Police Ride-Along Programs: Exploring Student Perceptions

• In Event: Connecting Criminal Justice Attitudes and Experiences

Abstract

Police ride-along programs have existed since the 1950s and have been aimed at maintaining a positive police image, however, no research in recent years has sought to test whether ride-along programs serve this purpose effectively. The current mixed-methods study focuses on undergraduate student perceptions of police and the policing profession before and after completing a police ride-along. Qualitative essay responses and a quantitative pre/post-survey are utilized across four cohorts of introductory-level policing classes at one university. The current study found that while the sample largely already had positive perceptions of the police, these perceptions were further reinforced and became more nuanced after ride-alongs. For example, after ride-alongs, students more strongly believed police use appropriate force when necessary but also believed police need better training on de-escalation tactics. Students believed that officers should be both held at a higher standard and allowed more discretion. These findings have important implications for practitioners (e.g., increasing positive perceptions of the police, improving police training/policy, ride-alongs as a recruitment tool) and scholars (e.g., examine a specific department’s ride-along program outcomes using a community sample and help form police policy, ride-alongs as a teaching technique).

Authors

• Brooke Mathna, Longwood University

• Marthinus Koen, SUNY Oswego