Citizens' Views on Using Alternate Reporting Methods in Policing

Abstract

Most people agree that local police should continue to place a high priority on responding to violent and other felony crime. At the same time, departments are increasingly asked to assume more service-related responsibilities within the community, creating a situation of thinly spread resources. Some nonemergency problems might be handled in an alternate way to increase efficiency in the delivery of police services. To measure community perceptions of alternate reporting methods, we mailed a survey to 6,000 urban residents in Kansas City. Most citizens embraced phone reporting, but were less willing to use mail-in reporting and the Internet. Policy implications are discussed.