the future of community policing in the context of basic police academy training

206 Pages·2007·2.59 MB·English

THE FUTURE OF COMMUNITY POLICING
IN THE CONTEXT OF BASIC POLICE ACADEMY TRAINING

________________________________________________________________________

A Dissertation
presented to
the Faculty of the Graduate School
University of Missouri-Columbia

________________________________________________________________________
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree

Doctor of Education
________________________________________________________________________
By
JOEL F. SHULTS
Dr. Dan Cockrell, Dissertation Supervisor
AUGUST 2007
The undersigned, appointed by the Dean of the Graduate Faculty, have examined
a dissertation entitled:

THE FUTURE

OF COMMUNITY POLICING

IN THE CONTEXT

OF BASIC POLICE ACADEMY TRAINING

Presented by Joel Franklin Shults a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Education and

hereby certify that in their opinion it is worthy of acceptance.

______________________________________
Dr. Dan Cockrell, Major advisor
Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis

______________________________________
Dr. Karen Cockrell
Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis

______________________________________
Dr. Joe Donaldson
Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis

______________________________________
Dr. Peggy Placier
Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis

______________________________________
Dr. Jerry Valentine
Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis
ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The writer wishes to thank those individuals who have encouraged and supported me
throughout this season of my life. Special thanks and gratitude belong to my advisor, Dr. Dan
Cockrell, for whom the phrase “I couldn’t have done it without you” must have been
reserved since the dawn of the written word. In addition, I owe a debt of thanks to the
members of my Doctoral Advisory Committee, Dr. Karen Cockrell, Dr. Joe Donaldson, Dr.
Peggy Placier, and Dr. Jerry Valentine for their valuable assistance and guidance. Indeed the
entire ELPA faculty and staff have had a life changing influence on me.
To my wife, Cheryl, I have the same sense of love, admiration, and accomplishment
for this work as for the time we pushed and pulled each other, exhausted, to the pinnacle of
the Spanish Peaks, although this journey seemed longer, higher, and more arduous. To my
children Jennifer and Michael, who became adults while I wrote, special thanks for your
patience, interest, and endurance.
Finally, to my community of cheerleaders from Hannibal-LaGrange College, my
church home, and my coffee shop, thank you and please ask me one more time if I am
finished with my dissertation yet.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………….ii
LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………............................vii
LIST OF TABLES………………………................................................……viii
ABSTRACT……………………...................................................................…xi
CHAPTER 1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY……………………………..1
INTRODUCTION……..………………………………………………………1
COMMUNITY POLICING.……..……... ………………………………………2
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT...............5
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND............................................................................6
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM.......................................................................9
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY.................................................................................9
RESEARCH QUESTIONS.................................................................................10
DEFINITIONS..................................................................................................10
SUMMARY......................................................................................................11
CHAPTER TWO REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE.......................................12
INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................12
HISTORY OF POLICING..................................................................................12
iv
HISTORICAL ORIGINS OF COMMUNITY POLICING.......................................20
THEORETICAL UNDERPINNINGS OF COMMUNITY POLICING.......................24
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE..........................................................................26
TRAINING AND EDUCATION FOR CHANGE....................................................28
A BRIEF HISTORY OF POLICE TRAINING........................................................30
RECRUITMENT FOR CHANGE.........................................................................39
CURRICULUM AS CHANGE.............................................................................41
THE POLICE CORPS MODEL............................................................................46
SUMMARY......................................................................................................48
CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY.............50
INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................50
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY................................................................................50
THE DELPHI APPROACH.................................................................................51
SUMMARY......................................................................................................58
CHAPTER FOUR PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS OF
DATA................................................................................................................59
INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................59
PANELIST SELECTION AND RESPONSE.........................................................61
v
FINDINGS.......................................................................................................68
ROUND ONE INTERNAL PANEL......................................................................69
Attitudes and Philosophy..................................................................................69
Integration with Other Course Materials and Activities..........................................78
Teaching and Learning Experiences....................................................................84
Administrative and Department Support...........................................................109
SUMMARY...................................................................................................123
CHAPTER FIVE LIMITATIONS AND ASSUMPTIONS, FINDINGS, DISCUSSION,
CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS..........................................................132
PURPOSE AND DESIGN OF THE STUDY.......................................................132
LIMITATIONS AND ASSUMPTIONS.............................................................134
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS............................................................................137
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS.........................................................................139
IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY AND PRACTICE..............................................142
SUMMARY.....................................................................................................143
REFERENCES.................................................................................................144
APPENDIX A...................................................................................................152
CORRESPONDENCE SAMPLES.......................................................................153
vi
APPENDIX B...................................................................................................159
SURVEY INSTRUMENT ROUND ONE INTERNAL........................................160
APPENDIX C……………………………………………………………… 173
SUMMARY FORMAT OF INSTRUMENT FOR ROUND TWO..........................174
VITA.................................................................................................................194
vii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Sample survey item. …………………………………………………………...…66
Figure 2. Summary version of survey instrument……………………………………………67
viii
LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Total Responses of External and Internal Panels For Each Round of the Delphi
Study…………………………………………………………………………………………69
Table 2. Attitudes favorable to community policing………………………………………...72
Table 3. Community policing aptitudes as recruitment standards…………………………...74
Table 4. Community policing focus…………………………………………………………74
Table 5. Agency wide indoctrination………………………………………………………...75
Table 6. Policy and practice………………………………………………………………….76
Table 7. Character and skills……………………………………………………………..…..76
Table 8. Minority representation……………………………………………………………..77
Table 9. Integration with field training………………………………………………………80
Table 10. Embedding of community policing……………………………………………….81
Table 11. Daily reinforcement of themes……………………………………………………82
Table 12. Block instruction…………………………………………………………………..82
Table 13. Integration with new curriculum additions………………………………………..83
Table 14. Leadership and collaboration skills……………………………………………….87
Table 15. Meaningful community interaction……………………………………………….88
Table 16. Real world projects………………………………………………………………..89
Table 17. Guided scenario exercises…………………………………………………………90
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Table 18. Oservational ride-alongs…………………………………………………………..91
Table 19. Public speaking and non-traditional communication skills……………………….92
Table 20. Case studies………………………………………………………………………..93
Table 21. Role playing……………………………………………………………………….94
Table 22. Problem based learning……………………………………………………………95
Table 23. Current events discussions………………………………………………………...96
Table 24. College faculty and civilian instructors…………………………………………...97
Table 25. Group activities and consensus building………………………………………….98
Table 26. Theoretical context versus hands on……………………………………………..99
Table 27. Lecture based instruction……………………………………………...…………101
Table 28. Computer based training…………………………………………………………103
Table 29. Community service projects……………………………………………………..103
Table 30. Social exchange experiences…………………………………………………….104
Table 31. Reflective journaling……………………………………………………………..105
Table 32. Release time for community service……………………………………………..106
Table 33. Required reading assignments…………………………………………………...107
Table 34. Reducing high risk scenario training…………………………………………….108
Table 35. Administration regard for community policing………………………………….111
Table 36. Influence of basic training on community policing in agencies…………………112
Table 37. Performance measures…………………………………………………………...113
Table 38. Adequate training time…………………………………………………………...114