NCJ Number
210283
Journal
Crime & Delinquency Volume: 51 Issue: 3 Dated: July 2005 Pages: 295-317
Date Published
July 2005
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This study examined environmental impacts on the programmatic implementation of community-oriented policing (COP) in large municipal police agencies during the 1990s.
Abstract
Data for the study were obtained from a longitudinal study of municipalities and their police departments, which involved a series of surveys conducted in 1993, 1996, and 2000 by the Division of Governmental Studies and Services at Washington State University. Mail surveys were conducted with the same set of 281 municipalities and their respective police departments in 47 States. Information on these municipalities extended back to 1978. The dependent variable used in the analysis reflected the extent of the programmatic implementation of community policing, as the police departments were asked to identify which COP elements they had implemented with respect to 18 archetypical COP programs derived from the policing literature. The general focus was on the priority given by the police to order maintenance and service provision in police functions. Eight independent variables tested for the effects of a number of potentially important environmental variables logically associated with the programmatic implementation of COP. Based on one-way generalized least square panel data analysis, the study found the Federal funding under the Crime Control Act of 1994 and the council-manager forms of local government were significant predictors of COP implementation. Contrary to expectations, other environmental factors such as personnel resources, city socioeconomic status, and mechanisms for citizen participation did not have any statistically significant effects on COP implementation. 3 tables, 11 notes, 61 references, and appended supplementary information