Citation

Novak KJ, Alarid LF, Lucas WL. J. Crim. Justice 2003; 31(1): 57-71.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S0047-2352(02)00199-X

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Organizations interested in implementing community policing should be cognizant of the attitudes of line officers toward this policy due to the fact line officers are responsible for implementing community policing on the street level. Successful implementation of organizational change may rely on identifying individuals who are most supportive of community policing. What remains unclear is what factors are related to officers' acceptance of community policing. This research examined the factors related to acceptance of the community policing philosophy. Surveys were administered at roll calls by researchers to a total of 445 officers of all departmental ranks. It was found that officers who supported informal problem-solving tactics perhaps involving agencies outside the police department, and officers who were non-White were more likely to support concepts of community policing. At the same time, several factors, which presumed to be related to community policing, did not materialize, including previous work on structured problem-solving projects, rank, education, and desire for autonomy. Explanations and policy implications are discussed.