Integrating Community Policing into the San Diego Regional Public Safety Training Institute Curriculum: Analysis, Implementation and Evaluation

• NCJ Number: 189245
• Author(s): Ray Stachnik; George J. Sullivan
• Date Published: October 1998
• Length: 136 pages
• Grant Number(s): 95-IJ-CX-0065
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)

Annotation

This report describes the process and results of a project to determine whether police academy training at the San Diego, CA, Regional Public Safety Training Institute could develop recruits’ appreciation and understanding of community policing to prepare them more effectively to perform problem-solving in neighborhoods after graduation.

Abstract

The project aimed to accomplish this goal by revising existing courses to incorporate community policing concepts, strategies, techniques, and approaches as a common theme in the curriculum without increasing the current number of training hours. A 34-member committee targeted 57 courses for revision. Subject-matter experts prepared revised course curricula. The academy implemented the revised courses from August 1997 through March 1998. The project manager or content experts monitored 38 courses to determine the implementation of the revisions. In addition, academy recruits who received the standard curriculum and those who received the modified courses completed a 213-item instrument that assessed their knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes before and after training. Results revealed that the research group outperformed the control group on knowledge of community policing and support for teamwork, openness to new ideas, and flexibility and tolerance of others. These research participants had attributes close to those of police officers expert in community policing than did the other trainees. The analysis concluded that this training approach has much to offer police agencies seeking effective ways to acculturate their personnel into their respective organizations. Tables, figures, appended background information and survey instrument, and reference notes