POLICE/COMMUNITY COOPERATION AND UNDERSTANDING EVALUATION PROJECT, V 1 - SURVEY FINDINGS - FINAL REPORT

• NCJ Number: 10535
• Author(s): S S WILSON; H C MEIER
• Date Published: 1972
• Length: 395 pages
• Grant Number(s): DF-70-311
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Corporate Author: University of New Mexico
• Sale Source: National Technical Information Service
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

METHODOLOGY AND MAJOR CONCLUSIONS OF THE ATTITUDINAL SURVEYS OF CITIZENS AND POLICE CONDUCTED IN THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY WERE TO DISCOVER CITIZEN ATTITUDES TOWARD POLICE, POLICE ATTITUDES TOWARD CITIZENS, AND THE STRENGTH AND CAUSATIVE FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THESE ATTITUDES. A FURTHER OBJECTIVE WAS THE DEFINITION OF SPECIFIC PROGRAMS TO IMPROVE NEGATIVE ATTITUDES AND REINFORCE POSITIVE ATTITUDES. CITIZENS, REPRESENTING A CROSS-SECTION OF THE COMMUNITY, WERE INTERVIEWED, AND ALL OFFICERS OF THE POLICE FORCE WERE SURVEYED BY THE QUESTIONNAIRE APPROACH. NO ELABORATE STATISTICAL TREATMENT OF THE DATA WAS ATTEMPTED. THE MAJOR FINDINGS ARE THAT POSITIVE ATTITUDES TOWARD POLICE COME FROM WHITE PROTESTANTS OF LOWER AND INTERMEDIATE OCCUPATIONAL AND INCOME LEVELS, HOSTILITY COMES FROM YOUNG ADULTS, HISPANOS, AND PERSONS FROM LOW INCOME LEVELS. THE POLICE ATTITUDINAL PATTERNS EXHIBIT SIGNIFICANT DISPARITY BETWEEN OLDER, HIGHER RANKING OFFICERS AND YOUNGER, LOWER RANKING OFFICERS. IT ALSO APPEARS FROM THE SURVEY THAT POLICE OFFICERS PERCEIVE A GREATER NEGATIVISM IN THE COMMUNITY TOWARD POLICE THAN ACTUALLY EXISTS. FOR RECOMMENDATIONS SEE NCJ-009559.