AN EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY OF YOUTH ATTITUDES TOWARD POLICE RECRUITMENT. Thesis for the Degree of M. St MlCHIGAN STATE .UNNERSHY BRUCE L. BENSON 1971 3”““W 02 s 3 ‘ v I “#Mn'fla;w;a :x'. -_ ”a”. "‘5 K—I’QS‘. {:3 .1 I ,. w a, 1 hi‘\ . " . P Q; ; In. - r ‘ . n‘ 2 5' 5:1"? {rpm-1] w 3 741,993 A ' :1 ..._ ', . , “£9175. L ABSTRACT AN EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY OF YOUTH ATTITUDES TOWARD POLICE RECRUITMENT BY Bruce L. Benson Analysis of current social conditions and a review of available literature emphasize the importance of the police recruitment problem. Methods must be found to at- tract competent, well-qualified personnel to the police profession. This thesis is an exploratory study of the atti- tudes of young adults toward police, and especially toward police recruitment. Its purpose is to discover new ideas and insights concerning the police recruitment problem, and to provide a basis for further meaningful research. The research was conducted at Flint Central High School and Flint Northern High School in Flint, Michigan, through the use of a 41-item questionnaire. The sample group consisted of 335 reSpondents, all male high school seniors. Bruce L. Benson Some of the conclusions of this eXploratory study are as follows: 1. A significant relationship was found between a person's attitudes toward the police and the fol- lowing factors: his race; the estimated reactions of his best friend, other friends, and best girl friend toward his becoming a policeman; whether or not he has had previous contact of a negative na- ture with the police; and his personal appraisal of the Police—School Liaison Program in his school. Also related to a person's attitudes toward the police, though to a lesser extent, are his father's occupation (approximate socioeconomic status) and the estimated reactions of his parents toward his entering a police career. 2. A relationship was found between the extent of the actual plans of an individual to enter a police career, and certain identifiable characteristics of that individual. White respondents were found to be slightly more interested in a police career than blacks, but not 3. Bruce L. Benson to a significant extent. A significantly greater interest in a possible police career was shown by those who estimated approval toward their entering police work by their best friend, other friends, best girlfriend, and favorite teacher; and by those who held more favorable impressions of the Police—School Liaison Program in their school. To a lesser extent, those who personally know a police officer, and those who feel their parents would approve of a police career, were inclined to be slightly more interested in a police career than those with Opposite characteristics. A very small percentage of the reSpondents ex- pressed interest in police work as a possible vocation. Only 15.7 per cent of all reSpondents showed any interest in a police career. Only 10.2 per cent of blacks, and 18.5 per cent of whites, expressed any interest in a police career. Certain factors connected with police work were identified as influential in either attracting potential applicants to a police career, or dis- couraging them from such a career. Bruce L. Benson "A chance to help others," "importance of the job," and "interest and excitement" were found to be the most attractive aSpects of police work. Black students were also attracted by the "au— thority and power" of police work. "Dangerous work," "low pay," and<<§olice represent .- \ the Establishmentj>were found to be important in discouraging young adults from police careers. Only 58.5 per cent of all respondents felt they were qualified to become a policeman if they wanted to. Only 56.4 per cent of blacks, and 60.8 per cent of whites, felt qualified to become policemen. About 41 per cent of all respondents felt they would be wasting their talents and abilities by entering a police career. Thirty—five per cent of whites, and about 51 per cent of blacks, felt this way. Many black respondents tended to feel that police departments would be discriminatory toward them Bruce L. Benson and that their communities would reject them if they became police officers. 8. A primary conclusion of this study is that there is relatively little accurate information avail— able concerning the problem of police recruitment, :while many important unanswered questions remain. There is a clear need for much more extensive re- search in this field. AN EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY OF YOUTH ATTITUDES TOWARD POLICE RECRUITMENT BY 'k' 9 Bruce L. Benson A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE School of Criminal Justice 1971 g 1.3;). c; Stain... (Chairman) ,fi¢£.M/V‘/L/ < fig , (Member) 11$ ns. Each student was introduced to the questionnaire and instructed as to its use by reading the same simple. Standardized instructions on the first page of the ques— t”-i‘l'bnnaire. All students received the same questionnaire. including the same instructions. the same questions. and the same answer alternatives. The questionnaires were plcked up at the end of each homeroom. leaving respondents \ 27Selltiz. OE. Cit.l p. 182. 39 no opportunity for discussion before turning them in. Considering the uniformity effected throughout these pro— cedures. it is assumed that the research measurements are .reliable to a reasonable degree. The research instrument utilized is also assumed tr) be pragmatically valid. for several reasons. First of 611.1: some of the questions used are quite standard ques- tliJDnS which have evidenced their validity in other atti- tlaciinal studies. notably those of Robert Portune and IDC>Iiald Bouma. which have been discussed previously. In £1C1Ciition. however. many of the questions used involve direct techniques. with "obvious" relevance of the ques— tions to the characteristics they are intended to mea- sure.28 These questions can be said to have "face va— lfiiCizity"; that is. "the relevance of the measuring instru- mer1t.to what one is trying to measure is apparent 'on the fact of it. "'29 W A very brief accounting should be given of the I) - . aslc procedures undertaken to effect this research. \ 2. 9. 8Ibid.. p. 311. 2 Ibid.. pp. 164—165. 40 After the questionnaire was constructed. it was initially administered to 27 male college freshmen enrolled in a freshman police administration course. This pre—test resulted in several changes in the questionnaire for pur- Exoses of clarity. It also established an average adminis— 'tJ:ation time for the questionnaire of about eight minutes CPIie questionnaires were then printed in final form. and aacinnmustered in the schools in a one—day period. Each of 'tluea 335 completed questionnaires was then keypunched onto El sstandard I.B.M. computer card by staff members of the EPJ_:Lnt Police Department. Traffic Bureau. Statistical Eirléilyses were then performed by computer and by manual Theatjhods. k 30The class is "Administrative Concepts." PLA 162. 'adfidi is taught at Genesee Community College. Flint. Michi- SBEirla by Officer Charles Krug of the Flint Police Depart— ment. CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS OF DATA EXPLANAT IONS OF PERS ONAL CI-iARACTERISTICS A proper beginning for the analysis of this data :Ls; to brieflymexplain the independent variables. or "per— Y_fim,,i ESCDIlal characteristics." against which the dependent var- ILEilbles in the study were tested. These items are numbered 2 5 through 39 in the original questionnaire. 2 5 - Age: a. 16 or younger. b. 17. c. 18. d. 19 or older. Due to the extreme homogeneity of the sample group VVj4tJi respect to age. this item was found to have no rele— Vance whatsoever in this study. It will therefore be ex- cluded from further consideration. 26 ‘ Race: White. Black. Mexican-American. Other (please specify) (LOUD) Of the 355 respondents. Mexican—American. the "other" are 2311 aund :2'7. a. b. c. d. e. 28- Church a. b. 29 - Do you a. b. c. The a t tendance . 42 only 4 of these were and only 8 identified themselves in category. Since these very small numbers not conducive to meaningful statistical analysis. racial analyses will be concerned only with the white black categories. Approximate grade point average in high school: A or A-. B+l B! or B-. C+l C! or C‘. D+. D. or D-. E. attendance: Usually go to church or Sunday school. Usually don't go to church or Sunday school. plan to go to college? Yes. Not sure. No. above three questions regarding grades. church and college plans are self-explanatory. and need no Special comments. 3() - Father's occupation: Professional. business. or white collar. Skilled or semi-skilled worker. Unskilled worker. Father unemployed. No father in family. ..—' _...- . .v‘ _ n .I" ..v - .