Police-Citizen Interactions at the Stations’ Front Desk: An Exploratory Study of Crime Reporting Conversations and Experiences

• In Event: Police-citizen encounters and perceptions: procedural justice, crime reporting, contested encounters and bystanders

Abstract

Since the start of community policing in mid-1980s, the importance of engaging with citizens is emphasized. As a result, scholars and practitioners have devoted significant attention to citizen attitudes towards the police. Among these attitudes, citizen satisfaction is a component that is primarily derived from direct experiences with the police. Police employees can have a significant impact on citizens’ experiences, ultimately influencing their satisfaction levels with the police and with police conversations. Citizens with positive attitudes of the police are more likely to report crimes. These crime reports play a critical role in providing essential information necessary for effective policing. Favorable perceptions towards the police foster willingness to cooperate with the police and police crime-control efforts.
Crime reporting is the starting point of many phenomena studied in criminology, providing the foundation for much of our understanding of the field. Despite its significance, there has been limited research conducted specifically on crime reporting itself, and a more comprehensive understanding of this topic is essential. Therefore, it is crucial to conduct research into crime reporting and how it is experienced by those involved. This exploratory research provides insight into both the content and context of crime reporting conversations, as well as how citizens and police front desk staff experience these conversations. Their experiences are measured by gathering information on expectations and satisfaction levels of crime reporting conversations. The crime reporting conversations are observed in action and three questionnaires are distributed, one to front desk staff directly after the conversation and two to citizens one week and two months after the conversation. The outcomes offer valuable insights into how police stations can enhance crime reporting experiences, improve public satisfaction, and encourage greater cooperation from citizens, leading to more effective crime-control efforts. In the presentation, the interim results of the study are discussed.

Authors

• Roselle Petra Jansen, NSCR

• Ronald van Steden, NSCR and VU University

• Stijn Ruiter, NSCR