NCJ Number
175412
Date Published
1998
Length
25 pages
Annotation
Data for this discussion of variables and activities that contribute to community policing came from two data sets collected in Newark, N.J.
Abstract
The data from the author were from a more general study of policing models conducted in May and June 1995 (referred to as The Police Model Study). The data from Pate and Annan (1993) came from an evaluation of the effect of community policing programs on fear reduction conducted in 1983 and 1984. The study built two multiple regression models to serve its purposes with the two data sets. Police Model data were used to test the effects of demographic and perceptive variables on community-policing orientation (Model 1). The Fear Reduction data were used to assess the effects of safety perceptions and police activities on community satisfaction of life (Model 2). Perceptive variables were consistently found to be more significant in both models than the more objective variables, such as respondent demographics and police programmatic activities. Perception of an area as a community had a significant effect on the community orientation. This relationship indicates that the stronger the sense of community, the more receptive the citizens will be to community-oriented policing. The study shows that perception of the community's role as a partner with the police, perception of the importance of good police-community relations, and preference for more problem-solving activities are all significantly related to the community orientation. 9 tables and 27 references