‘V‘ 43 This question is intended to determine the respon— dent's approximate socioeconomic status. Because of sev- eral limitations. which will be discussed later in Chap— ter VI 31. 32. 33. 34. it is regarded as a very rough indicator at best. How do you think the following persons would react j.f you expressed interest in becoming a policeman? Your best friend: Not sure. (DD-IOU!” . He would strongly approve. He would approve. He would disapprove. He would strongly disapprove. Your other friends: They would They would Not sure. . They would . They would m Q.n U m Your parents: a. They would b. They would c. Not sure. d. They would e. They would Your best girl Not sure. (DQ-IOU'DJ strongly approve. approve. disapprove. strongly disapprove. strongly approve. approve. disapprove. strongly disapprove. friend: She would strongly approve. She would approve. She would disapprove. She would strongly disapprove. 44 35. Your favorite teacher: a. Strongly approve. b. Approve. c. Not sure. d. Disapprove. e. Strongly disapprove. The purpose of the previous five questions is to determine the significance of the attitudes of various people with whom the student is generally closely asso— ciated. and the impact which these peOple's attitudes‘ have on the attitudes and plans of the student. "Other friends" refers basically to the student's peer group. "Best friend" and "best girl friend" are thought to’be especially significant members of his peer group. "Parents" and "favorite teacher" are obvious terms. 36. Do you know any individual police officer as a per- sonal friend? a. Yes. b. No. Question 36 is self—explanatory. 37. Are you. or have you ever been. a Police Cadet. Com- munity Service Officer. or Police Service Officer? a. Yes. b. No. 45 It was felt that previous or current contact with the police as an actual member of some sort might strongly affect an individual's attitudes or career plans concern- ing the police. 38. Have the police ever asked you any questions because they said you did something wrong (not counting traffic violations)? a. Yes. b. No. This question was aimed at determining previous negative contact with the police. It is stated in a very indirect manner. so as not to be interpreted by the re- spondent as an invasion of privacy. For example. ques- tions such as "Have you ever been arrested by the police?" would be clearly out of line in this type of a study. In addition. traffic violations have been excluded because. particularly in a warning situation. they would not ne— cessarily represent contact with the police in a negative atmosphere. ~39. What is your general Opinion of the value of the Police—Liaison Program in your school. as far as benefit to the students is concerned? Very worthwhile and beneficial for students. Somewhat beneficial. Not sure. Not very beneficial. Q-OU’W 46 e. Has no worth or value for students. f. I am not familiar with the Police-Liaison Program. This question is included because of the extensive efforts by the Flint Police Department to maintain good rapport with the students in the two schools being studied. Each of these schools. along with other schools in the city of Flint. retains a full—time Police—School Liaison Officer provided through the joint cooperation of the Flint Police Department and the Mott Foundation. a charitable organization of that city. This Liaison Of— ficer is a sworn full-time police officer who works in the school both independently. and also as a member of a counseling team. to deal with student anti—social behavior. It was assumed that a student's attitudes toward the po- lice and his career plans concerning a police vocation would be influenced by his impressions of the Police- School Liaison Program. MALYSIS OF ATTITUDES MARI) THE POLICE We begin with an analysis of the first ten ques- ti«ans and their relationship to the independent variables 47 involved in the study. These ten questions are intended to produce a scale to determine an individual's general opinions and attitudes toward the police. The questions are reproduced below: 1. Do you think people would be better off without the police. 2. Do you think that the police are mean? 3. If you needed a policeman's help. would you ask for it? 4. Do you think that being a policeman is a good job for a capable and intelligent guy? 5. Do you think that policemen are pretty nice guys? 6. Do you think that the city would be better off if there were more policemen? 7. Do you think the police get criticized too often? 8. Do you think police accuse you of things you didn't even do? 9. Do you think that the police think they are "big shots" because they wear a badge? 10. Do you think most policemen are unfair in their dealings with young people? In each comparison. the respondents have been EXLaced into one of two groups regarding their attitudes t:CD‘ward the police. The group labeled "high" represents those tions those these scale 48 respondents whose total score for these ten ques- is above the mean score. The "low" group represents whose total score is at or below the mean score for ten questions. For purposes of simplification. this of "attitudes toward the police" will hereafter be referred to as ATP. In comparing race with ATP. Table 8 shows that 64.9 per cent of the white students. compared with only 33 per cent of black students. had "high" or more favor- able attitudes toward the police; while 35.1 per cent of white respondents. and 67 per cent of blacks. had lower attitudes toward the police. TABLE 8 PERCENTAGE COMPARISON OF ATP WITH RACE ATP High Low Whites 64.9% 35.1% Blacks 33% 67% In comparing these two factors on a contingency tlatible. as depicted in Table 9. we see that the chi-square 49 TABLE 9 CONTINGENCY TABLE COMPARING ATP WITH RACE ATP High Low Total 1.3:. 1.3». White 208 111.8 96 2 m f; m 1.7. 7_5 Black 112 60.2 51.8 Total 172 148 320 Chi-square = 29.74091 Degrees of freedom = 1 Chi-square significance = < .001 Contingency coefficient = .29154 Unused or undefined = 15 Underlined cell no. = observed frequency Other cell no. = expected frequency is very high. showing significance at less than the .001 level. This indicates a very high degree of significance in the differences shown. The contingency coefficient. though not excessively high. is meaningful. This figure Itapresents the degree of association between the two f'Eictors. AS a rough example of its meaning. if we divide t3-1'1is figure by .707 (to equate it with a correlation 50 coefficient) and square the result (.4). we get a degree of association of about .16. In other words. about 16 per cent of the attitudes toward the police are due to the factor of race. Table 10 compares ATP with the variable "father's occupation." by percentages. A pattern can be seen here which suggests that the students of upper socioeconomic levels have attitudes more favorable to the police than those of lower socioeconomic levels. TABLE 10 PERCENTAGE COMPARISON OF ATP WITH FATHER'S OCCUPATION ATP Father's Occupation High Low Professional. etc. 64.8% 35.2% Skilled 56.4% 43.6% Unskilled 35.3% 64.7% Unemployed 22.2% 77.8% No father 42.9% 57.1% k Table 11. on the following page. shows this even ruore clearly. The chi—square here is less than .01. The 51 contingency coefficient. again. is not extremely high. but for social science research it does Show some association. TABLE 11 CONTINGENCY TABLE COMPARING ATP WITH FATHER'S OCCUPATION ATP High Low Total Professional. 19 -;§ 108 etc’ 57 5 50.5 c éé. 21 .3 Skilled 117 g 62 3 54.7 m 5 8 m 3_3_ 0 Unskilled 51 P 27 1 23 9 23 a 2 7 4" —-—- _ g Unemployed 9 4.8 4 2 14 2.4 No Father 42 22 3 l9 7 Total 174 153 327 Chi-square = 18.178 Degrees of freedom = 4 Chi-square significance = < .01 Contingency coefficient = .2294811 Unused or undefined = 8 Underlined cell no. = observed frequency Other cell no. = expected frequency 52 Table 12 deals with a person's estimate of his best friend's reaction to his entering a police career. compared with his ATP according to percentages. For pur- poses of analysis. the ”strongly approve” and "approve" items have been combined into one approval category. and the “strongly disapprove" and ”disapprove" responses have been combined into one disapproval category. TABLE 12 PERCENTAGE COMPARISON OF ATP WITH BEST FRIEND'S ESTIMATED REACTION ATP Best Friend High Low Approve 72.7% 27.3% Not sure 53.6% 46.4% Disapprove 35.5% 64.5% The significance of this relationship is shown in Table 13. A chi—square of less than .001 shows very strong significance. and the contingency coefficient shows 51 fair amount of association. This comparison emphasizes tlihe tremendous impact of peer group opinion on one's own Eittitudes at this age. 53 TABLE 13 CONTINGENCY TABLE COMPARING ATP WITH BEST FRIEND'S ESTIMATED REACTION ATP High Low Total 2.2 .21 8 Approve 77 '3 40.1 36 9 o m g 14 e Not Sure 138 5” 72 66 'U c '4’ 3_8 .62 : Disapprove 107 p 65.8 51.2 g . m Total 168 154 322 Chi-square = 30.936 Degrees of free dom = 4 (figured on expanded table) Chi—square significance = < .001 Contingency coefficient = .2960614 Unused or undefined = 13 Underlined cell no. = observed frequency Other cell no. = expected frequency Tables 14 and 15 also Show the importance of peer group approval or disapproval in affecting the ATP of the student. It is interesting to note. however. that al- though the relationship is significant for "other friends." it is not quite as intense as the "best friends” TABLE 14 PERCENTAGE COMPARISON OF ATP WITH OTHER FRIENDS' ESTIMATED REACTION 54 Other Friends ATP High Low Approve 76.5% 23.5% Not sure 55.7% 44.3% Disapprove 38.9% 61.1% TABLE 15 CONTINGENCY TABLE COMPARING ATP WITH OTHER FRIENDS' ESTIMATED REACTION ATP High Low Total c o 39 12 -3 Approve -—- '—* 51 g 26.61 24.39 .53 2 - Not sure Z§_ Q— 140 .8 73.04 66.96 c .E.’ ; Disapprove él' 1§Q 131 H 68.35 62.65 .8 3 Total 168 154 322 Chi-square = 21.97618 Degrees of freedom = 2 Chi-square Significance Contingency coefficient = < .001 .25258 Unused or undefined = 13 Underlined cell no. = Other observed frequency cell no. = expected frequency 55 comparisons. Apparently the opinions of the student's best friend hold a very special importance. The next four tables. Tables 16 through 19. deal with similar relationships between ATP and the estimated reactions of "parents" and "best girlfriend" concerning entering a police career. These two categories are de- scribed together because they are very Similar in the amount of significance shown. Both chi-squares are fairly close: "parents" being considerably less than the .01 level. and "girlfriend" being slightly less than the .001 level. And both contingency coefficients. .21424 and .21213 respec- tively. do Show a small degree of association. But note that both parents and best girlfriend emerge as far less significant influences on the student's ATP than his other friends. and eSpecially his best friend. TABLE 16 PERCENTAGE COMPARISON OF ATP WITH PARENTS' ESTIMATED REACTION Parents ATP High Low Approve 62.5% 37.5% Not sure 40.6% 59.4% Disapprove 50% 50% 56 TABLE 17 CONTINGENCY TABLE COMPARING ATP WITH PARENTS' ESTIMATED REACTION ATP High Low Total 95 .21 c Approve 70 94 65.06 136 o H g .41 5.2 m g Not sure 55.29 50.71 106 '53 4_l 11 8 Disapprove 42.77 39.23 82 E 9 Total 169 155 324 Chi-square = 11.68863 Degrees of freedom = 2 Chi-square Significance = < .01 Contingency coefficient = .18657 Unused or undefined = 11 Underlined cell no. = observed frequency Other cell no. = expected frequency TABLE 18 PERCENTAGE COMPARISON OF ATP WITH BEST GIRLFRIEND'S ESTIMATED REACTION Best Girlfriend ATP High Low Approve 68.4% 31.6% Not sure 51% 49% Disapprove 40.3% 59.7% 57 TABLE 19 CONTINGENCY TABLE COMPARING ATP WITH BEST GIRLFRIEND'S ESTIMATED RACTION ATP High Low Total c .22 22; O 3 Approve 38.96 37.04 76 U (6 g; Q .5_6 _.. 1"“ sure 59.47 56.53 116 '8 g 29. 1f]; ‘ ' 2 a Disapprove 63.57 60.43 1 4 H H '{3 Total 162 154 316 Chi—square = 14.9089 Degrees of freedom = 2 Chi-square significance Contingency coefficient Unused or undefined = 19 Ugderlined cell no. = observed frequency Other cell no. = expected frequency < .001 .21213 In Table 20. the percentages shown present a clear illustration of the impact of having had previous contact with the police in a negative atmosphere. Those who had had such a previous negative contact with the police tended to have much less favorable attitudes toward the .police. while those who had experienced no such contact tended to have more favorable attitudes toward the police. 58 TABLE 20 PERCENTAGE COMPARISON OF ATP WITH PREVIOUS NEGATIVE CONTACT WITH POLICE ATP High Low Previous negative contact 42.9% 57.1% No prev. neg. contact 70.8% 29.2% The extent of this difference is shown in Table 21. where the chi—square iS considerably less than the .001 TABLE 21 CONTINGENCY TABLE COMPARING ATP WITH PREVIOUS NEGATIVE CONTACT WITH POLICE ATP High Low Total 3 Previous §§_ 1 3 m Negative 198 ‘5: '8‘ Contact 105.8 92.2 0.4 m a NO Previous §§_ 32_ .3'5 Negative 120 4,; 4: Contact 64.2 55.8 3‘3 2 Total 170 148 318 Chi-square = 23.383 Degrees of freedom = l Chi-square Significance = < .001 Contingency coefficient = .2617145 Unused or undefined = 17 Underlined cell no. = observed frequency Other cell no. = expected frequency 59 level. Again the contingency coefficient. though not ex- tremely high. does Show some association. The last meaningful relationship here concerns a comparison of ATP with the student's evaluation of the Police—School Liaison Program. As expected. those with more favorable impressions of the Police-School Liaison Program also held more favorable attitudes toward the police. and vice versa. TABLE 22 PERCENTAGE COMPARISON OF ATP WITH RATING OF LIAISON PROGRAM Rating of Liaison Program ATP High Low Beneficial 66.2% 33.8% Not sure 53.6% 46.4% Not beneficial 32.8% 67.2% This is brought out still further in Table 23. which shows a chi—square of less than the .001 level. and a contingency coefficient of .23937. Of additional interest concerning this particular comparison. however. is the sixth answer choice provided 60 TABLE 23 CONTINGENCY TABLE COMPARING ATP WITH RATING OF LIAISON PROGRAM ATP High Low Total 4.2 2.5. C BenefiCial 38.83 35 17 74 o o .2 3. 3 g 52 21 A m Not sure 57.73 52.27 110 “d .5 m 19 39 2" 6'. Not Beneficial — _ 58 -a o 30.44 27.56 u H 2 Q: Total 127 115 242 Chi-square = 14.71129 Degress of freedom = 2 Chi—square significance = <.001 Contingency coefficient 8 .23937 Unused or undefined = 93 Underlined cell no. = observed frequency Other cell no. = expected frequency for this question. number 39. on the questionnaire. This Choice read. "I am not familiar with the Police-Liaison Program." A total of 65 students. representing 21.2 per cent of the students responding to the question. replied that they were not familiar with the program. When this is added to the respondents in the "not sure" category. it 61 results in a total of 175 students. or 57 per cent of the entire group. who were either not sure of the value of the Police-School Liaison Program for students. or else were not even familiar with the program. Perhaps this indi— cates the need for a publicity program of some sort. to familiarize the students with the Police-School Liaison Program and its potential benefits for them. A number of factors. when compared with ATP. were found to have no meaningful significance. These include a respondent's high school grade point average; whether or not he usually attends church or Sunday school; whether or not he plans to attend college; the expected reaction of his favorite teacher if he decided to enter a police career; whether or not he knows a police officer as a personal friend; and whether or not he is or has ever been a Police Cadet. Community Service Officer. or Police Serv- ice Officer. PERCEPTION OF FRIENDS' ATTITUDES TOWARD THE POLICE Prof. Donald Bouma. in his book Kids and Cops. makes the following observations concerning a student's perception of his friends' attitudes toward the police: 62 Dramatic differences were noted in the way students said they felt about the police and their perceptions of how their friends felt. While 44 per cent of the students thought the police treated Negro and white people alike. only 21 per cent of them felt that their friends thought that way. Seventy per cent of the students thought police were "pretty nice guys." but only 39 per cent of them felt this thought was held by their friends . . . . On all eight items yielding comparable data. the students saw themselves as being less antagonistic toward the police and more willing to cooperate in reporting offenses than they perceived their friends as being. Prof. Bouma then goes on to suggest some possible explanations for this occurrence. Questions 11 through 13 were included in my study as a further check on Prof. Bouma's findings. These ques— tions read as follows: 11. 12. 13. Do most of your friends think the police are pretty nice guys? Do your friends think that people would be better off without the police? Do most of your friends feel the police get criti— cized too often? 31Donald H. Bouma. Kids and Cops (Grand Rapids. Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. 1969). p. 61. 