Departments and communities participating in any of the programs may wish to initiate a custom research study conducted by the New York University public policy institute BetaGov.
In these studies, departments and community members work directly with research professionals to design their custom research study. Usually, the first study is a self-review. For these studies. tools such as the use of surveys may be conducted of personnel, citizens, and volunteers. The surveys attempt to assess the sentiment of stakeholders such as officers, community members, business owners and students. Then an approach is introduced such as the application of PEACE OFFICER decals or uniform changes. Then a final survey is conducted to gauge changes in how officers are aware of themselves, how the public sees them, and how they engage with one another. Click here to request a self-review.
In departments and communities around the country, prior research indicates that the way officers and citizens view themselves and one another can change over time and with certain interventions, for example resulting in a shift in officers’ views of their jobs. In studies, before the PEACE OFFICER wording is introduced, officers report seeing themselves and being seen as tamping down problems that develop; after the introduction of the wording they report seeing their roles as creating peace in the community. Community members report similar shifts in their views of officers as peacekeepers, lowering fear, generating more trust, and greater willingness to reach out to officers when there is an issue.
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