What people in my school
and community think about
the police and what they
do: a small-scale study
Christopher Orme
age 10
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 don’t do anything to help
their community
My research
questions are:
What do people think about
police in the community?
What do people think the
police do in the station and in
the streets?
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 didn’t get many answers from Year 6
• An adult helped me to ask other adults and
teenagers in the community groups where
he works
Methods:
• I used questionnaires first
• The questionnaires help me to find out
enough data to make questions for my
interview
• Questionnaires: age 7-18 (n=57)
age 19 and older (n=15)
• Then I interviewed a Police Community
Support Officer who works in my local
community
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
Ethics
• I had to make sure I didn’t upset anyone or
make them angry with my questions so I tried
to be ethical
• An adult helped me with interviews outside
school so I’m 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 don’t
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
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.
Findings
Do you think the police help people
in the community?
100
90
% of sample
80
70
60
7-18 years
age 19 and over
50
40
30
20
10
0
Never
Sometimes
Usually
Always
Don't know
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
How do you feel about the police being
around in the community?
100
90
% of sample
80
70
60
7-18 years n=56
age 19 and over n=12
50
40
30
20
10
0
v happy
happy
neutral
unhappy v unhappy
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 718 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
What do you think the police do when they’re
out on the streets?
protecting streets from vandalism
7-18 years (n=57)
help people
making sure that everybody is alright
stop bullying
look to see if people are doing crime
protecting the community
making friends
no litter
stop stealing
arresting people
doing their job
solving crime
looking out for fights
look for safe driving
question people
noticing changes
as a deterrant
notes
scare me
make me feel safe
helping people who are lost
understanding problems in the community
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)
o Protecting
streets from
vandalism
o Arresting people
What do you think police do when they’re out
on the streets?
AGE 19 AND OVER (n=15)
protecting streets from vandalism
help people
making sure that everybody is alright
stop bullying
look to see if people are doing crime
protecting the community
making friends
no litter
stop stealing
arresting people
doing their job
solving crime
looking out for fights
look for safe driving
question people
noticing changes
as a deterrant
notes
scare me
make me feel safe
helping people who are lost
understanding problems in the community
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)
o Protecting the
community
o Making friends
o Making me feel
safe
What do you think the police do when they’re
back at the police station?
7-18 YEARS (n=54)
Paperwork
Deal with arrested people
Break
Interviews
Discuss cases with colleagues
Charge offenders
Meetings
Answer calls
Training
Social
CCTV
Make phone calls
Sort out problems
Going to court
Looking for suspects
Gaining evidence
Guarding the station
Shooting practice
Being an operator for police in the street
Help people
Find out what their next job is
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 )
o Paper work
o Having a break
• Discussing cases with their colleagues
What do you think the police do when they’re
back at the station?
AGE 19 AND OVER (n=15)
Paperwork
Deal with arrested people
Break
Interviews
Discuss cases with colleagues
Charge offenders
Meetings
Answer calls
Training
Social
CCTV
Make phone calls
Sort out problems
Going to court
Looking for suspects
Gaining evidence
Guarding the station
Shooting practice
Being an operator for police in the street
Help people
Find out what their next job is
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)
o Having a break
o Interviews
o Discussing cases with their colleagues
• Training
Do you agree that the police are here to
protect people in their community?
(percentage of sample)
100
90
80
70
60
7-18 years n=55
age 19 and over n=15
50
40
30
20
10
0
strongly
disagree
disagree
neither agree
nor disagree
agree
strongly agree
Interview with a
POLICE COMMUNITY SUPPORT
OFFICER
What do the police do when
they are out in the community?
• It’s 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 people’s homes and different
community centres
• Telling people what we do and helping people
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!
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
DON`T LIKES
• People shouting out and calling us names
“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 it’s 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 you’re wearing a uniform.”
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
Discussion and
Conclusion
• I think that I’ve 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
• 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
• I’m still not very sure about how
adults like the police being around in
the community because I didn’t get
lots of adults to do my questionnaire
• 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
• People are right about the police doing
paperwork but what people don’t 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
• 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 I’m still not sure about becoming a
police officer!