Neighborhood Team Policing in Winston-Salem, North Carolina - A Case Study

• NCJ Number: 81392
• Author(s): T White
• Date Published: 1977
• Length: 135 pages
• Grant Number(s): 76-NI-99-0030
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice; US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: The Urban Institute
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: National Evaluation of the Full Service Neighborhood Team Policing Program

Annotation

As part of a national evaluation of LEAA-funded team policing projects, this report traces the history of the team policing effort in Winston-Salem, N.C., and evaluates its impact on police-community relations, job satisfaction, and crime rates.

Abstract

Background information on the team policing project covers Winston-Salem's demographic characteristics and crime rates, the police budget, the grant application, and planning activities prior to implementation. Winston-Salem decentralized more responsibilities to its experimental teams than any other demonstration site, largely because the police department had already studied the concept as a way of coping with a hiring freeze. Team policing began officially in April 1976, when two lower income, higher crime areas were designated as team neighborhoods. A third area was selected for control purposes. The teams averaged 38 officers, handled almost all the demands in their areas, and included 3 detectives assigned from the criminal investigation division. Startup and ongoing training was provided. This project operated concurrently with an experimental program conducted in other areas which trained public safety officers to answer both police and firefighting calls. Other concerns in the team policing approach included investigative training for patrol officers, relationships with community agencies, police contact with citizens, foot patrols, continuity of assignments, participatory management, and information sharing. The evaluation team made multiple visits to Winston-Salem between late 1976 and 1977 to interview participants, conduct a community survey, and examine crime rates. They concluded that decentralization of the detectives was accomplished without a negative impact on crime clearance rates. The local media expressed favorable reactions to team policing, indicating public support for the program. Officer job satisfaction remained steady, although most team officers believed the program improved the department. Crime rates declined in the team areas, but this drop cannot be attributed solely to team policing since other parts of the city also experienced decreased crime. Maps, graphs, and tables are included. A report on the neighborhood team policing training courts given at Wake Forest University is appended.