Understanding the public perceptions of police is not a new topic, but it is one that has not focused on that of university students. This current study aims to fill the gap in knowledge by comparing student’s perceptions of two different police departments; traditional hometown police departments and special district police. This study targeted a specific population, college students, that needs additional research to understand what factors contribute to their perceptions of police. This study gathered students’ perceptions of police using an email survey of all on-campus students in a regional state university. Using OLS regression, I was able to see the effect of select variables, like race, gender, living on/off campus, fear of crime on campus, social cohesion on perceptions of police. This study found that effectiveness, social cohesion, race, and sexual orientation was statistically significant and positively associated with the dependent variable.
","abstract_html":"<p>Understanding the public perceptions of police is not a new topic, but it is one that has not focused on that of university students. This current study aims to fill the gap in knowledge by comparing student’s perceptions of two different police departments; traditional hometown police departments and special district police. This study targeted a specific population, college students, that needs additional research to understand what factors contribute to their perceptions of police. This study gathered students’ perceptions of police using an email survey of all on-campus students in a regional state university. