NCJ Number
222605
Date Published
2006
Length
204 pages
Annotation
This second annual report of an evaluation of whether an agreement on police-community relations in Cincinnati (Ohio) is achieving its goals focuses on statistical compilations that detail arrest and citation activity, use of force, calls for service, crime patterns, vehicle stops, police work satisfaction, and citizen and officer satisfaction with the complaint process.
Abstract
The patterns of calls for service, reported crime, arrests, and police use of force were geographically clustered in the city. Neighborhoods with high crime rates were more likely to have a high volume of calls for service and police use-of-force incidents. The analysis of vehicle stops and officer-motorist interactions shows that Blacks experience longer stops than non-Black motorists; however, the evaluation concludes that the difference in stop duration cannot be attributed to the racial profiling of Black drivers, since non-Black drivers in similar situations are detained for the same length of time. Stops of Black drivers were, on average, longer when the officer was non-Black. Although this finding is not evidence of racial profiling, this police behavior is likely to lead to perceptions of racially biased policing by the community. There were substantial improvements in the data quality compared to the first year of the evaluation. Results from the survey of police officers show a series of major stresses, including the officers' perception that Blacks complained and the media reported unfairly about racial profiling and police abuse of authority; however, the majority of officers who responded to the survey believe that community input is essential to problem solving. Still, only half of the responding officers expect citizen cooperation in public-safety problem solving. The survey findings suggest that solutions will come from improving relations with both the community and with police managers. 7 figures and 48 tables