Perceptions of Police Work By the Police and By the Public

Abstract

Three distinctions are proposed to determine what types of efforts are necessary to improve the quality of the relationship between the police and the public: first, whether there are different groups within the public which have contrary expectations that are impossible for the police to satisfy simultaneously or whether the disagreements are between the police and the nonpolice in general; second, whether the content and psychological significance of the disagreements can be specified; and third, whether negative evaluations of the police represent conflicting beliefs about what are proper police functions and services or emotional reactions arising from contact with regulatory power of the police.