NCJ Number
34381
Date Published
1976
Length
500 pages
Annotation
THIS THESIS ANALYZES THE RATIONALE, IMPLEMENTATION, AND IMPACT OF THE NEW YORK CITY NEIGHBORHOOD POLICE TEAM (NPT) PROGRAM IN ORDER TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM ON POLICE ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR.
Abstract
THE NPT PROGRAM WAS AN EXPERIMENT WHICH ALTERED THE ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE OF LOCAL POLICE PRECINCTS IN AN EFFORT TO IMPROVE POLICE PERFORMANCE, POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS, AND POLICE MORALE. THE DATA FOR THIS ANALYSIS ARE DRAWN FROM FIELD WORK WHICH COMPRISED PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION AND INTERVIEWING OF POLICE PLANNERS, TRAINERS, AND FIELD OFFICERS OVER A TWO YEAR PERIOD, AND A SURVEY OF POLICE OFFICERS IN FOUR NPT PRECINTS AND FOUR MATCHING NON-NPT PRECINCTS EIGHTEEN MONTHS AFTER IMPLEMENTATION OF NPT. GENERAL DISCUSSIONS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES OF POLICING, THE POLICE ROLE IN CONTEMPORARY URBAN SOCIETY, AND THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF POLICE WORK ARE PROVIDED. THE AUTHOR THEN EXAMINES THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEAM POLICING IN NEW YORK CITY AND OUTLINES THE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY. DESPITE LIMITATIONS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NPT IN NEW YORK, IT WAS FOUND THAT THREE OF THE FOUR NPT PRECINCTS STUDIED SHOWED SIGNIFICANT CHANGES ON THREE DIMENSIONS OF ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE. NPT PRECINCTS EXHIBITED INCREASED OFFICER DISCRETION, FLEXIBILITY OF REGULATIONS, AND RECOGNITION OF PERFORMANCE. IT WAS FOUND THAT AS REGULATIONS BECAME MORE FLEXIBLE AND AS RECOGNITION AND DISCRETION INCREASED, THERE WAS AN INCREASE IN OFFICER JOB INVOLVEMENT, A MORE CRITICAL ATTITUDE TOWARD FELLOW OFFICERS, AND A FAVORABLE DISPOSITION TO POLICE INNOVATION. THE PROGRAM HAD LITTLE IMPACT ON CHANGING THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION AMONG OFFICERS OR THEIR RECOGNITION OF A SERVICE ROLE IDEAL. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT WHILE IMPLEMENTATION AND IMPACT OF NPT WERE UNEVEN, NPT OBJECTIVES WERE IN LARGE PART REALIZED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)