NCJ Number
178773
Date Published
January 1999
Length
36 pages
Annotation
This article explores similarities and differences between
the tasks undertaken by generalist patrol officers and community
policing specialists.
Abstract
The article examined data from field observation of police
patrol officers at work in Indianapolis, Indiana and St.
Petersburg, Florida. Community policing specialists were much
more able to choose the work they did and the people they
encountered. Specialists used their discretion to spend less
“face time” with the public and more time “behind the scenes”
than did patrol generalists, and to engage a higher-status and
less problem-ridden clientele. Community policing specialists in
both sites spent less time in encounters with citizens than did
patrol generalists, and more time on problem solving and personal
activities. Specialists in both sites were relieved of
responsibility for responding to 911 calls and other citizen
calls for service. The article recommends empirical examination
of the extent to which the division of labor between generalist
patrol officers and community policing specialists contributes to
a safer, more contented community. Notes, tables, figures,
references
Date Published: January 1, 1999