Police Policy and Citizen Satisfaction: Evidence From Urban Areas

Research on citizen evaluations of police performance for the past decade shows that black Americans have primarily negative views. To improve police-community relations in Ur areas, various programs have been established. Using 1968 survey data from 14 cities, two kinds of programs created to improve citizen evaluations of the police are measured; individual interview data from blacks (N = 2,809) & whites (N = 2,950) were combined with aggregate city-level variables. Public evaluations of police by whites were not affected by community relations programs or complaint boards; blacks' evaluations were somewhat more favorable. Individual police officers are concluded to be most responsible for public attitudes. 1 Tables. Modified Author Summary.