CHARBONNEAU, Etienne

The self-reported use of social equity indicators in urban police departments in he United States and Canada - Georgia : Carl Vinson Institute of Government of the University of Georgia, 2009

Police departments in the United States and Canada employ a variety of social equity indicators as measures of performance. In this exploratory study, the results of a survey of police chiefs are used to examine the potential factors that predict the self-reported use of social equity indicators. The findings show that very few cities publicy report crime or other police performance measures by race, ethnicity, gender, or age, although many do report neighborhood statistics. Citizen participation in departmental decisions, intensive use of information technology, and national context appear to the the strongest predictors. Suggestions for future research are offered that stress the importance of the need for a balance mix of performance measures that include social equity.