NCJ Number
40771
Date Published
1976
Length
29 pages
Annotation
ANALYSIS OF A SURVEY CONDUCTED FROM JUNE 1973 TO AUGUST 1974 TO IDENTIFY SOCIO-SPATIAL SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF POLICE ACTIONS.
Abstract
A GEOGRAPHICALLY STRATIFIED SAMPLE OF 2,000 RESPONDENTS WITHIN SUMMIT COUNTY, OHIO, EVALUATED POLICE ACTIONS ON TEN KEY ISSUES. ANALYTICAL RESULTS BY SOCIOECONOMIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS SHOWED DISTINCT SYSTEMATIC VARIATIONS IN ATTITUDES. CONFIDENCE IN THE POLICE INCREASED WITH INCREASING AGE, INCOME, AND EDUCATION. WHITES DEMONSTRATED MORE CONFIDENCE IN THE POLICE THAN BLACKS, AND MEN MORE THAN WOMEN. A SPATIAL COMPARISON OF THESE SYSTEMATIC DIFFERENCES INDICATED A PATTERN WHICH COULD BE COMPARED TO THE OVERALL SOCIAL ECOLOGY OF THE STUDY AREA. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF POLICE COMMUNITY RELATIONS WERE THEN MADE. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)...KAP