Poster #127 - Improving Perceptions of Police Through Non-Enforcement Contact: Assessing the Pennsylvania State Police’s Building Bridges Program

• In Event: ASC Poster Session I

Abstract

The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) have been using the Building Bridges Community Outreach Program (BBCOP), a police-initiated non-Enforcement contact intervention, to help educate the public and improve police-community relations since 2021. To date, with the exception of our lone pilot study, no research has examined the effectiveness of BBCOP in improving knowledge and shaping public attitudes. The current study builds upon our earlier work by providing a multi-year, mixed-method assessment of survey data collected from participants of BBCOP interventions conducted at an institution located in Central Pennsylvania. Findings indicate that participants overwhelmingly reported positive perceptions of the program. Data analyses revealed statistically significant improvements in both perceptions and knowledge of policing following the intervention. Policy implications based on these findings will be discussed.

Authors

• Katelyn Kurtz, Penn State Altoona

• Nathan E. Kruis, Penn State Altoona

• Nicholas Rowland, Penn State Altoona

• Alexander Kinney, Oberlin College