NCJ Number
233541
Journal
Justice Research and Policy Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: Spring 2003 Pages: 37-66
Date Published
2003
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This study explored whether variation in police behavior affects citizens' attitudes independent of neighborhood structural characteristics such as concentrated poverty.
Abstract
Residents in neighborhoods characterized by concentrated poverty and high violent crime rates report lower levels of satisfaction with police. The prevailing neighborhood- level explanation posits that such outcomes are a product of ecologically structured unconventional norms and values regarding crime and criminal justice. What remains unanswered, however, is whether variation in police behavior affects citizens' attitudes independent of neighborhood structural characteristics (e.g., concentrated disadvantage). To address this question, the authors used four independent sources of data from the Project on Policing Neighborhoods (POPN) to estimate a series of hierarchical linear models to assess the influence of neighborhood-level police behavior. The results suggest that alternative patrol strategies advocated by proponents of community policingfoot and bike patrolshave a direct positive effect on citizens' satisfaction, net of neighborhood structure and known individual-level correlates (e.g., perceived quality of life). In contrast, the use of physical force is (at best) only weakly associated with neighborhood-level satisfaction. (Published Abstract) References