63 No Specific comparisons have been made. either by percentages or contingency tables. between these three questions. representing ”perception of friends' attitudes toward the police.” and the 10-question "attitudes toward the police" scale. It is interesting. however. to compare the mean scores of these two scales. The lO-question ATP scale has a possible total score range from 10 to 50. with 50 representing the most favorable attitudes toward the police. The mean score on this scale for all 335 respon— dents was 26.80. The three-question scale representing perception of friends' attitudes toward the police has a possible total score from 3 to 15. The mean score here for all 335 respondents was 9.42. If we express each of these figures in terms of 100 possible points. the ATP mean score is 53.6 (per 100 possible points). while the perception of friends' attitudes toward the police is scored as a much higher mean of 62.8 (per 100 possible points). These findings are directly conflicting with those of Prof. Bouma. It should be emphasized that such a comparison in this study has many limitations. Only three isolated questions are used to determine friends' perceived atti— tudes toward police. which forms an extremely limited 64 scale. Further. this is a comparison of mean scores only. Many other methods of comparison could be performed. In- deed. this one aspect. a comparison of one's attitudes with those attitudes he imputes to his friends. could pro- vide the entire basis for a very detailed comparative re- search study. But the fact that my findings concerning this matter are not at all consistent with Prof. Bouma's findings may indicate the need for further. more intensive research. ANALYSIS OF CAREER PLANS REGARDING POLICE WORK Item 14 of the questionnaire provides the central focus of this entire paper. It is concerned with actual career plans in regard to police work. and is worded as follows: 14. Which of the following best describes your career plans at this time concerning police work? a. I definitely plan to become a policeman. b. I might someday consider a possible career in police work. c. No idea whatsoever. d. I probably will never enter a police career. e. I am certain I will definitely never enter a police career. 65 For analytical purposes. responses "a" and "b" will be combined to indicate interest in a police career. and responses "d” and "e'I will be combined to indicate disinterest in a police career. Table 24 shows the number and percentages of all respondents concerning interest in a police career. A rather small percentage. 15.7 per cent. are definitely or possibly interested in a future career in police work. The not sure category includes 18.2 per cent. while 66.1 per cent are definitely or probably disinterested. TABLE 24 FREQUENCY AND PERCENTAGE COMPARISON OF POSSIBLE POLICE CAREER WITH ALL STUDENTS ___'_ Possible Police Career All students Interest Not sure Disinterest Total Number 49 57 207 313 Per Cent 15.7% 18.2% 66.1% 100% A division of this group along racial lines pro- duces some rather surprising results. as shown in Table 25. One would expect blacks to be much less interested in a police career than whites. but this is the case only to a 66 very slight extent. When this difference is analyzed on a contingency table. as depicted in Table 26. it is shown that no highly significant difference exists between whites and blacks regarding plans for careers in police work. The chi—square here is only between .02 and .01. and the con- tingency coefficient shows little association. Both blacks and whites show only a slight interest in'a pos— sible police career. TABLE 25 PERCENTAGE COMPARISON OF POSSIBLE POLICE CAREER WITH RACE Possible Police Career Race Interest Not sure _ Disinterest Whites 18. 5% 15.1% 66.3% Blacks 10.2% 24.1% 65.7% Analysis of career plans according to grade point average indicates a slightly higher interest in police work among the C-range students than among those in the A and B ranges. Table 28 shows. however. that this dif- ference is not statistically significant. 67 TABLE 26 CONTINGENCY TABLE COMPARING POSSIBLE POLICE CAREER WITH RACE Possible Police Career Interest Not Sure Disinterest Total éé ll. _136 Whlte 36.7 37.3 135.6 205 8 £2 11 2_6 u BlaCk 12.3 19.7 71.4 108 Total 49 l 57 207 313 Chi-square = 12.62347 Degrees of freedom = 4 Chi-square significance = < .02, > .01 Contingency coefficient .19677 Unused or undefined = 22 Underlined cell no. = observed frequency Other cell no. = expected frequency TABLE 27 PERCENTAGE COMPARISON OF POSSIBLE POLICE CAREER WITH GRADE POINT - P ssi Po 1 e Career Grade P01nt O ble 1 c Interest Not Sure Disinterest A-range 10.7% 17.9% ' 71.4% B-range 10.2% 14.1% 75.7% C—range 18.6% 20.3% 61.1% 68 TABLE 28 CONTINGENCY TABLE COMPARING POSSIBLE CAREER WITH GRADE POINT Possible Police Career Interest Not Sure Disinterest Total 2 5 2_o A 28 E 4.24 5.03 18.73 '8 m 11 .15 81 m B _ 107 g 16.2 19.24 71.56 u 0 £3 31 _11 C 182 27.56 32.73 121.72 Total 48 57 212 317 Chi-square = 7.30374 Degrees of freedom = 4 Chi-square significance Contingency coefficient Unused or undefined = 18 Underlined cell no. = observed frequency Other cell no. = expected frequency < .20, > .10 .1500 It was found that a number of factors did show a fairly strong relationship with a person's plans to enter a police career. The following seven contingency tables, Tables 29 through 35, Show that a young adult's career plans regarding police work are significantly related with 69 TABLE 29 CONTINGENCY TABLE COMPARING POSSIBLE POLICE CAREER OF BEST FRIEND'S ESTIMATED REACTION Best Friends's Reaction Possible Police Career 1 Interest Not Sure Disinterest Total 2.5. 11 w 4.1. Approve 77 ‘ 11.66 13.85 51.5 141 39. 2; Not Sure 136 20.59 24.45 90.95 2 _1_6 .72. Disapprove 104 15.75 18.7 69.55 Total = 48 57 212 317 Chi-square = 25.93707 Degrees of freedom = 4 Chi-square significance = < .001 Contingency coefficient = .27495 Unused or undefined = 18 Underlined cell no. = observed frequency Other cell no. = eXpected frequency 70 TABLE 30 CONTINGENCY TABLE COMPARING POSSIBLE POLICE CAREER WITH OTHER FRIENDS' ESTIMATED REACTION Reaction Other Friends' Possible Police Career Interest Not Sure Disinterest Total 1.9 .9. 2.5. Approve 50 7.41 8.99 33.6 2:1. 2_8 fl Not Sure 139 20.61 25 93.4 .12 2_0 251 Disapprove 128 18.98 23.02 86 Total 47 57 213 317 Chi-square = 18.96953 Degrees of freedom = 4 Chi—square significance = < .001 Contingency coefficient = .23748 18 Unused or undefined Underlined cell no. = observed frequency Other cell no. = expected frequency 71 TABLE 31 CONTINGENCY TABLE COMPARING POSSIBLE POLICE CAREER WITH BEST GIRLFRIEND'S ESTIMATED REACTION Girlfriend's Reaction Possible Police Career Interest Not Sure ‘ Disinterest Total 25 12 55 Approve 75 11.9 13.3 50 15 2.3. .75 Not Sure 114 18 20.2 75.9 .9. 2.0. 9.3. Disapprove 122 19.2 21.6 81.3 Total 49 55 207 311 Chi—square = 50.741 Degrees of freedom = 16 (figured on expanded table) < .001 Chi-square significance Contingency coefficient = .3745235 Unused or undefined = 24 Underlined cell no. = observed frequency Other cell no. = expected frequency 72 TABLE 32 CONTINGENCY TABLE COMPARING POSSIBLE POLICE CAREER WITH FAVORITE TEACHER'S ESTIMATED REACTION Favorite Teacher's Reaction Possible Police Career Interest Not Sure Disinterest Total 52 22 & Approve 140 ‘ 21.7 24.7 93.6 11 55 55 Not Sure 141 21.8 24.9 94.3 2 5 2_5 Disapprove 30 4.7 5.3 20 Total 48 55 208 311 Chi—square = 44.106 Degrees of freedom = 16 (figured on expanded table) Chi-square significance = < .001 Contingency coefficient = .3524270 24 Unused or undefined Underlined cell no. = observed frequency Other cell no. = expected frequency 73 TABLE 33 CONTINGENCY TABLE COMPARING POSSIBLE POLICE CAREER WITH PARENTS' ESTIMATED REACTION Reaction Parents' Possible Police Career {Interest Not Sure Disinterest Total 25. 15 a Approve 134 20.58 24.36 89.05 12 2_9 _6_4 Not Sure 105 16.13 19.09 69.78 5 g .61 Disapprove 80 12.29 14.55 53.17 Total 49 58 1 212 319 Chi-square = 15.34998 Degrees of freedom = 4 _ Chi-square significance = < .01, > .001 Contingency coefficient = .21424 Unused or undefined = 16 Underlined cell no. = observed frequency Other cell no. = expected frequency TABLE 34 CONTINGENCY TABLE COMPARING POSSIBLE POLICE CAREER WITH RATING OF LIAISON PROGRAM 74 Possible Police Career Degrees of freedom = Chi—square significance = < .01, > .001 Contingency coefficient = .18920 Unused or undefined Underlined cell no. 98 observed frequency Other cell no. = expected frequency Interest Not Sure Disinterest Total 11 5 15 Beneficial 72 11.24 13.97 46.79 c 88 ...... 15 29. 55 g g Not Sure 109 Q m 17.02 21.16 70.83 '44- O E m3 6 8 42 C Di Not -' - -—- S 8 Beneficial 56 g m 8.74 10.87 36.39 Total 37 46 154 237 Chi-square = 8.80222 75 TABLE 35 CONTINGENCY TABLE COMPARING POSSIBLE POLICE CAREER WITH KNOW COP Possible Police Career Interest Not Sure Disinterest Total 252 32 fi Yes 188 28 9 34.2 125 8‘ U 11 18. 