Social-Structural Determinants of Police Calls for Service in a Sample of American Cities

• In Event: Neighborhood Structure, Institutions, and the Persistence of Disorder

Abstract

Purpose:
The extant literature connecting community structural characteristics and police calls for service (CFS) documents various bi-directional contextual influences, including community trust and confidence, as well as variability in police response to CFS in disorganized areas. However, virtually all published examples are limited to examination of a single city. The purpose of this study is to identify the extent to which community characteristics representing social disorganization are associated with police CFS across a larger national sample of American cities.

Design:
This study features multiple years of police CFS data from a sample of 12 American cities. CFS outcomes are regressed on a variety of social-structural characteristics sourced from 5-year block group estimates in the American Community Survey.

Findings:
Several traditional measures of social disorganization, including concentrated disadvantage, were noted to exhibit consistent associations with police CFS outcomes. However, other structural characteristics exhibited inconsistent associations across the sample of cities. These exceptions are documented and explored.

Interpretations/Conclusions:
Identifying consistent patterns of association between Census characteristics and police CFS in a sample of multiple American cities represents an extension of the present literature exploring police-community interactions. Implications for theories of procedural justice as well as future evaluation of police CFS are discussed.

Authors

• Sara Lucak, University of Central Florida

• Matt Nobles, University of Central Florida