NCJ Number
37960
Date Published
1976
Length
70 pages
Annotation
FROM JUNE 1973 TO OCTOBER 1974 SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCHERS JOINED WITH THE NORWALK (CT) POLICE DEPARTMENT TO STUDY HOW POLICE, UNTRAINED IN THIRD-PARTY INTERVENTION APPROACHES, TYPICALLY HANDLE DISTURBANCE SITUATIONS.
Abstract
UNLIKE MOST OTHER EFFORTS, WHICH ARE TRAINING PROGRAMS, THE PROJECT IN NORWALK WAS DEVELOPED AS A RESEARCH PROGRAM TO BUILD A NEW BODY OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE POLICE ROLE IN CONFLICT MANAGEMENT. THE POLICE OFFICER'S VAST BUT LARGELY UNDEFINED EXPERIENCE AS THIRD-PARTY INTERVENER IN INTERPERSONAL CONFLICTS PROVIDED THE BASIS FOR THIS PROJECT'S DEVELOPMENT OF MORE EFFECTIVE THIRD-PARTY INTERVENTION MODELS. BECAUSE OF THE LARGEST NUMBER OF DISTURBANCE CALLS IN NORWALK OCCURRED DURING THE EVENING HOURS, THE 4 P.M.-TO-MIDNIGHT PLATOON WAS SELECTED FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE STUDY. SQUADS A AND B, EACH HAVING TEN OFFICERS, PARTICIPATED IN THE PLANNING AND FIELD OBSERVATION PHASES. THE TEN OFFICERS OF SQUAD C WERE RESERVED AS A CONTROL GROUP FOR THE FIELD-TESTING PHASE. DURING FIELD OBSERVATIONS, TWENTY PARTICIPATING OFFICERS PROVIDED DATA ON 150 DISTURBANCE SITUATIONS BY COMPLETING DISPUTE REPORT FORMS. THE FORMS WERE DESIGNED TO ELICIT SUCH INFORMATION AS: DESCRIPTION OF THE SITUATION, THE PARTICIPANTS, AND THE OFFICERS' OWN ACTIONS AND RESPONSES. A RESEARCH PANEL, COMPOSED OF FIVE OFFICERS AND FOUR RESEARCHERS, ANALYZED THE DATA AND DEFINED THE APPROACHES USED BY THE OFFICERS IN THE INTERVENTIONS. AS A RESULT, SEVEN APPROACHES WERE CATEGORIZED: AUTHORITY, COUNSELING, ARBITRATION, DIRECTOR-MEDIATION, NEGOTIATION, REFEREE-MEDIATION, AND RELAYER-MEDIATION. THREE, AUTHORITY, NEGOTIATION, AND COUNSELING, WERE SELECTED FOR FURTHER STUDY AND FIELD TESTING. DURING THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF THIS SECOND PHASE OF FIELD TESTING, ALL THREE SQUADS OF OFFICERS APPLIED THE APPROCHES UNDER A FORCED-CHOICE CONDITION FOR ONE MONTH EACH. UNDER A FREE-CHOICE CONDITION IN THE FOURTH MONTH, THE OFFICERS WERE FREE TO SELECT WHICHEVER OF THE THREE APPROACHES SEEMED MOST APPROPRIATE TO A SITUATION. DURING THIS PHASE THE OFFICERS HANDLED A TOTAL OF 344 CALLS. REPEATED USE OF THE THREE SELECTED INTERVENTION APPROACHES (AUTHORITY, NEGOTIATION, AND COUNSELING) GENERALLY LED TO IMPROVEMENT IN AN OFFICER'S ABILITY TO APPLY THOSE APPROACHES. WHILE REPEATED USE OF THE AUTHORITY APPROACH RESULTED IN OFFICERS VIEWING IT LESS FAVORABLY, SUCH USE OF THE NEGOTIATION AND COUNSELING APPROACHES RESULTED IN MORE FAVORABLE ATTITUDES TOWARDS THEM. A MAJORITY OF OFFICERS VIEWED NEGOTIATION AS THE MOST IMPORTANT APPROACH FOR POLICE RECRUITS TO LEARN. SINCE FOCUSING ON THE INTERPERSONAL ASPECTS OF POLICE WORK (PARTICULARLY THROUGH THE USE OF THE REPORT FORM AND THE DEBRIEFING PROCESS) APPARENTLY ENABLED OFFICERS WITHOUT FORMAL TRAINING TO IMPROVE THEIR PERCEPTIONS OF INTERPERSONAL PROCESSES, INCREASE THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR, AND APPROPRIATELY ALTER THEIR OWN BEHAVIOR. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD ATTEMPT TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE METHODS EMPLOYED IN THIS PROJECT CAN BE REFINED AND APPLIED ELSEWHERE BOTH TO THIRD PARTY INTERVENTION AND TO OTHER POLICE PRACTITIONER FUNCTIONS. THE APPENDIX CONTAINS COPIES OF THE DISPUTE REPORT AND THIRD-PARTY APPROACH DEBRIEFING FORMS AS WELL AS ILLUSTRATIONS OF DISPUTE SITUATIONS INVOLVING USE OF THE AUTHORITY, NEGOTIATION, AND COUNSELING APPROACHES. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT) (SNI ABSTRACT)