Researchers have emphasized the importance of direct encounters with the police as a determinant of attitudes toward the police, yet cross-sectional studies allow for limited causal inference. This study includes the measurement of attitudes before and after encounters with the police among African American, Hispanic, and White residents of Chicago. Contrary to previous research, direct contact with the police during the past year is not enough to change attitudes, but vicarious experience (i.e., learning that someone else has had a good or bad encounter with the police) does influence attitudes in a predictable manner. Also, residents’ initial attitudes about the police play a critical role in shaping their judgments of subsequent direct and indirect experiences as well as their future attitudes. The findings are discussed in terms of stereotypes about the police that are resistant to change.

The purpose of this study is to extend our understanding of attitudes toward the police by examining how race/ethnicity, social class, and neighborhood context interact to influence four different dimensions of attitudes: neighborhood, global, police services, and fear of the police. The results showed significant racial/ethnic variation in perceptions of the police, with African-Americans reporting the most negative attitudes. The magnitude of the racial/ethnic gap, however, varied across the different attitude dimensions with the largest difference between African-Americans and Whites in terms of fear of the police. The findings also suggested that African-Americans' and Hispanics' perceptions of the police are moderated by the interaction of social class and neighborhood socioeconomic composition. Middle-class African-Americans and Hispanics who resided in disadvantaged neighborhoods reported more negative attitudes toward the police than those who resided in more advantaged areas. Overall the study findings highlight the complex interplay between experiences, community context, social class, and type of attitudinal assessment in understanding within and across racial and ethnic variation in residents' perceptions of the police.

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Using data over 4,000 agencies, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of community, organization, and economic factors on the representation of women in law enforcement. The results highlight the influence that police executives and community leaders have on gender diversity by way of creating a greater demand for women in the profession. Higher levels of female officer representation were associated with organizations that emphasize community policing; have higher education requirements, more incentives and benefits, no physical fitness screening criteria, and no collective bargaining rights; belong to the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies; and serve larger and more racially and ethnical diverse communities.

Using a national probability sample of municipal police departments, this study provides the first systematic look at the prevalence, predictors, and content of municipal police websites in the United States. A content analysis revealed that police agencies with websites (42% of all police agencies nationwide in 2008) were more inclined to use websites to “push out” information rather than “pull in” information from the community. The results support the hypothesis that departments with a greater emphasis on community policing (defined by Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics [LEMAS] data) would be more likely to have a website, exhibit greater transparency in the display of data and provide more opportunities for citizen input. Crime rate and population size were also important determinants of website creation and content, respectively. This study concludes that websites are underutilized by both the police and research communities.