DOI: 10.3886/icpsr02480
title: Communication of Innovation in Policing in the United States, 1996
title: Archival Version

description: These data were collected to examine the patterns of
 communication among police planners in the United States. The focus
 was on information-sharing, in which police planners and others
 contact other law enforcement agencies directly to gather the
 information they need to manage their departments. This study
 examined this informal network and its role in the dissemination of
 police research. The Police Communication Network Survey was mailed
 to the chief executives of 517 local departments and all 49 state
 police and highway patrol organizations in March 1996. The chief was
 asked to forward the questionnaire to the commander of the
 department's planning and research unit. Questions covered the agency
 most frequently contacted, how frequently this agency was contacted,
 mode of communication used most often, why this agency was contacted,
 and the agency most likely contacted on topics such as domestic
 violence, deadly force, gangs, community policing, problem-oriented
 policing, drug enforcement strategies, civil liability, labor
 relations, personnel administration, accreditation, and police traffic
 services. Information was also elicited on the number of times
 different law enforcement agencies contacted the respondent's agency
 in the past year, the percentage of time devoted to responding to
 requests for information from other agencies, and the amount of
 training the respondent and the staff received on the logic of social
 research, research design, statistics, operations research,
 cost-benefit analysis, evaluation research, and computing. Demographic
 variables include respondent's agency name, position, rank, number of
 years of police experience, number of years in the planning and
research unit, and highest degree attained.
description: The American police system is among the most
 decentralized and fragmented in existence. There are thousands of
 federal, state, and local agencies, ranging in size from a one-officer
 rural department to incredibly complex organizations in large cities.
 All of these departments require information relative to changes in
 policy, law, and practice. In order to meet these demands, two systems
 have developed. The first system is formal. It centers on the
 distribution of information by federal government agencies such as the
 National Institute of Justice and by professional organizations such
 as the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the
 Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), the Police Foundation, and the
 International Association of Law Enforcement Planners. This system
 provides enormous amounts of research to a vast array of clients.
 There is, however, another system engaged in these dissemination
 efforts. It is an informal system of information-sharing in which
 police planners and others contact other law enforcement agencies
 directly to gather the information they need to manage their
 departments. This study examined several aspects of this informal
 network and its role in the dissemination of police research,
 specifically: (1) What agencies are planners most likely to contact
 when they look for information? (2) How frequent are these contacts?
 (3) What are the modes of communication? (4) What factors influence
 the choice of a contact? (5) What are the resource requirements
 associated with these requests? (6) Are requests information-specific?
 (7) How well are police planning and research units prepared to
conduct research?
description: To examine how the system of information-sharing
 among police organizations works, this research collected data using a
 national survey of police planning and research commanders. In March
 1996, the Police Communication Network Survey was mailed to the chief
 executives of 517 full-service local police organizations with 100 or
 more sworn officers and all 49 state police and highway patrol
 organizations in the United States. The chief was asked to forward
 the questionnaire to the commander of the department's planning and
 research unit. By June 1996, 360 local organizations, 43 state
organizations, and 13 sheriff departments had responded.
description: Variables include agency most frequently contacted,
 how frequently this agency was contacted, the mode of communication
 used most often, why the respondent contacted this agency, and the
 agency most likely contacted on topics such as domestic violence,
 deadly force, gangs, community policing, problem-oriented policing,
 drug enforcement strategy, civil liability, labor relations, personnel
 administration, accreditation, and police traffic services. Additional
 items cover the number of times different law enforcement agencies
 contacted the respondent's agency in the past year, the percentage of
 time devoted to responding to requests for information from other
 agencies, and the amount of training the respondent and the staff
 received on the logic of social research, research design, statistics,
 operations research, cost-benefit analysis, evaluation research, and
 computing. Demographic variables include respondent's agency name,
 position, rank, number of years of police experience, number of years
in the planning and research unit, and highest degree attained.
description: Response Rates: Based on the subsamples, 360 local organizations
 (70 percent) and 43 state organizations and 13 sheriff departments (88
percent) responded. The overall response rate was 71 percent.
description: Presence of Common Scales: None.
description: All full-service local police organizations with 100 or
 more sworn officers and all 49 state police and highway patrol
organizations in the United States.
description: Datasets: 
DS1: Communication of Innovation in Policing in the United States, 1996
description: All police departments in the United States.
description: The codebook, user guide, and data collection
 instruments are provided as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file.
 The PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated and
 can be accessed using PDF reader software, such as the Adobe Acrobat
 Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy of the Acrobat Reader is
provided through the ICPSR Website on the Internet.