Urban and Small Town Comparison of Citizen Demand for Police Services
| Author | Trisha N. Rhodes,Richard R. Johnson |
| DOI | 10.1350/ijps.2009.11.1.107 |
| Published date | 01 March 2009 |
| Date | 01 March 2009 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Urban and small town comparison of
citizen demand for police services
Richard R. Johnson† and Trisha N. Rhodes‡
†(Corresponding author) Department of Criminal Justice, University of Toledo, HH3000,
Toledo, OH 43606, USA. Tel: (419) 530 2142; email: Richard.Johnson4@utoledo.edu
‡Department of Criminal Justice, Washburn University, 1700 SW College Ave., Topeka,
KS 66621, USA. Tel: (785) 670-1411; email: trisha.rhodes@washburn.edu
Received 5 November 2007; accepted 24 April 2008
Keywords: citizen demand, police response, small town policing
Richard R. Johnson, PhD, is an assistant pro-
coding schemes. The findings suggest that urban
fessor of criminal justice at the University of
agencies receive proportionately more order main-
Toledo in Toledo, Ohio. He holds a doctorate in
tenance calls, small town agencies receive propor-
criminal justice from the University of Cincinnati
tionately more service calls, and both types of
and previously had worked as a police officer.
agencies receive similar proportions of law
His research interests include the first-line field
enforcement-related calls. The urban agencies,
supervision of police officers, police–citizen
however, dealt with larger proportions of more
interactions, and the policing of domestic
serious crimes.
violence.
Trisha N. Rhodes, BSCJ, was an undergraduate
research assistant for the Department of Criminal
INTRODUCTION
Justice at Washburn University in Topeka,
Most of the research on policing activities
Kansas. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree
in the USA has focused overwhelmingly on
in criminal justice from Washburn University and
the policing of urban areas by larger muni-
is currently employed as an assistant forensic
cipal police departments. This is unfortu-
technician with the Shawnee County Coroner’s
nate as approximately 70 per cent of the
Office in Kansas.
municipal police departments in that nation
employ 20 or fewer officers, and the major-
ity of these agencies police small town
ABSTRACT
communities (Walker & Katz, 2002). This
Little is known about the similarities and differ-
predicament leaves a significant gap in our
ences that exist between urban and small town
understanding of the majority of policing
police agencies with regard to citizen calls for
situations encountered across the country.
service. The research about citizen demand for
While the number of studies dealing with
policing services in the USA has focused over-
policing in small town communities is
whelmingly on city police agencies and the
slowly increasing (see for example Falcone,
research methodologies used made direct compar-
Wells, & Weisheit, 2002; Liederbach &
isons with smaller agencies impossible. The pres-
Frank, 2003, 2006; Websdale, 1995), the
ent research involved a comparison of calls for
overall number of studies has remained
service from three urban municipal police depart-
small and very few have involved direct
International Journal of Police
Science and Management,
ments and three small town departments for the
comparisons or contrasts with larger urban
Vol. 11 No. 1, 2009, pp. 27–38.
DOI: 10.1350/ijps.2009.11.1.107
same two-week period of time using identical
communities.
Page 27
Urban and small town comparison of citizen demand for police services
Since the majority of the existing
1966. Using his own categorisations of the
empirical research on police activities
different types of calls, he found that 37 per
involves large urban police agencies, apply-
cent involved service duties, 31 per cent
ing policy recommendations from this
involved order maintenance duties, 22 per
urban research may be problematic. Some-
cent involved information gathering and
times the policy recommendations based on
10 per cent involved activities related to
urban policing research may not be directly
criminal enforcement.
applicable to small town police agencies. At
Also in 1966, Reiss (1971) collected data
other times, however, the policy recom-
on dispatched calls for a two-week period
mendations from urban research may be
in Chicago. Using a different system of
equally applicable to a small town policing
categorisation, Reiss found that 58 per cent
environment with only minor modifica-
of the calls involved criminal activity, 37 per
tions. The primary issue here is that little is
cent involved a request for assistance, and
known about the direct similarities and dif-
5 per cent involved providing information.
ferences that exist between urban and small
Webster (1970) reviewed the dispatched
town police agencies. One example of this
calls in ‘Baywood’ (a pseudonym for a city
is the current dearth of knowledge that
with a population of about 400,000) during
exists about the urban/small town similar-
a one-year period in the late 1960s. He
ities and differences with regard to citizen
classified these calls as administrative duties
demand for services.
(49.1 per cent), social service duties (21.6
Little is known about how small town
per cent), crimes against property (17.2 per
and urban municipal agencies compare in
cent), traffic problems (9.0 per cent), and
the citizen-initiated calls for service. How
crimes against persons (3.1 per cent).
do small town and urban police depart-
Scott (1981) reported on the calls for
ments differ in the categories and types of
service dispatched in 1977 in Rochester
tasks that citizens call on them to perform?
(New York), St. Louis (Missouri), and St.
What proportions of calls for service
Petersburg (Florida). Pooling the dispatched
involve service duties, order maintenance
calls for service from all three of these
duties, or law enforcement duties? Do small
metropolitan agencies, he classified 22 per
town and urban agencies differ significantly
cent as service duties, 21 per cent as
in the types of calls they receive from the
requests for information, 20 per cent as
public? The present study sought to answer
crime-related situations, 11 per cent as pub-
these questions with a direct comparison of
lic nuisances, 9 per cent as traffic problems,
calls for service between three urban
and 17 per cent as ‘other’. Finally, Greene
municipal police departments and three
and Klockars (1991) reviewed the calls dis-
small town municipal police departments
patched by the police in Wilmington, Dela-
for the same two-week period of time using
ware during a 12-month period from 1985
identical measures of activity.
to 1986. They classified these calls as crime
related (40.4 per cent), administrative (19.1
per cent), traffic problems (17.3 per cent),
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
order maintenance problems (13.3 per
A number of previous studies have investig-
cent), service situations (6.4 per cent), and
ated citizen demands for specific types of
medical situations (3.6 per cent).
police services by analysing dispatched calls
These studies served an important role in
to patrol officers. Wilson (1968) reviewed
the early development of our social scient-
the types of calls to which police officers
ific knowledge about the police, and they
were dispatched in Syracuse, New York in
helped identify the important fact that
Page 28
Johnson and Rhodes
duties related to crime and law enforcement
disturbances (12 per cent), and alcohol-
do not make up a majority of the requests
related offences (11 per cent).
citizens make of the police. Rather, the
These two studies tended to suggest that
bulk of citizen requests for police assistance
crime-related calls were less frequent in
involve resolving disputes, complaining
small town communities, and disturbance
about the non-criminal behaviours of
or nuisance calls were more prevalent for
others, and requesting public service assist-
small town departments than for urban
ance, such as calling a breakdown van for a
police agencies. These general themes have
disabled motorist. There are, however,
been difficult to support, however, due to
several weaknesses to these foundational
many of the same shortcomings as in the
studies.
urban research. These small town studies did
First, no two studies used the same set of
not share a similar categorisation method
categories for classifying the types of calls
with any of the urban studies (nor did they
that were handled,...
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