Lorie Fridell
Associate Professor of Criminology, University of South Florida
Key Findings
- The attitudes of police vary enormously between law enforcement agencies.
- Police culture is not monolithic – there are significant differences between agencies.
- On average, police underestimate the level of support and trust they have from the community.
Description
The National Police Research Platform (NPRP) was implemented to help provide a more complete picture of American policing. One phase of the NPRP involved online surveys of sworn and civilian law enforcement employees that covered wide-ranging topics, including views of the community, levels of stress and burnout and feelings about supervision and management. A total of three surveys were conducted in a sample of municipal police departments and sheriff’s offices that deliver policing services. This report is the result of the third survey,which surveyed more than 7,000 line-level police officers across 89 U.S. agencies on a variety of statements as it relates to views of community policing, perspectives on the community, officers sticking together and the seriousness of misconduct. A total of 16,580 usable completed surveys were obtained during a round of employee surveys that occurred from October 2014 through February 2015.