NCJ Number
78884
Date Published
1980
Length
31 pages
Annotation
Findings are reported from a study that examined predictors which influence police attitudes toward their own performance, and an approach for building a theory of police performance is proposed.
Abstract
Two general hypotheses to be tested were that citizens' ratings of police performance influence police attitudes toward their own performance, and that the study variables account for a significant degree of variation in police ratings of their own performance. The variables examined were categorized as personal variables, role-productivity variables, organizational and interorganizational factors, citizen-input factors, and community-based perceptions. These variables were analyzed with reference to their influence on perceived citizen rating of police performance and police self-rating of performance. A total of 52 sworn officers in the Harrisburg, Pa., police department were interviewed over the period from November 1975 through January 1976. Thirty-one of those interviewed had a street-related assignment; 17 classified themselves as administrative personnel; and another 4 indicated they regularly did both kinds of work. The primary analytical methods were correlation and regression analysis. Findings show that police performance attitudes have multiple determinants, including career, productivity, and citizen variables; these influences operate in direct and indirect ways upon police self-ratings of performance. In addition to showing the complexity of the network of factors influencing police attitude toward their own performance, the study also demonstrated that researchers and management can improve performance assessments by addressing the system problems rather than resorting to traditional assumptions not supported by empirical evidence. Tabular data are provided, along with 18 references and 2 footnotes.