Project on Policing Neighborhoods in Indianapolis, Indiana, and St. Petersburg, Florida, 1996-1997

The purpose of the Project on Policing Neighborhoods (POPN) was
to provide an in-depth description of how the police and the community
interact with each other in a community policing (CP) environment. Research
was conducted in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1996 and in St. Petersburg,
Florida, in 1997. Several research methods were employed: systematic
observation of patrol officers (Parts 1-4) and patrol supervisors (Parts
5-14), in-person interviews with patrol officers (Part 15) and supervisors
(Parts 16-17), and telephone surveys of residents in selected neighborhoods
(Part 18). Field researchers accompanied their assigned patrol or
supervising officer during all activities and encounters with the public
during the shift. Field researchers noted when various activities and
encounters with the public occurred during these "ride-alongs," who was
involved, and what happened. In the resulting data files coded observation
data are provided at the ride level, the activity level (actions that did
not involve interactions with citizens), the encounter level (events in
which officers interacted with citizens), and the citizen level. In
addition to encounters with citizens, supervisors also engaged in
encounters with patrol officers. Patrol officers and patrol supervisors in
both Indianapolis and St. Petersburg were interviewed one-on-one in a
private interviewing room during their regular work shifts. Citizens in the
POPN study beats were randomly selected for telephone surveys to determine
their views about problems in their neighborhoods and other community
issues. Administrative records were used to create site identification
data (Part 19) and data on staffing (Part 20). This data collection also
includes data compiled from census records, aggregated to the beat level
for each site (Part 21). Census data were also used to produce district
populations for both sites (Part 22). Citizen data were aggregated to the
encounter level to produce counts of various citizen role categories and
characteristics and characteristics of the encounter between the patrol
officer and citizens in the various encounters (Part 23). Ride-level data
(Parts 1, 5, and 10) contain information about characteristics of the ride,
including start and end times, officer identification, type of unit, and
beat assignment. Activity data (Parts 2, 6, and 11) include type of
activity, where and when the activity took place, who was present, and how
the officer was notified. Encounter data (Parts 3, 7, and 12) contain
descriptive information on encounters similar to the activity data (i.e.,
location, initiation of encounter). Citizen data (Parts 4, 8, and 13)
provide citizen characteristics, citizen behavior, and police behavior
toward citizens. Similarly, officer data from the supervisor observations
(Parts 9 and 14) include characteristics of the supervising officer and the
nature of the interaction between the officers. Both the patrol officer and
supervisor interview data (Parts 15-17) include the officers' demographics,
training and knowledge, experience, perceptions of their beats and
organizational environment, and beliefs about the police role. The patrol
officer data also provide the officers' perceptions of their supervisors
while the supervisor data describe supervisors' perceptions of their
subordinates, as well as their views about their roles, power, and
priorities as supervisors. Data from surveyed citizens (Part 18) provide
information about their neighborhoods, including years in the neighborhood,
distance to various places in the neighborhood, neighborhood problems and
effectiveness of police response to those problems, citizen knowledge of,
or interactions with, the police, satisfaction with police services, and
friends and relatives in the neighborhood. Citizen demographics and
geographic and weight variables are also included. Site identification
variables (Part 19) include ride and encounter numbers, site beat (site,
district, and beat or community policing areas [CPA]), and sector. Staffing
variables (Part 20) include district, shift, and staffing levels for
various shifts. Census data (Part 21) include neighborhood, index of
socioeconomic distress, total population, and total white
population. District population variables (Part 22) include district and
population of district. The aggregated citizen data (Part 23) provide the
ride and encounter numbers, number of citizens in the encounter, counts of
citizens by their various roles, and by sex, age, race, wealth, if known by
the police, under the influence of alcohol or drugs, physically injured,
had a weapon, or assaulted the police, counts by type of encounter, and
counts of police and citizen actions during the encounter.

Tags: citizen-attitudes, communities, community-policing, fear-of-crime, neighborhood-conditions, neighborhoods, police, police-citizen-interactions, police-effectiveness, police-patrol
Organization: Department of Justice