Impact of Citizen Police Academies on Participants: An Exploratory Study

• NCJ Number: 195198
• Journal: Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 30 Issue: 2 Dated: March/April 2002 Pages: 101-106
• Author(s): Michael J. Palmiotto; N. Prabha Unninthan
• Date Published: 2002
• Length: 6 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research Paper
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: An earlier draft of this paper was presented to the March 2000 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences held in New Orleans, LA.

Annotation

The article discusses a study on the changes in attitudes toward the police experienced by citizens after participation in a community policing academy program.

Abstract

The authors review the changes in citizen attitudes toward police and policing formed as result of greater citizen participation in policing activities through combined police/citizen policing programs, most notably, citizen police academies (CPAs). An overview of the development and composition of CPAs is presented. The authors data was developed from participants in the Wichita/Sedgwick County CPA's February 1997 and February 1998 classes. The study was conducted by a questionnaire that was administered to each student participating in this class, both at the beginning of the CPA program and after CPA graduation. The study found that participation in CPA's resulted in more positive attitudes concerning the police among participants however, the authors note that people who enroll in CPA programs already have a generally positive perception of police. 10 references