The Police-Community Interaction Survey: measuring police performance in new ways

Abstract

Purpose There is widespread interest in moving beyond crime statistics to measure police performance in new ways, especially the quality of police-community interactions that influence police legitimacy and public trust. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Police-Community Interaction Survey (PCIS) developed by the National Police Research Platform. Design/methodology/approach The PCIS collected data from 53 police agencies around the USA in 2013-2014. The psychometric properties of the constructs measured are presented. This study also offers a preliminary test of the effects of an alternatively specified and expanded procedural justice model on willingness to cooperate with the police, mediated through perceptions of officer trustworthiness. Findings Scales were developed with good reliability and validity that measure various aspects of the police-community interactions. The authors find evidence that empathy is an important addition to the procedural justice model, and that the effects of procedural justice on willingness to cooperate with the police are partially mediated through perceptions of officer trustworthiness. Originality/value This is the first attempt to validate the measurement of police-community interactions on a large scale in the USA with policy implications at the local and national levels. The findings can help local police agencies incorporate new performance metrics at the individual, group, and agency levels. Nationally, the science of policing can be advanced by specifying the antecedents and consequences of respectful and empathic actions, including behavior that strengthens police-community relations.

A Neglected Problem: Understanding the Effects of Personal and Vicarious Trauma on African Americans’ Attitudes Toward the Police

“…Legal cynicism appears to be pervasive in our respondents' narratives. To increase trust between the police and Black communities, we suggest that police leaders and policymakers consider instituting performance measures to provide feedback on relationship-building skills of officers (see Rosenbaum et al, 2017). Regularly assessing communities served for feedback on service delivery and interactions may be another productive avenue for police to explore.…”

Validation of the Organizational Justice Scale in a Portuguese context.

“…Most authors assume that procedural justice encompasses voice, neutrality, and respect/respectfulness (Rosenbaum et al, 2017; Tyler & Huo, 2002; Van Craen & Skogan, 2017). Some emphasize additional components, such as accountability (Van Craen & Skogan, 2017) or truthfulness/trustworthiness (Rosenbaum et al, 2017; Tyler & Huo, 2002), showing a lack of consensus regarding its components. Other proposed components include flexibility, timing/speed, accessibility, process control, and decision control (Migacz, Zou, & Petrick, 2018).…”

Let the Talk Count: Attributes of Stakeholder Engagement, Trust, Perceive Environmental Protection and CSR

“…Previous research shows that the quality of how a person is treated shows the extent of value and respect from decision makers. Rosenbaum et al (2017) investigated how to measure police performance through public trust and acceptance with survey data gathered from 53 cities in the United States. Their results show a strong association between respectful treatment of the public and trust.…”

“…Respectful treatment (RES): Items were modified from Rosenbaum et al (2017) and they were mining firms can change decisions based on feedback from local inhabitants; personnel from mining firms are polite with local inhabitants; during meetings, the mining personnel talked down to me (reverse coded).…”