Community Policing Research Proposal Paper

The topic for this research proposal project is on community policing, and the factors that are involved in determining if relationships between law enforcement and citizens in these neighborhoods are strained. In order to be successful, community policing must be built on trust, as both civilians and law enforcement must work hand in hand to protect their communities. If there is a lack of trust, then these programs becomes broken, and can therefore lead to other violence and criminal acts.

This research proposal project will focus on minority based communities and citizens, where the majority of the citizens are either African American or Hispanic. The references used in this study will be used to build knowledge on the subject, and to identify

It also provides an example of how attitudes towards community policing in these types of areas differs from disadvantaged social and economic areas, which may assist in understanding how to bridge the gap in community policing as a whole.

McNeeley, S., & Grothoff, G. (2016). A multilevel examination of the relationship between racial tension and attitudes toward the police. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 41(3), 383-401. doi:10.1007/s12103-015-9318-2

This journal article examines whether a citizen’s individual perception of racial tension, or that of an entire community, leads to a negative attitude toward law enforcement (McNeeley & Grothoff, 2016). Telephone surveys were used in Seattle, Washington, in neighborhoods where there were large proportions of minority residents. These surveys asked various questions, which ranged from gauging overall happiness with police duties, to asking if racial profiling was an issue inside neighborhoods (McNeeley & Grothoff, 2016). The research conducted contributed greatly to current knowledge on the topic, but limitations were also noted, as questions were not asked that could have altered the survey’s

Random sample surveys were conducted in Seattle, Washington by telephone, which asked citizen’s various questions concerning their feelings towards police. These questions included their level of happiness in regards to police problem-solving, their views on police hassling citizens, and if they had ever experienced, or perceived to experience racial profiling or bias by law enforcement (Wu, 2014). Of all the citizens that took part in the survey, 64% of African Americans felt that racial profiling was a problem inside their neighborhoods, 28% of Asians, 20% of whites, and 34% of Hispanics agreed (Wu,