102 g No 131 g; 20.1 23.8 87 Total 49 58 212 319 Chi—square = 16.266 Degrees of freedom = 4 (figured on eXpanded table) < .01, > .001 Chi—square significance Contingency coefficient = .2202663 Unused or undefined = 16 Underlined cell no. = observed frequency Other cell no. = eXpected frequency the approval of his best friend, other friends, best girl— friend, favorite teacher, and to a lesser extent, his parents concerning his becoming a police officer. The student's evaluation of the Police-School Liaison Program 76 is also a somewhat significant factor, to a lesser extent, as is knowing a police officer as a personal friend. Factors having no significance in this area are usual church attendance; plans to attend college; father's occupation; experience as a Police Cadet, Community Serv- ice Officer, or Police Service Officer; and previous nega- tive contact with the police. ATTRACTING OR DISCOURAGING FACTORS It is assumed that certain factors connected with police work can be identified as influential in either attracting potential applicants to a police career, or discouraging them from such a career. To provide some in- formation concerning this assumption, questions 15 through 22 were included in the questionnaire. These are not to be interpreted as definite causal factors for an individ— ual's interest or disinterest in a police career. They may, however, give some indications as to the possible importance of some influences which could affect a per— son's choosing, or not choosing, a police career. 77 In the tables for questions 15 through 22, the "strongly agree" and "agree" reSponses have been grouped into one agreement category, and the "disagree" and "strongly disagree” responses have been combined into one category indicating disagreement. Responses to these questions are indicated in percentages. Only a few inde— pendent variables are shown, which seem to have some rele- vance. Table 36 shows that 58.5 per cent of all students responding felt they were qualified to become policemen, while 20 per cent did not feel qualified, and 21.5 per cent were not sure. When these figures are analyzed according to race, we see that 60.8 per cent of white students and 56.4 per cent of blacks felt qualified to become policemen, while 18.6 per cent of whites and 20.9 per cent of blacks did not. There is some difference shown here, but it is not very extensive. Finally, viewing these figures according to grade point of the respondent, we see that while B-students had the highest percentage who felt qualified to become po— licemen, A—students had the smallest percentage of 78 students who did not feel qualified. C—students generally tended to feel less qualified to become policemen than the other two groups. TABLE 36 ESTIMATE OF WHETHER QUALIFIED TO BECOME A POLICEMAN 15. Do you think you are qualified to become a policeman if you wanted to? Aqgee Undecided Disagree All students 58.5% 21.5% 20% Whites 60.8% 20.6% 18.6% Blacks 56.4% 22.7% 20.9% A—students 62.9% 29.7%. 7.4% B—students 65.7% 14% 20.3% C-students 53% 24.1% 22.9% Questionnaire items 16 and 17 are somewhat related, dealing with the challenge of a police career. According to Table 38, most of the students consider police work to be a challenging profession. When the question is di— rected more personally, however, as shown in Table 37, a sizeable percentage of the students felt that they would be wasting their talents and abilities if they themselves TABLE 37 POLICE WORK AS WASTE OF TALENTS AND ABILITIES 79 16. Do you think you would be wasting your talents and abilities by entering police work as a career? Agree Undecided Disagree All students 41.1% 22.1% 36.8% Whites 35% 22.1% 42.9% Blacks 51.3% 20.8% 27.9% A-students 55.5% 26% 18.5% B—students 43.5% 21.3% 35.2% C-students 38% 21.8% 40.2% TABLE 38 POLICE WORK AS CHALLENGING PROFESSION 17. Do you consider police work as a challenging profes— Sion? Agggg Undecided Disagree All students 63.3% 16.6%. 20.1% Whites 69.4% 13.8%1 16.8% Blacks 52.7% 21.9%. 25.4% A—students 71.4% 14.3% 14.3% B-students 55.6% 22.2%. 22.2% C—students 65.5% 13.9%. 20.6% 80 entered a police career. The grade—point pattern in Table 37 is especially interesting. The presumably brighter students with higher grade—point averages tended to be in greater agreement with the statement that they would be wasting their talents and abilities in police work. Questions 18 and 19 are also somewhat related, dealing with helping peOple and solving social problems. We see in Table 39 that the great majority of students think police work offers a good chance to help people. Again, however, when this idea is directed more personally toward the individual, as shown in Table 40, the extent of agreement is reduced. A sizeable percentage of students felt that a police career is "a good way to personally attack some of our country's social problems”; but this personally—directed question received less favorable re— sponses than question 18, which asks for a more imper- sonal evaluation of police work as offering a chance to help peOple. Perhaps the word "personally" in question 19 provides the key to the difference in responses to the two similar questions. TABLE 39 81 POLICE WORK AS A CHANCE TO HELP PEOPLE 18. Do you think a police career offers a good chance to help people? Agree Undecided Disagree All students 73.7% 16.2% 10.1% Whites 76.6% 15.1% 8.3% Blacks 67.9% 19.3% 12.8% TABLE 40 POLICE WORK TO ATTACK OUR COUNTRY'S SOCIAL PROBLEMS 19. Do you think a career in police work is a good way to personally attack some of our country's lems? AHEEE. All students 49.5% Whites 52.7% Blacks 43.7% Undecided 25.7% 23.9% 30% social prob- Disagree 24.8% 23.4% 26.3% We now skip to question 21, which deals with the reSpondent's estimate of police work's promotional oppor- tunities. Only a small percentage, roughly one—third, of 82 the students feel that police work offers good Opportun- ities for advancement. The "undecided" group here is very large, however, indicating that a great many students are simply not familiar enough with this aspect of police work to have definite Opinions about it. TABLE 41 ESTIMATES OF POLICE CAREER'S OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADVANCEMENT 21. Do you think police work offers good opportunities for advancement? Ag£§g_ Undecided Disagree All students 33.6% 40.4% 26% Whites 34.6% 44.4% 21% Blacks 32.4% 32.5% 35.1% Questions 20 and 22 deal with estimated reactions toward minority group police officers, both within the police department and within their home communities. The large "undecided" group in Table 42 indicates, again, that the students have little knowledge of the internal work- ings of police departments. What is eSpecially important here, however, is the fact that Table 42 and Table 43 both 83 TABLE 42 ESTIMATE OF DISCRIMINATION WITHIN POLICE DEPARTMENTS 20. Do you think minority group members who are police officers receive fair treatment and advancement 0p- portunities within most police departments? Agree Undecided Disagree All students 34.1% 43.7% 22.2% Whites 40.9% 47.3% 11.8% Blacks 20.7% 40.6% 38.7% TABLE 43 ESTIMATE OF MINORITY GROUP POLICEMAN'S REJECTION BY HIS COMMUNITY 22. Do you feel that police officers who are members of minority groups are rejected by their communities? Agreg Undecided Disagree All students 33.4% 34.1% 32.5% Whites 28.1% 36.4% 35.5% Blacks 42.3% 29.8% 27.9% emphasize the pessimistic outlook of blacks concerning a police career. Only a small percentage of blacks feel that they would receive fair treatment and advancement 84 opportunities as a police officer, while about 42 per cent of black reSpondents feel that becoming a policeman would bring about a correSponding rejection by their community. POLICE WORK'S MOST ATTRACTIVE ASPECT In order to determine what the students consider to be the most attractive aSpect of a police career, a direct question was asked to that effect, with six pos— sible answers which were felt might be important. The following three tables, Tables 44 through 46, rank the reSponses according to all students, whites, and blacks, and indicate the percentages for each response. The a1- truistic motivation "chance to help others” is the defi- nite most frequent choice in all three tables. Note the other differences, however, between whites and blacks. "Interest and excitement" was the second most important aspect of police work for white reSpondents, while black reSpondents selected "authority and power" in this posi- tion. In addition, blacks tended to place a slightly higher importance on the "security" of a police career, with 8.4 per cent selecting this category, compared with 1.6 per cent of whites. 