NCJ Number
102171
Date Published
1986
Length
47 pages
Annotation
This discussion of the implications of community policing for police training focuses on information that must be gathered before making training and selection decisions, such as performance evaluations, costs, training and selection standards, and community and police officer input.
Abstract
Police performance and productivity cannot be evaluated without a firm understanding of the role of and expectations for police officers in modern society. Michigan is used to illustrate the kind of training standards that progressive States provide. Other examples drawn from Michigan show how a task analysis of the police officer job can be used to develop a model of behaviors and characteristics that can be applied to selecting future police officers and to determining the content of basic police training programs. The paper emphasizes the importance of structuring training to reflect the role expectations of community residents and the need to survey community police officers. Performance profiles comparing foot and motor patrol officers in Flint, Mich., underscore the important implications of different police roles in the community for selection and training. They also demonstrate that the social services aspect of the foot patrol job demands special attention in training. Charts, sample training modules, survey instruments, and 13 references.