Evaluation of the Dallas Police Department's Interactive Community Policing Program 1995-1999, Final Report

• NCJ Number: 193429
• Author(s): Charles Mindel; Richard F. Dangel; Wayne Carson; Maria L. Mays
• Date Published: October 2000
• Length: 282 pages
• Grant Number(s): 95-IJ-CX-0070
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation

Annotation

This report presents the methodology and findings of an evaluation that examined the implementation and impact of the Interactive Community Policing (ICP) program of the Dallas Police Department (DPD) from 1995 to 1999.

Abstract

The evaluation was designed to determine the activities of the ICP program, barriers to program implementation, and the effects of the ICP program. A total of 4,325 Dallas residents completed telephone surveys over the 4 years of the evaluation, and written surveys were annually administered to all ICP officers, as well as to a randomly selected sample of officers ranked sergeant and below throughout the department. ICP officer activities generally were in six categories: code enforcement, drug enforcement, gang abatement, school activities, neighborhood clean up, and community meetings. Six categories of barriers to the implementation of community policing were identified: issues concerning resources, lack of acceptance of the program by patrol officers, issues concerning ICP management, issues concerning citizens, issues concerning ICP personnel, and problems with city services. Steps taken to address these barriers are described. The findings of 4 years of citizen surveys found mixed results in citizen views of social disorder, minimal belief that the neighborhood had improved, significant increases in satisfaction with their neighborhood, an overall reduction in fear of crime, an overall decline in the use of security measures, and a similarity in crime victimization between high ICP areas and low ICP areas. Recognition of the ICP program remained relatively low. Data were also obtained on citizen perceptions of police activity, police performance, and police availability. Officer perceptions of the ICP program and citizens pertain to the allocation of departmental resources, likely changes with the implementation of ICP, officer responsibilities, officer decision making autonomy, trust between officers and citizens, and citizen roles and contributions. An assessment of the effects of community policing on citizens' evaluations of police performance found that citizens living in low ICP neighborhoods graded police higher than did residents of high ICP areas when considering issues of police visibility and knowing officers. Extensive tables, 50 references, survey questionnaires