Date

4-29-2026

Department

Helms School of Government

Degree

Doctor of Criminal Justice (DCJ)

Chair

Marlana Hancock

Keywords

community policing, structural equation conceptual model, residents, agencies, officers, effectiveness.

Disciplines

Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration

Abstract

The purpose of this applied study was to identify effective community policing programs in law enforcement and among political leaders by designing a structural equation model that incorporates specific variables to address the issue. It employed a proposed conceptual model to illustrate the analysis process and a structural equation conceptual model (SECM) to perform the analysis using specific variables. The reason this research was necessary was to determine whether it is possible to overcome the lack of a universally accepted definition of community policing. The data collection methods in this study included interviews, document reviews, surveys, and analyses of federal and local databases to examine police department community policing programs. A structural equation conceptual model was developed for this study to determine whether it is possible to quantify the effectiveness of three separate law enforcement agencies in implementing community policing programs. The initial variables used in the structural equation conceptual model included the following: resource identification and inclusion, proper enforcement, community outreach, citizen perceptions of their police departments, and criminal closure rate. The findings suggest that departments may overestimate the efficacy of their community policing programs relative to criminal clearance rates for five specific crimes. While these outcomes are not definitive in predicting the effectiveness of a community policing (CP) program, they suggest that it may be possible to discern effective community policing programs; however, additional research is required. The final chapter discusses the proposed solution to the outlined problems and examines the necessary resources and responsibilities to complete a community policing program assessment.

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