85 TABLE 44 POLICE CAREER'S MOST ATTRACTIVE ASPECT FOR ALL STUDENTS 23. What do you consider the one most attractive aSpect of a police career? All students Chance to help others 45.3% Interest and excitement 19.2% Importance of the job 15% Authority and power 12.4% Good pay and benefits 4.2% Security 3.9% TABLE 45 POLICE CAREER'S MOST ATTRACTIVE ASPECT FOR WHITE STUDENTS 23. What do you consider the one most attractive aspect of a police career? White students Chance to help others 47.1% Interest and excitement 25.9% Importance of the job 16.4% Authority and power 6.3% Good pay and benefits 2.6% Security 1.6% 86 TABLE 46 POLICE CAREER'S MOST ATTRACTIVE ASPECT FOR BLACK STUDENTS 23. What do you consider the one most attractive aSpect of a police career? Black students Chance to help others 41.1% Authority and power 22.4% Importance of the job 14% Security 8.4% Interest and excitement 8.4% Good pay and benefits 5.6% POLICE WORK'S MOST DISCOURAGING ASPECT Question 24 was included in the questionnaire to determine the aspects of police work most likely to dis— courage an individual from a police career. Tables 47 through 49 list the results. The respondents as a whole tended to select "dangerous work" more frequently than any other category. For white students, however, "low pay" was selected most frequently. This contrasts sharply with only 8.7 per cent of black students being concerned with low pay. Of slightly less importance than "dangerous 87 TABLE 47 POLICE CAREER'S MOST DISCOURAGING ASPECT FOR ALL STUDENTS 24. Which of the following would be most important in discouraging you from entering a police career? All students Dangerous work 30.2% Low pay 22.9% Police represent the Establishment 17% Poor advancement Opportunities 12.2% Poor working conditions (hours, etc.) 9% Low prestige 8.7% TABLE 48 POLICE CAREER'S MOST DISCOURAGING ASPECT FOR WHITE STUDENTS 24. Which of the following would be most important in discouraging you from entering a police career? White students Low pay 32.8% Dangerous work 25.3% Police represent the Establishment 14.4% Poor working conditions (hours, etc.) 10.9% Poor advancement opportunities 9.2% Low prestige 7.5% 88 TABLE 49 POLICE CAREER'S MOST DISCOURAGING ASPECT FOR BLACK STUDENTS 24. Which of the following would be most important in discouraging you from entering a police career? Black students Dangerous work 38.5% Police represent the Establishment 20.2% Poor advancement Opportunities 15.4% Low prestige 10.6% Low pay 8.7% Poor working conditions (hours, etc.) 6.7% work" and "low pay" is the opinion that "police represent the Establishment." Seventeen per cent of all respon- dents felt that this category would be most important in discouraging them from police work. CHAPTER V LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY In order to keep this treatise consistent with high standards of ethics and honesty, several limitations of the study should be mentioned. The nature of the research instrument used pre— sents some disadvantages. According to an authoritative research text, fixed—alternative questions may tend to force an Opinion statement on an issue about which the respondent has no definite opinion. The "undecided" choices were included to alleviate this condition to some extent. Further, a fixed-alternative question may not adequately represent a respondent's Opinion, "because none of the choices corresponds exactly to his position, or because they do not allow for qualification." Secondly, question 30 of the questionnaire has some limitations. It is reproduced for discussion as follows: 2Claire Selltiz et al., Research Methods in So— cial Relations (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc., 1964), p. 260. 90 30. Father's OCCUpation: . Professional, business, or white collar. Skilled or semi-skilled worker. Unskilled worker. Father unemployed. No father in family. (DO-IOU!” This question was intended to determine the re- spondent's approximate socioeconomic standing. However, resources did not permit an Open—ended question, with later coding of reSponses into one of the five groups. Consequently, this question may at best be considered a very rough approximation of socioeconomic level. Many high school seniors may not be fully aware of what their father's job entails. They may know only that "he works at Buick," or that "he works at Chevrolet Manufacturing." Or the classifications provided may not be entirely clear to the respondent. For example, a student whose father works on an assembly line at a factory may tend to label him a skilled or semi—skilled worker on this question, rather than using the term "unskilled worker" with its rather derogatory implications. Finally, a single choice for this question could include two different extremes. The term "father unemployed" could be selected by the student whose father is a wealthy retired businessman, as 91 well as by the lower socioeconomic individual whose father is unable to find work. Similarly, "no father in family" could include a ghetto resident with no legal father, or a boy whose deceased father had made financial provisions for his family in the event Of his death. The validity of questionnaire item 38 is also dis- putable, and is reproduced as follows: 38. Have the police ever asked you any questions because they said you did something wrong (not counting traffic violations)? a. Yes. b. NO. This is an indirect question which seeks to ascer- tain whether the respondent has ever had any contact of a negative nature with the police. No statistical tests have been performed, however, to prove whether the ques- tion is a valid representation of that concept. Finally, the sample group involved presents some limitations. Of the 517 male seniors in the two high schools studied, 335, or 64.8%, completed and returned the questionnaire. It is assumed that some of the non— reSpondents were absent from school on the day in which the questionnaires were distributed. It is further 92 assumed that a small percentage of male seniors did not have a homeroom scheduled for that particular day. The reasons for the remaining majority of non—respondents. however. could be apathy. sheer laziness. or a defiant refusal to be involved in anything concerning the police. If the latter is true to any great extent. some of the most meaningful data could have gone unrecorded. CHAPTER VI CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND EXTENSIONS OF RESEARCH CONCLUSIONS The following conclusions can be drawn from the results of this research study: 1. Concerning Hypothesis I, which states in part: "There tends to be a significant relationship be- tween the attitudes of an individual or group toward the police, and certain identifiable char- acteristics of that individual or group." A significant relationship was found between a person's attitudes toward the police and the fol- lowing factors: his race; the estimated reactions Of his best friend, other friends, and best girl- friend toward his becoming a policeman; whether or not he has had previous contact of a negative na- ture with the police; and his personal appraisal of the Police-School Liaison Program in his school. 94 Also related to a person's attitudes toward the police, though to a lesser extent, are his father's Occupation (approximate socioeconomic status) and the estimated reactions of his parents toward his entering a police career. Factors found to have no relationship to an indi— vidual's attitudes toward the police are his grade point; whether or not he usually attends church or Sunday school; whether or not he plans to attend college; the estimated reactions of his favorite teacher toward his entering a police career; whether or not he personally knows a policeman; and prior or current experience as a Police Cadet, Community Service Officer, or Police Service Of— ficer. Concerning Hypothesis II: "Young adults tend to perceive their own attitudes toward police as being much more favorable than those of their friends." In a very limited analysis, no support was gener- ated for this hypothesis. In fact, this limited 95 data suggests just the Opposite: that the young adults reSponding in this research tended to per— ceive their friends' attitudes toward the police as being more favorable than their own. Concerning Hypothesis III: ”There is a relation— ship between the extent Of the actual plans of an individual or group to enter a police career, and certain identifiable characteristics Of that indi- vidual or group." White reSpondents were found to be slightly more interested in a police career than blacks, but not to a significant extent. A significantly greater interest in a possible police career was shown by those who estimated approval toward their entering police work by their best friend, other friends, best girl friend, and favorite teacher; and by those who held more favorable impressions of the Police—School Liaison Program in their school. To a lesser extent, those who personally know a police Officer, and those who feel their parents would approve of a police career, were inclined 4. 