Abstract
The role of victims in enhancing community policing has received little scholarly attention. This paper adds to the current state of knowledge about the role of victims in policing and the relationship between victim organizations and police departments as part of community policing. Relying upon a national survey of police departments and victim organizations carried out by the Police Foundation and the National Center for Victims of Crime, we present a broad snapshot of community policing partnerships that draw from the experience and knowledge of victims and victim service providers. Our research indicates that while a majority of police executives believe there are benefits to involving victims in community policing, most also report that when it comes to problem solving and crime prevention it is more useful for officers to interact with community members without special attention to who has been a crime victim. Regardless of this view, a large proportion of police agencies report supporting abroad set of practices that focus on crime victims. Finally, our study reinforces the position that the broad approach and policies of a police agency toward victims play a central role in the development of partnerships between police and victim organizations.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 175-195 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | International Review of Victimology |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 2002 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The research for this paper was supported by Grant 98-CK-WX-0078 from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Opinions or points of view expressed in the paper do not necessarily represent the official positions or policies of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services or the U.S. Department of Justice. We would like to thank Susan Herman, Rosann Greenspan, David Anderson, Garth Davies, Laura Wyckoff, Vanja Stenius, Rochelle Fleichman, and members of the research group at Rutgers University for their help, cooperation, and insight at various points in the project. Please address all correspondence to Justin Ready at the Police Foundation, 1201 Connecticut Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036.