NCJ Number
184582
Date Published
2000
Length
48 pages
Annotation
This report describes the results of a preliminary evaluation of a local initiative called Policing Diversity in Lambeth (PDL) that was developed in one community in London, England, to address the challenges of policing a population that was highly ethnically diverse.
Abstract
The PDL strategy had its origins in the mid-1990’s as a result of a growing sense of the need to make police-community relations a priority in Lambeth. Data collection for the preliminary evaluation took place in 1998. Information came from interviews with police officers, members of the Lambeth Community-Police Consultative Group (C-PCG), and members of the general public and from reviews of police and public documents. Public confidence in the police in Lambeth was significantly below the average for the Metropolitan Police in the late 1990’s, largely due to low ratings given by black people. The PDL strategy experienced some slippage in its implementation in the first year. This slippage damaged relations between the C-PCG and the police. The first-year efforts met some of the strategy’s objectives and did not meet others. In particular, rank-and-file police awareness of PDL was low, and community awareness was limited as well. The C-PCG had a central role in initiating PDL, but infighting between individuals in different organizations limited the group’s effectiveness in promoting the strategy. Findings suggested the desirability of 13 recommended actions that could improve police-community relations and police-minority relations in Lambeth and in any other area. Tables, list of publications from the same organization, and 11 references