Increasing the Efficiency of Police Departments in Allegany County, New York, 1994-1995
Description
This study sought to investigate the attitudes of residents
and law enforcement personnel living or working in Allegany County,
New York in order to (1) assess community support of law enforcement
efforts to collaborate on projects, and (2) determine rural law
enforcement agencies' willingness to work together on community
policing projects and share resources in such a way as to improve and
increase their overall individual and collective effectiveness and
efficiency. Community policing, for this study, was defined as any law
enforcement strategy designed to improve policy directed toward law
enforcement interaction with community groups and citizens. Data were
gathered from surveys that were distributed to two groups. First, to
determine community perceptions of crime and attitudes toward the
development of collaborative community policing strategies, surveys
were distributed to the residents of the villages of Alfred and
Wellsville and the town of Alfred in Allegany County, New York (Part
1, Community Survey Data). Second, to capture the ideas and
perceptions of different types of law enforcement agencies regarding
their willingness to share training, communication, and technology,
surveys were distributed to the law enforcement agencies of
Wellsville, Alfred, the New York State Police substation (located in
the town of Wellsville), the county sheriff's department, and the
Alfred State College and Alfred University public safety departments
(Part 2, Law Enforcement Survey Data). For Part 1 (Community Survey
Data), the residents were asked to rate their level of fear of crime,
the reason for most crime problems (i.e., gangs, drugs, or
unsupervised children), positive and negative contact with police, the
presence and overall level of police service in the neighborhoods, and
the importance of motor vehicle patrols, foot patrols, crime
prevention programs, and traffic enforcement. Respondents were also
asked whether they agreed that police should concentrate more on
catching criminals (as opposed to implementing community-based
programs), and if community policing was a good idea. Demographic data
on residents includes their age, sex, whether they had been the victim
of a property or personal crime, and the number of years they had
lived in their respective communities. Demographic information for
Part 2 (Law Enforcement Survey Data) includes the sex, age, and
educational level of law enforcement respondents, as well as the
number of years they had worked with their respective
departments. Respondents were asked if they believed in and would
support programs targeted toward youth, adults, the elderly, and
merchants. Further queries focused on the number of regular and
overtime hours used to train, develop, and implement department
programs. A series of questions dealing with degrees of trust between
the departments and levels of optimism was also asked to gauge
attitudes that might discourage collaboration efforts with other
departments on community-oriented programs. Officers were also asked
to rate their willingness to work with the other agencies.