NCJ Number
72076
Date Published
1977
Length
113 pages
Annotation
Results are reported from an evaluation of the effectiveness of Los Angeles team policing in reducing Part I Repressible Crimes (robbery, burglary, burglaries/thefts from motor vehicles, and vehicle theft) and in improving police-community relations.
Abstract
In January, 1975, after evaluating pilot team policing projects, Los Angeles Police Department implemented a neighborhood team policing organizational model throughout the department. Small, essentially self-contained teams were responsible for policing specific geographic areas. The benefits of team policing are the participation in management and decisionmaking by line officers based on their knowledge of the area served, the creation of an organizational structure that makes possible geographical accountability, and the improvement of relations between the police serving a given neighborhood andd the residents of the neighborhood. In order to determine the effect of team policing on the incidence of Part I Repressible Crimes and on police-community relations, statistics on occurrences of these crimes and on community relations activities for 1972 and 1975 were compared. The Part I Repressible Crime rate decreased significantly and police-community interaction substantially increased. Statistics on Part I Repressible Crimes by offense, monthly and cumulative attendance statistics for community relations activities, and the percentage increase/decreae in community relations attendance and Part I Repressible Crimes between 1972 and 1975 by area are appended. Thirty-four references are given. (Author abstract modified)