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An experiment in police-community relations: A small group approach

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Abstract

To study the effectiveness of group discussion in mitigating the rising hostility between police and residents of the urban ghetto, two 15-member groups of police and ghetto residents held weekly discussions, led and observed by university researchers, for 12 weeks. Attitude scales administered at the beginning and end of the study, as well as recorded logs of the meetings, reveal increased understanding and empathy between initially hostile and defensive participants by the end of the study. With increased awareness of each others' problems came an increased faith in the power of cooperation to solve problems. Police became more interested in attempting to affect the causes of problems than in serving merely as disciplinarians, and some of the community members began to attempt to instill in their neighbors a more friendly attitude toward the police.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Boston University's Law-Medicine Institute, 141 Bay State Road, 02215, Boston, Mass.

    Paul D. Lipsitt LL.B., Ph.D. (assistant director)

Authors
  1. Paul D. Lipsitt LL.B., Ph.D.
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  2. Maureen Steinbruner
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Additional information

He directed the Police-Community Relations Pilot Project, which was funded by the Office of Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Development, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, through the institute's Training Center in Youth Development. Mrs. Steinbruner, editor and evaluator for the training center, was a member of the pilot project staff. The participation of Dr. Kenneth Benne, Dr. John Cartwright, and W. Robert McClain, of the Boston University Human Relations Center, is gratefully acknowledged.

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Lipsitt, P.D., Steinbruner, M. An experiment in police-community relations: A small group approach. Community Ment Health J 5, 172–179 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01420022

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01420022

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