualties; and citizen complaints. An examination of relationships among variables identifies factors related to police expenditures, the number of sworn officers and marked vehicles, the number of calls for service, recorded crime, arrests, police vehicle accidents, civilians wounded and killed, and complaints against officers. Some of the unexplained differences across the six departments are outlined. 179 figures and 26 tables