Assignment: Police Community Relations
This paper requires your analysis of a community and its police department. You will be asked to select a particular city as your case study and analyze the dynamics of police community relations in that city. For this exercise, you are required have the following outline and contents:
I. Introduction:
a. Describe the community in terms of its key demographics and infrastructure.
1. For the demographics, you are supposed to identify the make-up of the population in terms of race, income, gender, age, immigration/migration, and other factors that in your judgement are unique to that community. These information could be easily derived from the Census or the website of the city. Keep in mind that your goal is at least to derive their homogeneity or lack thereof (horizontal articulation).
2. Identify the infrastructure of your community including their main industries, poverty level, presence of key federal agencies, etc. that would indicate the level of vertical relations and horizontal articulations that we have discussed in class.
b. Describe the police department of the city.
1. You have to provide demographic information about the department in terms of its number of officers, education, experience, etc.
2. The type of police organization you think it is in terms of its organizational features or its unique units. See if you could identify it as predominantly legalistic, watchman, professional, or service police department and defend your answer based on your analysis of its units, programs and/or organization's mission.
c. Gather information about the major challenges the department is experiencing with its community.
1. Using newspaper accounts or other sources, identify at least 3 problems that you think the police are experiencing with their community. For instance, you can note that there was a major riot that happened in that community that was caused by a series of police abusive behaviors. You can also determine if there are problems with the community if you see information about the level of racial profiling or abuse of force complaints against the department.
2. Identify the "major" police-community relations programs and strategies that the department employs. These programs may indicate or discuss the problems that they might be experiencing with their communities. Please note that you should go for something unique from that department.
II. Analyses:
1. Based on the data you have collected. Try to classify the type of community that you have chosen. Explain these types using the categories that was discussed in class (solidary, disorganized, etc.). Provide bases or explanations for your answers (Note: We did this in the first week with Detroit).
2. Analyze the "sources or reasons" for the police-community relations you have identified under I (c). Your search for some historical events may provide you with the police-community problems existing in that city.
3. What are the outputs and outcomes of the "community relations programs" that the police have? You may be able to find these in the annual report that the police might have published in their website or annual report. Sometimes, they have these in social media (Ex. Washington's LEAD program). If you cannot find the specific information on the website, make an argument as to what are the potential output and outcomes of these programs based on your research of studies about these programs and their effects.
III. Writing Format. The rest of the percentages will come from your meeting the following writing criteria
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.