Results From the Police-Community Interaction (PCI) Survey

• NCJ Number: 253936
• Author(s): Dennis P. Rosenbaum; Justin Escamilla; Gina Enciso; Thomas Christoff; Susan M. Hartnett
• Date Published: October 2011
• Length: 10 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2008-DN-BX-0005
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Survey; Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description
• Award: Advancing Knowledge and Practice in Policing: A Longitudinal Platform for National Research

Annotation

This report presents an overview of selected findings from the Police-Community Interaction (PCI) Survey, which contains information from persons who had an interaction with an officer between January 3, 2013 and September 30, 2014.

Abstract

As of October 17, 2014, 18,787 community members had taken the PCI survey. Of these cases, 6,936 interactions were traffic or pedestrian stops; 4,051 were traffic crashes; and 5,800 were reports of crime. Demographic characteristics of persons completing the survey are reported. A total of 58 agencies participated in the survey. Of these agencies, 21 had 180 or fewer sworn employees; 17 had 181 to 499 sworn employees; and 20 had 500 or more sworn employees. Results are reported by agency sizes. The survey solicited information on the respondent's overall satisfaction with the officer with whom they interacted; satisfaction by survey respondent characteristics; officer behavior during the interaction; procedural justice and support during the interaction; public satisfaction with officer demeanor during traffic stops and issuing of ticket; assessment of department effectiveness; community cooperation; assessment of police department legitimacy; and feelings of safety. On the whole, most police officers in the 58 U.S. cities received high ratings for the way they interacted with members of the community; however, police officers in agencies with 500 or more officers tended to have lower grades from the community than officers in smaller agencies; however, agency size does not apparently make a difference when the number of sworn personnel is less than 500. 9 figures, 2 tables, and 1 reference