Introduction
This reflection will look at the theme of community policing which is among the most critical issues in criminal justice. The article developed by Roh Sunghoon and Oliver Willard entitled “Effects of Community Policing upon Fear of Crime” will be used to provide a reflective summary. This will mainly capture the stated hypotheses and research questions, variables examined, research methods, limitations of the methods used including a brief analysis of the findings.
Main Analysis
The purpose of the article aimed at identifying the intervening factors in relation to how people perceive community policing and decrease of criminal threat and anxieties among citizens; therefore, the two researchers aimed to address the way a better comprehension would be achieved on the causal relationship between the two variables.
It is arguably so that a reflection on community policing is a major issue today and it needs serious consideration. In the article examined it was noted that vulnerability to crime as a result of socio-demographic factors leads to a greater threat. In other words, it is stated that people who experience more fear of crime depend on their perception as being more vulnerable to it. Actually, the article explains a number of models in relation to fear of crime.
This will not be captured in this current analysis though. Just to reiterate, community policing is a fundamental prerequisite to the reduction of crime and its implementation creates more confidence in the police force. In other words, the satisfaction the public exhibits with the police service eliminates the fear of crime.
In terms of methodology, the article used research information from a study conducted in 1998. Therefore, the approach focused on personal data that incorporated respondents’ demographic aspects; the study sought information on personal crime including victimization experiences, how the respondents’ perceived neighborhood crime and lastly their experience or level of satisfaction with the local police (Oliver & Roh 673).
The main dependent variable was fear of crime which was estimated through the responses given on the way in which threatened people are towards crime in the immediate community. The responses were categorized through an ordinal scale.
The independent variable referred to ‘perception of community policing”. The aim was to understand the way people regarded community policing within their immediate environment. It was noted that the way people perceived community policing also marked the level of their fear of crime.
In the analysis of findings, the researchers applied t-test to establish whether there was a major difference in relation to the level of crime fear among people who experienced community policing in their environment. The results obtained supported the hypotheses of the study. For instance, it demonstrated a major correlation between “fear of crime and perceived approach to community policing and covariates’ (Oliver & Roh 675).
In regard to negative correlation towards the perception of community policing as well as fear of crime it was demonstrated that the more majorities of people perceive community policing the less they will feel threatened by crime. However, the study did not establish any connection between age and level of fear of crime.
Conclusion
The researchers did not discuss the main weaknesses in the methods used. However, there were some and this can be traced in the very nature of the research approach. As such quantitative process is the best because it provides empirical analysis and verification in testing the hypothesis and study variables. However, that does not guarantee validity of the findings.
It is not possible to quantify fear and even one cannot establish it in the subject itself. Thus, such a study may be developed in future by use of triangulation or mixed methods approach. That way the qualitative analysis will help the researcher capture the feelings of the respondents in a deeper manner.
Works Cited
Roh, Sunghoon & Oliver, Willard. “Effects of Community Policing upon Fear of Crime: Understanding the Causal Linkage.” An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management Vol. 28 Iss: 4 (2005): 670 – 683. Print.