Co-authors with Wesley Skogan of the CAPS citizen involvement study (clockwise from left): Jill DuBois, Jennifer Comey, Erik Gudell, and Susan Hartnett

Black residents of Chicago's poorest and most crime-plagued neighborhoods were the city's most active participants in monthly community/police beat meetings, despite their traditionally hostile relationship with local police.

This was among the findings in an assessment of citizen involvement in Chicago's community policing program (CAPS), just published by the National Institute of Justice. It is part of an IPR-led evaluation of CAPS, directed by Wesley G. Skogan (IPR-Political Science), that began in 1992.

"The significant role played by ordinary citizens in setting police priorities and monitoring their effectiveness through beat meetings is one of the most distinctive features of Chicago's community policing program," Skogan said. It is also considered crucial to the ultimate success of the program.

Skogan's research team analyzed public awareness of the program, participation in beat meetings, and the effectiveness of these community gatherings. Overall, it found citizen awareness of CAPS has expanded rapidly while participation levels grew more slowly. Yet attendance at beat meetings has remained quite high, especially in the poorest and most crime-ridden communities, presumably the areas that could benefit the most from meaningful police-citizen interaction.

CAPS Awareness. The IPR survey revealed that awareness of the CAPS program is now widespread among Chicago residents. While 53% knew about the program in 1996, 80% had heard about CAPS by 1999, and recognition increased in nearly all categories of respondents, including males and females, blacks and whites, and renters and homeowners. People learned of the program through a variety of channels, but television was the most common source, followed by word of mouth. The overall growth in awareness is the result of an aggressive, city-coordinated marketing effort that uses media ads, posters, and fliers to promote the program.

"We have advised the city to stop spending money just to increase awareness," Skogan said. "Those who have not gotten the word probably will not, and marketing resources would be better spent on stimulating actual involvement in beat meetings and problem solving."

Beat Meeting Attendance. About 60% of Chicago residents were aware that beat meetings were held in their area and about 28% of this group, some 14% of all Chicagoans, said they had attended at least one meeting. More than half of all participants attended just one or two meetings a year. But a small number of regulars attended frequently, significantly boosting overall attendance figures, and these activists were more likely to be upbeat about their communities and the police and to be involved in local affairs.

Attendance Factors. What prompted Chicago residents to attend beat meetings? The survey data suggest that while television ads promote program awareness, they do not spur participation in meetings. The factors promoting both awareness and meeting attendance were personal contact, local fliers, and newsletters. Attendance at beat meetings was considerably higher among those who were already actively involved in community organizations.

Patterns of Participation. Attendance at beat meetings was highest in predominantly black neighborhoods, in low-income areas, and in those sections of the city with high levels of violent crime. In general, rates were higher in communities where other social institutions have failed‹where public school students' test scores are low, truancy rates high, and graduation rates poor. These attendance patterns are particularly significant because they do not conform to the historical image of poor neighborhoods where residents have troubled and uncooperative relationships with the police. In addition, the findings do not match the usual pattern of participation in voluntary organizations, whose members are drawn primarily from the middle class.

"Chicago's program demonstrates that if you are really trying to change things, even those who have been most skeptical are willing to give police another chance," Skogan said.

Beat Meetings. The evaluation team observed more than 450 meetings over three years. They found significant improvements in meeting mechanics over time but little change in the rate at which problems were identified and who identified them. However, solutions to problems were discussed less frequently in the later meetings. The researchers concluded that meetings chaired by civilians (or jointly with a police officer), those attended by many people, and those meetings in beats where the regular yearly attendance was high were the most successful.

"Public Involvement: Community Policing in Chicago," by Wesley G. Skogan, Susan M. Hartnett, Jill DuBois, Jennifer T. Comey, Karla Twedt-Ball, and J. Erik Gudell is available from the National Institute of Justice. The ongoing study is funded by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, the Department of Justice, and the MacArthur Foundation.