NCJ Number
150661
Journal
Crime and Delinquency Volume: 40 Issue: 3 Dated: special issue (July 1994) Pages: 354-370
Date Published
1994
Length
17 pages
Annotation
The authors investigated variations in police officer attitudes toward three different community policing programs in the Louisville, Kentucky, Police Department using 11 scales for community policing attitudes and 5 scales for job satisfaction.
Abstract
The Louisville Police Department (LPD) first developed community policing programs in two districts under a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance to fund the Innovative Neighborhood-Oriented Policing Program. In addition, the LPD received funds from the State of Kentucky for other community policing efforts. In the fourth police district, community policing efforts focused primarily on reducing drug dealing. Efforts in the second and fifth police districts involved building community relationships and conducting foot patrols, respectively. The evaluation of police officer attitudes toward community policing programs revealed differences among police districts. Fourth district police officers reported higher community policing skills and more experience with community policing than second and fifth district police officers. The fourth district's community policing program was in operation longer than community policing programs in the other two districts, and this may have accounted for the improved community policing skills. In general, data suggested that police officer attitudes were influenced by both contextual factors and program variations. 8 references and 5 tables