96 to be slightly more interested in a police career than those with Opposite characteristics. Factors found to have no relationship to a person's interest or disinterest in a police career are usual attendance at church or Sunday school; plans to attend college; father's occupation (approximate socioeconomic status); previous negative contact with the police; and prior or current experience as a Police Cadet, Community Service Officer, or Police Service Officer. A very small percentage of the respondents ex— pressed interest in police work as a possible vocation. Only 15.7 per cent of all respondents showed any interest in a police career. Only 10.2 per cent of blacks, and 18.5 per cent of whites, eXpressed any interest in a police career. Concerning Hypothesis IV: ”Certain factors con- nected with police work can be identified as in- fluential in either attracting potential appli— cants to a police career, or discouraging them from such a career." 97 "A chance to help others," "importance of the job," and "interest and excitement" were found to be the most attractive aSpects of police work. Black students were also attracted by the "au— thority and power" of police work. "Dangerous work," "low pay," and "police represent the Establishment" were found to be important in discouraging young adults from police careers. Only 58.5 per cent of all respondents felt they were qualified to become a policeman if they wanted to. Only 56.4 per cent of blacks, and 60.8 per cent of whites, felt qualified to become a policeman. About 41 per cent of all reSpondents felt they would be wasting their talents and abilities by entering a police career. Thirty-five per cent of whites, and about 51 per cent of blacks, felt this way. Many black respondents tended to feel that police departments would be discriminatory toward them 98 and that their communities would reject them if they became police officers. IMPLICAT IONS OF RESEARCH While causes and reasons were not specifically probed in this exploratory study, it is prOper to comment on several possible implications of the research results. \h" - fix.-.....—- ,Q» First of all, one notices the strong influence of peer \.—~___ VV-u—u-o" ha. “-5 group Opinion on a young adult's attitudes toward the police, and on his career plans concerning police work. This is particularly true regarding very special peer group members, such as his best friend and best girl- friend. Perhaps a very effective police recruiting and information program at the high school level would be one started and Operated by high school students them- selves. This might be tactfully accomplished through willing high school students with very subtle initiation and marginal support by the police department. Another strong influence on a student's attitudes and career plans concerning the police is his evaluation W“ “51‘__ 111..v 1.-- _“ of the Police-SchoolfiLiaison Program in his school. This program is obviously a very important influence on those 99 who come in contact with it, yet over 20 per cent of the respOndents are not familiar with the program, and another 35 per cent are undecided in their Opinions about it. Perhaps an extensive publicity campaign is needed to fa- fimiliarize students with the Police-School Liaison Program, its aims, and its possible benefits-to students. Perhaps also this program could be further utilized to disseminate information regardingfilaw enforcement and its Opportun- ities. It is surprising that "low pay" was such a promi— nent discouraging factor, especially for Whit§w§t9998ts. ._.,.,_..—-_..~“ since the police department in that city offers very com- petitive wages and benefits. In fact, with the newest wage increase, a starting recruit there will soon receive a basic salary of over $11,000 per year, plus numerous fringe benefits. It was also noticed that a high prOpor— tion Of "undecided" reSponses were recorded on matters regarding internal police Operations, such as promotional Opportunities. Both these Observations suggest that perhaps many young adults know very little about police work, the types of police careers available, and the com— pensations and advantages it has to offer. If the proper 100 knowledge and information were distributed to these young adults, they might become much more interested in police careers. Many reSpondents expressed the belief that they would be wasting their talents and abilities by choosing\ we...“ . f\ a police career. Two important changes might be needed {-1 here. First of all, the police field should make special efforts to recognize and utilize the talents of gifted young people. Secondly, recruitment advertising could _ «imam--- 1..-... ._1.- 1 publicize the police field as amchallengingwopportgnityIi for socially concerned young adults. Many respondents expressed interest in police work as a means of helping? others, which it definitely can be. This theme could be prOperly exploited to appeal to the many gifted young people who are concerned about their fellow man. This study emphasizes the beliefs of young blacks that, as a policeman, they wouldbe discriminated against, by their police department and rejected by their community. It is of prime importance that police departments upgrade themselves to incorporate the fairest of employment prac— tices and Opportunities, and work toward gaining the trust and reSpect of minority groups in the community. 101 EXTENS IONS OF RESEARCH The most apparent results of this research are the many indications that more research is needed. The findings here concerning the relationship of one's atti- tudes toward the police with his perceptions of his friends' attitudes toward the police are very inconclu- sive. The many factors which might attract an individual to a police career or discourage him from one deserve additional study. An extremely important research area would be "What could be done to make the police field more receptive and more attractive to gifted young adults?" Further study might also discover ways to constructively utilize the more significant influences on young adults, such as peer group Opinion and contacts between these people and the police. It is hOped that this research will help to gen— erate many additional questions in the mind of the reader concerning police recruitment, and provide some incentive to search for relevant information and meaningful solu- tions for this timely and important problem. BIBL IOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Arkin, Herbert and Raymond R. Colton. Tables for Statis- ticians. New York: Barnes and Noble, Inc., 1963 Blum, Richard H. (ed.). Police Selection. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas, 1964. Bouma, Donald H. Kids and COps. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1969. W Freeman, Linton C. Elementary Applied Statistics. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1965. Leonard, V. A. Police Personnel Administration. Spring— field, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas, 1970. Selltiz, Claire, Marie Jokoda, Morton Deutsch, and Stuart W. Cook. Research Methods in Social Relations. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Win— ston, 1959. Wilson, 0. W. Police Administration. New York: McGraw— Hill Book CO., 1963. Periodicals Bouma, Donald H. "Police Perceptions of Youth Hostil— ity." Law and Order. Volume 18—9 (1970), 46—51. 103 Publications of the GovernmentL Learned Societiesl and Other Organizations Littman, Sol. The Policeman Looks at Himself. New York: Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, 1966. Portune, Robert. The Law and Law Enforcemen§L_A Manual for Teachers of High School Social Studies. Cin- cinati, Ohio: University of Cincinnati, 1968. President's Crime Commission. Task Force Report: The Police. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Print- ing Office, 1967. President's Crime Commission. The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Govern— ment Printing Office, 1967. Task Force on Law and Law Enforcement, National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence. Law and Order Reconsidered. