Public and the Police - Training Implications of the D emand for a New Model Police Officer (From Police Selection and Traini ng, P 141-157, 1986, John C Yuille, ed. - See NCJ-104142)

• NCJ Number: 104151
• Author(s): D G Dutton
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 17 pages
• Sale Source: Martinus Nijhoff Publishing
• Language: English
• Country: Netherlands

Annotation

Research on public attitudes toward police and specific police programs in Canada and the United States is discussed in terms of its implications for police community relations training programs.

Abstract

Overall, studies suggest that the attitudes of the general public toward the police are good, but that dissatisfaction with police is expressed by a small minority characterized by frequent encounters with police. Further, public satisfaction with police was related to programs and encounters that reinforced public perceptions of the police officer as a concerned public servant who, above all else, has good communication and problemsolving skills. These public perceptions of the police role require a new model of the police officer that is in line with these changing social values. Thus, the model police officer is more a community organizer and effective manager than an authoritarian enforcer. This changing role will require a change in emphasis in police training in which more prominence is given to improving interpersonal sensitivity, communication skills, and problem solving. 72 references.