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DETERMINANTS OF ATTITUDES TOWARD CITY POLICE
Author(s) -
SCAGLION RICHARD,
CONDON RICHARD G.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
criminology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.467
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1745-9125
pISSN - 0011-1384
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-9125.1980.tb01312.x
Subject(s) - socioeconomic status , officer , law enforcement , context (archaeology) , community policing , perception , affect (linguistics) , social psychology , criminology , race (biology) , psychology , police department , service (business) , political science , sociology , law , geography , demography , gender studies , business , marketing , population , archaeology , communication , neuroscience
This paper reports the results of a survey of attitudes toward police and police service among 273 citizens in 4 neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Extensive socioeconomic and personal history data were collected for all individuals. Results indicate that personal history. particularly respondents’perceptions of the way in which specific officers have related to them personally in previous encounters, is a more significant determinant of general attitudes towards police than were all socioeconomic variables including race and income. Results thus suggest that positive styles of policing will significantly affect police‐community relations, and that police‐community relations programs stressing officer‐citizen interaction in a law enforcement context will have the highest probability of success.