NCJ Number
138851
Date Published
1990
Length
164 pages
Annotation
This study focuses on citizen reporting of drug activity in the community and the degree of reliance that local police departments place on those reports, the extent to which citizens are reluctant to report drug activity, and the reasons for citizen failure to report drug crimes. Data set archived by the NIJ Data Resources Program at the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data, located at URL http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/nacjd.
Abstract
Data for the study were initially collected through interviews with the supervisors of police narcotics units in 46 major cities, followed by site visits and indepth interviews with officials in Newark, Chicago, El Paso, and Philadelphia, and interviews with 100 residents in high drug-activity neighborhoods in each of the four cities. Interviews with police representatives indicated that most police departments were inundated with reports of street sales that contained little specific information. Detailed reports, particularly about sales or distribution of narcotics, were more valued by police, who quickly acted upon the information. It appeared that residents in areas with high levels of drug activity were more reluctant to report crimes to police; neighborhood viability was more closely linked to reporting than socioeconomic status [Q: what does this mean?]. The strongest deterrent to reporting was fear of reprisal from drug dealers. The authors' recommendations urged police to explore ways to improve the quality of citizen reports, to reassure citizens of their guarantee of anonymity, to inform residents of the outcomes of their reports, and to maintain statistics on the numbers of citizen complaints about drug activity. 14 tables, 2 figures, 55 references, and 3 appendixes.