POLICE COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND THE REDUCTION OF CRIME EVIDENCE OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS TRAINING AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION FROM A STUDY OF 161 US (UNITED STATES) CITIES (FROM NCJ-65735)

• NCJ Number: 65743
• Author(s): N P LOVRICH
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 14 pages
• Corporate Author: Lexington Books
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

CITY STUDIES INDICATE THAT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAMS AND POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS (PCR) TRAINING REDUCE CRIME AND PROMOTE GOOD RELATIONS BETWEEN THE POLICE AND COMMUNITY.

Abstract

ACCORDING TO RECENT STUDIES, CITIZENS, ESPECIALLY MINORITIES AND THE POOR, ARE HOSTILE TO POLICE IN MANY AMERICAN CITIES AND POLICE ARE VIEWED AS RACIALLY PREJUDICED OPPRESSORS. FURTHER, PARTICIPATION IN RIOTS IN THE 1960'S HAS BEEN LINKED TO THIS HOSTILITY. ACCORDINGLY, PCR TRAINING PROGRAMS WERE INTRODUCED IN MANY CITIES TO ESTABLISH LESS OFFENSIVE POLICE PRACTICES. A 1969 SURVEY IN 2,072 CITIES OF OVER 10,000 POPULATION ASSOCIATES PCR TRAINING WITH HIGHER RATES OF REPORTED CRIME AND LOWER CRIME RATES; IT IS FURTHER CLAIMED THAT THE EFFECTS OF PCR TRAINING ON REPORTED CRIME RATES ARE UNDERESTIMATED. USE OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAMS, ESPECIALLY HIRING OF MINORITY POLICE, VARIES WIDELY AMONG POLICE FORCES, AND INFORMATION IS DIFFICULT TO GET. IT IS ALSO DIFFICULT TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF BOTH STRONG PCR TRAINING AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION ON CRIME RATES, ALTHOUGH STUDIES INDICATE THAT CRIME REPORTS INCREASE FOR PCR-AFFIRMATIVE ACTION CITIES (CREATING THE FALSE SENSE OF A CRIME INCREASE), BUT THAT CRIME RATES EVENTUALLY DECREASE. HOWEVER, CRIME RATE DIFFERENCES AMONG CITIES WITH OR WITHOUT PCR TRAINING AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION ARE SLIGHT, AND THE ISSUE REQUIRES FURTHER STUDY OVER TIME. MORE RESEARCH IS RECOMMENDED INTO THE MOST EFFECTIVE PCR TRAINING OR AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM. TABLES AND NOTES ARE INCLUDED. (PAP)