Community Views of Police: Data from the National Police Platform

• In Event: Police and Community: The View from Both Directions

Abstract

For decades researchers have noted that certain segments of our communities have negative views of the police. Police leaders have questioned how they might changes these longstanding attitudes. Data from the National Police Research Platform (NPRP) measures the views of the community towards their police from those who have recent contacts with their police. These contacts include reporting a crime, being stopped for a traffic violation, or being involved in a traffic accident. As many law enforcement agencies attempt to promote procedural justice as a philosophy guiding interactions between police and the public it is important to measure if the public feels they were treated fairly and respectfully by the police and if that affects their overall attitude towards the police in their community. This paper will present analysis of the level of satisfaction and overall community attitude toward the police across dozens of police agencies participating in the NPRP.

Authors

• Jack McDevitt, Northeastern University

• Dan Lawrence, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Susan Hartnett, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Dennis Rosenbaum, University of Illinois at Chicago