What people in my school and community think about the police and what they do: a small-scale study

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What people in my school and community think
about the police and what they do a small-scale
study

• Christopher Orme
• age 10

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Introduction

• My topic is about police
• I chose it because I might become a police
  officer
• I want to see what people think of the police
  because lots of people say that the police dont
  do anything to help their community

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• My research questions are

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What do people think about police in the
community? What do people think the police do in
the station and in the streets?
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Sample

• I asked the people in my school and in the
  community because what I wanted to know is what
  other people think of the police in my local
  community
• I asked children in year groups 3, 4, 5 and 6 and
  teachers
• I didnt get many answers from Year 6
• An adult helped me to ask other adults and
  teenagers in the community groups where he works

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Methods

• I used questionnaires first
• The questionnaires help me to find out enough
  data to make questions for my interview
• Questionnaires age 7-18 (n57)
• age 19 and older
  (n15)
• Then I interviewed a Police Community Support
  Officer who works in my local community

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Data analysis

• Mainly my questions were closed but two were open
  
• I tallied the answers of my closed questions
• I had to sort answers to my open questions into
  categories
• This is called coding
• Then I used Microsoft Excel with an adult helping
  me to organize my data and to make my graphs

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Ethics

• I had to make sure I didnt upset anyone or make
  them angry with my questions so I tried to be
  ethical
• An adult helped me with interviews outside school
  so Im safe
• I told the participants that their work will be
  anonymous and confidential and I told them that
  they do not have to do it if they dont want to
• I also said that their work would be destroyed at
  the end of my project
• I kept their questionnaires in a safe place

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Ethics.2

• This is how I wrote the introduction to my
  questionnaire
• My name is Christopher and I am doing some
  research on what people think about the Police
  and what they do. I would really appreciate your
  help with completing this questionnaire.
  Anything that you write will remain anonymous and
  confidential. All of my research work will be
  kept in a safe place and destroyed at the end of
  the project. You do not have to try this
  questionnaire if you do not want to.

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• Findings

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(No Transcript)
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• Do you think the police help people in the
  community?
• Most people think that the police do help in the
  community
• But most older people think that police help only
  sometimes
• Most younger people are more sure that the police
  are usually or always helpful in the community

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(No Transcript)
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How do you feel about the police being around in
the community?

• More than 80 of people over the age of 19 are
  very happy about the police being in the
  community
• Almost 80 of the kids at the age of 7-18 are
  very happy or happy about the police being out in
  the community
• Very few of the kids and none of the adults are
  unhappy about the police being in the community

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What do you think the police do when theyre out
on the streets? 7-18 years (n57)
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What do you think the police do when they're out
on the streets?

• Top 5 things suggested by 7-18 YEAR olds
• Protecting the community
• Looking to see if the people are doing crime
• Making sure that everybody is alright
• Helping people
• (Joint 5th)

• Protecting streets from vandalism
• Arresting people

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What do you think police do when theyre out on
the streets? AGE 19 AND OVER (n15)
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What do you think the police do when they're out
on the streets?

• Top 5 things suggested by 19 and over
• Looking to see if the people are doing crime
• As a deterrent this means the police being
• around stops people from doing crime

• (Joint 3rd)
• Protecting the community
• Making friends
• Making me feel safe

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What do you think the police do when theyre back
at the police station? 7-18 YEARS (n54)
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What do you think the police do when they're back
at the police station?

• Top 5 things suggested by 7-18 YEAR olds
• Deal with arrested people
• Cctv
• (Joint 3rd )
• Paper work
• Having a break
• Discussing cases with their colleagues

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What do you think the police do when theyre back
at the station? AGE 19 AND OVER (n15)
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What do you think the police do when they're back
at the police station?

• Top 5 things suggested by 19 and over
• Paper work
• (Joint 2nd)
• Having a break
• Interviews
• Discussing cases with their colleagues
• Training

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Do you agree that the police are here to protect
people in their community? (percentage of sample)
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Interview with a POLICE COMMUNITY SUPPORT OFFICER
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What do the police do when they are out in the
community?

• Its always different every day
• Sometimes dealing with 999 calls
• And sometimes dealing with general things like
  parking
• Meeting and talking to people
• Visiting schools, old peoples homes and
  different community centres
• Telling people what we do and helping people

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What do the police do when they are back at the
station?

• Not just having a cup of tea!
• Using Commander Control - a computer system that
  tells us what jobs need to be done
• Research - for example tracking down car owners
• Lots of paper work!

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Why do you like or not like about being out in
the community?

• LIKES
• Likes meeting people
• Solving problems
• Being asked for advice
• Being out side and not being stuck at a desk
• DONT LIKES
• People shouting out and calling us names

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• I would say the only down side is one or two
  people do shout out and call us names just
  because we are an officer. You can just breeze
  past that and its just water off a ducks back
  and let it just go over your head because the
  people are doing it not because they dislike you
  but because youre wearing a uniform.

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How do people act when they see you in the
community?

• Most people love seeing us about
• They talk to us and tell us things
• Most people are very nice to us

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• Discussion and Conclusion

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• I think that Ive found out so much about what
  people in my school and some in the community
  think the police do in the streets and at the
  station and what the police really do
• It would make my research work better if I had
  more adults doing my questionnaires
• I did not get many from year 6 but that is ok
  because I said that they could do it if they
  wanted to

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• I was happy that people think the police help
• Before I started this research project I thought
  that people did not like the police so I am a
  little bit surprised that most people like them
• Im still not very sure about how adults like the
  police being around in the community because I
  didnt get lots of adults to do my questionnaire

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• The police community support officer I
  interviewed said that she mainly talks to people
  and gives people advice as well as dealing with
  crime
• The people that filled in my questionnaires
  thought that the police make friends in the
  community and stops people from doing crime and
  so they are right

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• People are right about the police doing paperwork
  but what people dont know is that the police
  uses Commander Control to tell the police what
  they need to do
• The people who did my questionnaires thought the
  police always have a break when they get back to
  the police station
• They have a break but they still have a lot to do
  

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• If I did more research about the police I would
  find out about how hard can a police officers job
  be
• I need to interview a detective and maybe someone
  from the traffic police
• By doing so I can get more information about what
  all type of police officers do
• I could be something else I might want to be but
  Im still not sure about becoming a police
  officer!