Abstract
Citizen police academies (CPAs) are popular programs developed by police departments with the twin goals of educating the public about law enforcement and improving police-community relationships. Citizen police academies can help law enforcement agencies by providing them with graduates who may support police departments through volunteering, crime reporting, advocacy, and crime prevention. CPAs may aid citizens by providing them with opportunities to work with the police to make their communities safer. During the course of the citizen police academy, not only will participants have opportunities to learn more about the police depar'tment and their communities, but they may be given opportunities to patrol with police officers, solve mock crime scenes, or attend moot court. This study examines citizen police academies in Tennessee and provides an exploratory investigation of the programs and its participants. Data obtained from 31 police departments indicate CPA programs with more than a 20 year history in Tennessee. Results of a pretest and posttest of 4 citizen police academies’ participants found that attending these programs significantly and positively changed participants’ familiarity with the police chief, local law enforcement, community crime, and the criminal justice system.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aryani, G. A., Garrett, T. D., & Alsabrook, C. L. (2000). The citizen police academy: success through community partnerships. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 69(5), 16–21.
Avdija, A. S. (2010). The role of police behavior in predicting citizens’ attitudes toward the police. Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice, 6(2), 76–90.
Becton, J. B., Meadows, L., Tears, R., Charles, M., & Ioimo, R. (2005). Can citizen police academies influence citizens’ beliefs and perceptions? Public Management, 87(4), 20–23.
Black, P. J., & Kari, C. J. (2010). Policing diverse communities: Do gender and minority status make a difference? Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, doi: 10-1080/15377938.2010.502848
Bonello, E. M., & Schafer, J. A. (2002). Citizen police academies: Do they just entertain? FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 71(11), 19–23.
Breen, M. E., & Johnson, B. R. (2007). Citizen police academies: An analysis of enhanced police community-relations among citizen attendees. The Police Journal, 80(3), 246–266.
Brewster, J., Stoloff, M., & Sanders, N. (2005). Effectiveness of citizen police academies in changing the attitudes, beliefs, and behavior of citizen participants. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 30(1), 21–34.
Bumphus, V. W., Gaines, L. K., & Blakely, C. R. (1999). Citizen police academies: Observing goals, objectives, and recent trends. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 24(1), 67–79.
Cheurprakobkit, S. (2000). Police-citizen contact and police performance: Attitudinal differences between Hispanics and non-Hispanics. Journal of Criminal Justice, 28(4), 325–336.
Cohn, E. G. (1996). The citizen police academy: A recipe for improving police-community relations. Journal of Criminal Justice, 24(3), 265–271.
Community Policing Consortium (1994). Understanding community policing: a framework for Action. Resource document. United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/commp.pdf. Accessed 23 March 2014.
Greenberg, M. A. (1991). Citizen police academies. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 60(8), 10–13.
Hickman, M. J., & Reaves, B. A. (2006). Local Police Departments, 2003. Resource document. United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance. http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/lpd03.pdf. Accessed 23 March 2014.
Jordan, W. T. (2000). Citizen police academies: Community policing or community politics. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 25(1), 93–105.
Maffe, S. R., & Burke, T. W. (1999). Citizen police academies. Law & Order, 47(10), 77–80.
Mbuba, J. M. (2010). Attitudes toward the police: The significance of race and other factors among college students. Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice. doi:10.1080/15377938.2010.502846.
Miller, J., & Davis, R. (2008). Unpacking public attitudes to the police: Contrasting perceptions of misconduct with traditional measures of satisfaction. International Journal of Police Science & Management. doi:10.1350/ijpsm.2008.10.1.60.
Ong, M., & Jenks, D. A. (2004). Hispanic perceptions of community policing: Is community policing working in the city? Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice. doi:10.1300/J222v02n03_04.
Palmiotto, M. J., & Unninthan, N. P. (2002). The impact of citizen police academies on participants: An exploratory study. Journal of Criminal Justice, 30(2), 101–106.
Pope, J., Jones, T., Cook, S., & Waltrip, B. (2007). Citizen’s police academies: Beliefs and perceptions regarding the program. Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice, 3(1), 42–53.
Raffel, W. E. (2005). Citizen police academies: the importance of communication. Policing:An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management. doi:10.1108/1363951051058095.
Rahtz, H. (2005). Citizen police academy: teaching the public about the use of force. Law & Order, 53(4), 47–51.
Reaves, B. A. (2010). Local Police Departments, 2007. Resource document. United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance. http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/lpd07.pdf. Accessed 23 March 2014.
Schafer, J. A., & Bonello, E. M. (2001). The citizen police academy: Measuring outcomes. Police Quarterly. doi:10.1177/109861101129197932.
Schnebly, S. M. (2008). The influence of community-oriented policing on crime-reporting behavior. Justice Quarterly. doi:10.1080/07418820802025009.
Schuck, A. M., Rosenbaum, D. P., & Hawkins, D. F. (2008). The influence of race/ethnicity, social class, and neighborhood context on residents’ attitudes toward the police. Police Quarterly. doi:10.1177/1098611108318115.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lee, T.L. Tennessee Citizen Police Academies: Program and Participant Characteristics. Am J Crim Just 41, 236–254 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-015-9304-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-015-9304-8