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Gov- ernment Printing Office, 1969. Unpublished Documents Flint Police Department. Flint Police School Program. History and Background. (Mimeographed material prepared for mailing to interested parties). Mott Foundation. The Police-School Liaison Program. (Brochure prepared for distribution to interested agencies). Russell, John Edward. An Exploratory Case Study of Police Recruitment and Minority Groups. Unpublished Master's thesis, School of Police Administration and Public Safety, Michigan State University, 1969. Weirman, 104 Charles Lee. A Critical Analysis of a Police— School Liaison Program to Implement Attitudinal Changes in Junior High Students. Unpublished Master's thesis, School of Police Administration and Public Safety, Michigan State University, 1970. APPENDIX Complete Questionnaire Used in This Study 105 I need your help. I am a graduate student at Michigan State University, and I'm doing a research paper on the opinions and attitudes of young adults concerning the police. My research group to be interviewed includes all male seniors in your high school. Many people are constantly expressing what THEY THINK are your views on this subject. Now is the time for you to speak for yourself, eXpress yourself, and offer your own true feelings and opinions on police matters. Do 32; sign your name. To ensure unhindered responses, it is best that you remain anonymous. Several general information questions are asked concerning your age. sex, course of study, etc.. to help me interpret the results. These questions, however, cannot and will not be used to identify you in any manner. This survey is completely confidential, and is not connected in any way with your school or police department. It will be seen and used ggly by the researchers at Michigan State University. IT ONLY TAKES ABOUT 8 MINUTES TO COMPLETE THIS ENTIRE FORM. Your personal opinions are very important, so please be frank and honest. Always choose the answer which best describes your feelings on each question. Please work quickly, answer your honest, first reactions to the questions, and turn in the completed form at once. I thank you for your assistance in this important matter. 1065 FOR EACH QUESTION, PLEASE CIRCLE THE LETTER IN FRONT OF THE ONE ANSWER YOU BELIEVE IS BEST. 1. Do you think people would be better off without the police? a. Strongly agree (Yesi). b. Agree (Probably). c. Undecided (Not sure). d. Disagree (Probably not}. 9. Strongly disagree (No! . 2. Do you think that the police are mean? a. Strongly agree. b. Agree. 0. Undecided. d. Disagree. e. Strongly disagree. 3. If you needed a policeman's help, would you ask for it? a. Strongly agree. be Agree 0 c. Undecided. d. Disagree. e. Strongly disagree. 4. Do you think that being a policeman is a good job for a capable and intelligent guy? a. Strongly agree. b. Agree. c. Undecided. d. Disagree. e. Strongly disagree. 5. Do you think that policemen are pretty nice guys? a. Strongly agree.. be Agree. c. Undecided. d. Disagree. e. Strongly disagree. 6. Do you think that the city would be better off if there were more policemen? a. Strongly agree. b. Agree. c. Undecided. d. Disagree. e. Strongly disagree. 7. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 107 Do you think the police get criticized too often? a. b. C. d. 90 Strongly agree. Agree. Undecided. Disagree. Strongly disagree. Do you think police accuse you of things you didn't even do? a. D. co do Go Strongly agree. Agree. Undecided. Disagree. Strongly d isagree . Do you think that the police think they are ”big shots" because they wear a badge? 30 b. Ce d. 80 Strongly agree. Agree. UHdBCldede Disagree. Strongly disagree. Do you think most policemen are unfair in their dealings with young people? a. D. co do Go Do most a. b. Ce d. 00 Do your Strongly agree. Agree. Undecided. Disagree. Strongly disagree. of your friends think the police are pretty nice guys? Strongly agree. Agree. Undecided. Disagree. Strongly'disagree. friends think that people would be better off without the police? a. D. co d. 80 Do most a. D. co d. O. Strongly agree. Agree. Undecided. Disagree. Strongly disagree. of your friends feel the police get-criticized too often? Strongly agree. Agree. Undecided. Disagree. Strongly disagree. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19.. 108 Which of the following best describes your career plans at this time concerning police work? a. I definitely plan to become a policeman. b. I might someday consider a possible career in police work. c. No idea whatsoever. d. I probably will never enter a police career. e. I am certain I will definitely never enter a police career. Do you think you are qualified to become a policeman if you wanted to? a. Strongly agree. b. Agree. c. Undecided. d. Disagree. e. Strongly disagree. Do you think you would be wasting your talents and abilities by entering police work as a career? a. Strongly agree. b. Agree. c. Undecided. d. Disagree. 6. Strongly disagree. Do you consider police work as a challenging profession? a. Strongly agree. b. Agree. C Q Undecided. d. Disagree. e. Strongly disagree. Do you think a police career offers a good chance to help people? a. Strongly agree. b. Agree. C. Undecided. d. Disagree. e. Strongly disagree. Do you think a career in police work is a good way to personally attack some of our country's social problems? a. Strongly agree. he Agree. c. Undecided. d. Disagree. 6. Strongly disagree. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 109 Do you think minority group members who are police officers receive fair treatment and advancement opportunities within most police departments? as b. Ce d. e. Strongly agree. Agree. Undecided. Disagree. Strongly disagree. Do you think police work offers good opportunities for advancement? 3. D. co d. 60 Strongly agree. Agree. UHdeCIdedo Disagree. Strongly disagree. Do you feel that police officers who are members of minority groups are rejected by their communities? a. D. co d. e. dhat do Strongly agree. Agree. Undecided. Disagree. Strongly disagree. you consider the one most attractive aspect of a police career? as b. C. d. 00 f. Hhich of you from a. D. 00 d. 80 f. Interest and excitement. Authority and power. Chance to help others. Security. Good pay and benefits. Importance of the job. the following would be most important in discouraging entering a police career? Low pay. Low prestige. Poor advancement opportunities. Dangerous work. Poor working conditions (hours. etc.). Police represent the Establishment. 110 Please answer the following questions. Once again, this information will not. in fact cannot. be used to identify you in any way. It is essential. however. in order to properly evaluate and analyze the opinions you have expressed on the previous pages. 250 Age: a. 16 or younger. b. 17. c. 18. d. 19 or older. 26. Race: a. white. b. Black. c. Mexican-American. d. Other (please specify) . 27. Approximate grade point average in high school: a. A or A-. be B+. B. or B'e Ce C+, C, or C‘e de D+. D. or D“e Be Ee 28. Church attendances a. Usually go to church or Sunday school. b. Usually don't go to church or Sunday school. 29. Do you plan to go to college? a. Yes. b. Not sure. c. No. 30. Father's occupation: a. Professional, business, or white collar. b. Skilled or semi-skilled worker. c. Unskilled worker. d. Father unemployed. e. No father in family. 111 How do you think the following persons would react if you expressed interest in becoming a policeman? 31. Your best friend: a. He would strongly approve. b. He would approve. c. Not sure. d. He would disapprove. e. He would strongly disapprove. 32. Your other friends: a. They would strongly approve. b. They would approve. c. Not sure. d. They would disapprove. e. They would strongly disapprove. 33. Your parents: a. They would strongly approve. b. They would approve. c. Not sure. d. They would disapprove. e. They would strongly disapprove. 34. Your best girl friend: a. She would strongly approve. b. She would approve. c. Not sure. d. She would disapprove. e. She would strongly disapprove. 35. Your favorite teachers a. Strongly approve. b. Approve. Ce NOt sure. d. Disapprove. e. Strongly disapprove. 36. Do you know any individual police officer as a personal friend? a. Yes. b. NO. 37. Are you, or have you ever been. a Police Cadet. Community Service Officer. or Police Service Officer? ae Yes. b. No. 112 38. Have the police ever asked you any questions because they said you did something wrong (not counting traffic violations)? 3e YBSe b. NO. 39. What is your general cpinion of the value of the Police-Liaison Program in your school, as far as benefit to the students is concerned? a. Very worthwhile and beneficial for students. b. Somewhat beneficial. 6. Not sure. d. Not very beneficial. e. Has no worth or value for students. f. I am not familiar with the Police-Liaison Program. 40. Which one suggestion would you make, which you feel is needed most. to improve the police as they operate today? 41. Please use this space to make any comments you may feel are appropriate. This concludes the questionnaire. Thank you for your patience and your cooperation. It is hoped that the opinions you have expressed will lead to greater understanding of how young adults feel about the police. and possibly produce much-needed solutions to relevant problems in this area. MAY 2 0 13?: 'IICHIGAN smTE UNIV. LIBRARIES 1|”WWI"HIIHIINIIIIHHIIWIIIWIHIIIHWWI 31293103066555