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There is widespread interest in moving beyond crime statistics to measure police performance in new ways, especially the quality of police-community interactions that influence police legitimacy and public trust. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Police-Community Interaction Survey (PCIS) developed by the National Police Research Platform.

The PCIS collected data from 53 police agencies around the USA in 2013-2014. The psychometric properties of the constructs measured are presented. This study also offers a preliminary test of the effects of an alternatively specified and expanded procedural justice model on willingness to cooperate with the police, mediated through perceptions of officer trustworthiness.

Scales were developed with good reliability and validity that measure various aspects of the police-community interactions. The authors find evidence that empathy is an important addition to the procedural justice model, and that the effects of procedural justice on willingness to cooperate with the police are partially mediated through perceptions of officer trustworthiness.

This is the first attempt to validate the measurement of police-community interactions on a large scale in the USA with policy implications at the local and national levels. The findings can help local police agencies incorporate new performance metrics at the individual, group, and agency levels. Nationally, the science of policing can be advanced by specifying the antecedents and consequences of respectful and empathic actions, including behavior that strengthens police-community relations.

Law enforcement agencies have historically used psychological examinations, in addition to other methods, to screen candidates out of the applicant pool. However, agencies could be better served by ensuring recruits are predisposed to the expected behaviors and qualities that are required as part of community-oriented and respectful policing. The purpose of this paper is to provide an initial look into what officer-level characteristics might lead to improved treatment in police-community interactions (PCIs). Characteristics under review include communication styles and personality dimensions.

Data come from the National Police Research Platform’s longitudinal recruit study and its PCI survey. Community members were surveyed about their interactions with officers involved in the study. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze these two-level data.

The findings suggest that certain officer-level characteristics were associated with higher perceptions of procedurally just behavior. Specifically, officers with higher levels of empathy and lower levels of neuroticism scored higher on both the officer’s quality of treatment (QT) and quality of decision making toward the community member. Additional to those dimensions, officers with increased emotional control received higher scores on their QT.

These findings have important implications for identifying and measuring new characteristics to be used in police hiring procedures. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first instance where personality dimensions and communications styles have been used to predict law enforcement officers’ procedural justice behaviors in the field.

The National Police Research Platform provided unprecedented data about police performance, but what did the agency heads think of this research program and the results? How useful were the findings for police practice and what more is needed? The purpose of this paper is to answer these questions and explore ways to translate the findings and sustain the Platform in the future.

Chiefs and sheriffs from the 100 participating agencies were invited by e-mail to take an online feedback survey about their experiences with the Platform. Data from 64 agencies were analyzed.

The majority of chief executive officers rated their overall experience with the Platform as positive, found the results useful and reported that the findings caused them to make changes, rethink things, and identify unforeseen issues. Most of them also expressed a willingness to participate in future Platform initiatives, but many felt additional guidance would help with interpreting findings and identifying next steps. This paper discusses how the Platform can respond to feedback and continue advancing the science of policing. Mainly, this can be achieved by engaging key organizations and providing routine feedback and education to participating agencies and the field at large.

This paper addresses previously unanswered questions about the utility and future of the National Police Research Platform from a police management perspective. It includes a preliminary discussion about how to sustain the Platform and ensure that research findings are translated into practice.