Improve Police-community Relations Research Articles

Restorative Justice, Peacemaking, and Social Justice: The Application of Kingian Nonviolence Philosophy in Community Policing

Some police officers have been studying the strategies of nonviolence, as presented in the words and actions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to incorporate them into their own policing strategies. This article explores the principles of the Kingian philosophy and how they are applied in the Tallahassee Police Department while placing this police reform into a context of restorative justice. The paper also reflects upon the potential value of this strategy in producing a more responsive and less violent police force which is equipped to improve police community relations. Finally, this paper explores the dialectic relationship of reform and repression as it contemplates on the potential of this program, or any other criminal justice ‘;reform,’ for producing social justice.

Immigration and Integration: Perceptions of Community Policing Among Members of Six Ethnic Communities in Central Queens, New York City

There is some evidence, based on past research, that community policing has not been as successful (in terms of awareness, participation, and impact) in Black and Latino communities as in White communities. We believed that there may be even less awareness of community policing in ethnic communities containing high proportions of recent immigrants. We conducted an investigation into the extent to which awareness of community policing had penetrated immigrant communities. From a multi-ethnic neighborhood in Queens, New York with a high proportion of foreign-born residents, we surveyed representative samples from six different ethnic groups. Two of the communities were well established and integrated into the city's political structure. The other four communities were composed largely of recent immigrants and had not yet developed a strong sense of political empowerment. Respondents were asked about awareness of community policing, sources of awareness, participation in community policing activities, and suggestions for improving police—community relations. Respondents from the long-etablished ethnic communities were far more likely to be aware of community policing than respondents in the recently established communities. The former respondents were also more likely to have participated in community policing activities. Increasing foot patrols and holding more meetings with the community were seen as the most effective means of improving police—community relations, especially among recently established Hispanic communities.

The Citizen Police Academy: Measuring Outcomes

During the past two decades, many American police departments have developed Citizen Police Academies. These programs are intended to improve police-community relations, to educate the public, and to further the implementation of community policing strategies. Despite their widespread use, few efforts have been made to empirically evaluate Citizen Police Academies. This study examines the impact of one Citizen Police Academy program by surveying past program participants. The results show that although the Citizen Police Academy satisfied the department's objectives, the majority of participants entered the program with positive views of the agency. These findings are discussed in terms of the program's overall impact within the community.

Value consistency within the police: the lack of a gap

This paper reports the results of a 1992 City of Tacoma, Washington study of police values which was designed to test similar research conducted by Milton Rokeach in 1971. Our data support the hypothesis that individual value systems are more important than occupational socialization in understanding police selection and behavior. Value patterns not only were consistent over time, but also reflected a pattern of conservative beliefs. This work suggests that any attempt to reform or improve police community relations must begin with the restructuring of recruiting practices and the re‐socialization of police practitioners.

The Citizen Police Academy: A recipe for improving police-community relations

The development of the Citizen Police Academy (CPA) has resulted in a new mechanism for improving police-community relations and enhancing public cooperation. The main purposes of the program are out-lined, the basic organization of various CPAs around the country are discussed, and the effectiveness of the CPA concept is considered. There are many advantages both for the police department and the community in setting up a CPA, but there are several disadvantages which are addressed. The organization of the Metro-Dade, Florida CPA is described in detail.