The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office): Developing a Brief Community Policing Self-Assessment Tool produced a self-assessment community policing instrument for police departments to allow them to reliably measure progress in implementing community policing in a way that minimizes burden and cost to agencies. This tool facilitates internal planning, and informs training and management initiatives toward the full adoption of community policing. The instrument includes sections to document the organizational changes instituted in support of community policing, as well as an agencies progress toward building community partnerships and using problem solving techniques.
This project made use of multiple data sources (e.g., police personnel, community leaders, archival records, and observations) and used quantitative (surveys, extant police and community records, and observational data) and qualitative (structured observations of activities of patrol officers and managers and neighborhood characteristics, interviews and focus groups with key stakeholder such as police managers and community leaders) methods to tap the content of community policing, allowing our team to “triangulate” and produce valid and reliable results. The project team first conducted data reduction analyses, including conducting factor analysis and examining item correlations.
These analyses were followed by a more qualitative/substantive review of the tool items to determine the final set of items to be included on the draft short form. Next, we conducted validation analyses of the CP-SAT short form to ensure that the short form is reflective of the full CP-SAT. To accomplish this we administered the short form (in conjunction with the long form) to two agencies. We found strong agreement and correlation between the short form and long form. The final created product and related automated reporting system is an assessment tool that is truly stand-alone system that can be incorporated into a larger grants management program with minimal technical assistance. The plan is for this form to be used as part of a mandatory COPS Office grants management system that will be implemented across approximately is an assessment tool that is truly stand-alone system that can be incorporated into a larger grants management program with minimal technical assistance. The plan is for this form to be used as part of a mandatory COPS Office grants management system that will be implemented across approximately 1,400 police agencies.
This project has three specific goals:- Create a draft short form of the operational CP-SAT
- Validate the CP-SAT short form
- Create a CP-SAT short form process that is both user-friendly and informative to participating departments
The CP-SAT short form will allow police departments to reliably measure progress in implementing community policing in a way that minimizes burden and cost to agencies.
Bruce G. Taylor began this project when he was the Research Director at the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). When Taylor came to NORC at the University of Chicago, PERF entered into a subcontract with NORC to have Dr. Taylor continue on this project.