NCJ Number
134220
Date Published
1971
Length
100 pages
Annotation
The purpose of this text is to provide a resource for training police officers in the complexity of community and human relations.
Abstract
The text recognizes that law enforcement is faced with the need to develop line officers who are capable of not only enforcing the law but also of participating in the resolution of social problems associated with crime. The text approaches social problems from the point of view that police are primarily responsible for enforcing law and only indirectly responsible for the resolution of social problems. The authors acknowledge the importance of strengthening police-community relationships. Such relationships have a direct bearing on the character of life in cities and on a community's ability to maintain stability and solve its problems. At the same time, a police department's ability to deal with crime depends to a large extent upon its relation with citizens. Since a community's attitude toward the police is influenced by the actions of individual officers, courteous and tolerant behavior by police officers in their contacts with citizens is essential. If law enforcement programs ignore the conditions that motivate the behavior of minority groups, especially in cities, police officers will continue to act in ways that invite hostility, anger, and violence. The text discusses the effect of social problems on law enforcement, equal justice for minority groups, social change and community tension, implications of group behavior for law enforcement, the link between attitudes and prejudices and the police, and community and human relations. References, charts, and figures