Commentary: Perception and Performance in Effective Policing

• Author: Jorge A. Villegas
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12745
• Published date: 01 March 2017
• Date: 01 March 2017

240 Public Administration Review • March | April 2017

Public Administration Review,

Vol. 77, Iss. 2, pp. 240–241. © 2017 by

The American Society for Public Administration.

DOI: 10.1111/puar.12745.

Jorge A. Villegas is assistant chief with

the Los Angeles Police Department. He has

more than 27 years of experience, with the

last 11 years in management and executive

positions.

E-mail: villegas10@me.com

Commentary

A lfred Tat-Kei Ho and Wonhyuk Cho ’ s

intriguing article, “Government

Communication Effectiveness and Satisfaction

with Police Performance: A Large-Scale Survey

Study,” sheds light on the effects of government

communication on public satisfaction with a police

force. The article sets forth the authors’ thought-

provoking finding that actual crime reduction is less

effective at developing positive public perceptions

than communication. Their work suggests that if

citizens are ill-informed about what is happening

in their community, their subjective perceptions

of public safety may not be related to actual public

safety outcomes. Thus, municipal government is

well advised to invest serious effort in proactively

informing the public of the services provided and the

effectiveness of those services.

The findings of Ho and Cho reflect a shift in public

expectations. Incomplete information appears to sway

public opinion more than the actual performance of

services such as crime reduction. In recent incidents

of officer-involved shootings across the nation, the

public has been presented with short videos and

limited information when the complexity of the

investigation and legal constraints precluded full

disclosure of all the information to the affected

communities. Police leaders try to strike a balance

among crime-fighting efforts, community outreach,

transparency of investigations, and confidentiality

required by various laws. We are keenly aware that our

ability to communicate with the public is paramount

in helping us achieve our crime-fighting mission.

As many have pointed out, while reality drives

perception, life is more complicated than that:

perception also drives reality. Thus, we do not

favor communication or crime reduction at the

expense of the other; we value both equally. As an

organization, we have always valued community

relations and have allotted many resources over the

years to strengthen that partnership in our varied and

diverse communities. The mission of the Los Angeles

Police Department is, in part, to reduce the fear and

incidence of crime while working in partnership

with the diverse communities we serve. We, as a

department and as a component of the various

community bodies we serve, have consistently found

tremendous pride in effectively reducing incidents of

crime and disorder. Effective and inclusive policing

would not be attainable without both the reduction of

crime and the relationships we work to achieve within

the community while balancing a communication

strategy that is both accurate and effective.

We are fortunate to have the autonomy to manage

our limited resources in a way that provides several

dedicated community-oriented services. We have

more than 200 officers dedicated in various units,

from media relations to the Community Relationship

Division and a senior lead officer program in every

division, specially assigned to communicate with the

community in every neighborhood. We also employ

many social media platforms and hold regular public

sessions of information exchange with the community.

In addition, our relationship-based policing model has

allowed us to develop unique relationships through

our Community Safety Partnership program and to

place officers within the Housing Authority of the

City of Los Angeles, where they coach youth football,

participate in youth scouting activities, and take

educational field trips to museums and the beach,

among other activities. These officers are tasked

with developing relationships in the some of the

most crime-stricken neighborhoods of Los Angeles

and communicating our effectiveness with local

community members on an intimate level, all while

still working to reduce violent crime.

Modern policing has brought with it crime data

analysis, offender hotspots, mathematical algorithms

that try to predict crime and direct police resources,

and much more. We are more efficient and better

trained, we have advanced deployment criteria for

police responders, and we have directed and focused

crime reduction missions daily. These modern

Jorge A. Villegas

Los Angeles Police Department

Perception and Performance in Effective Policing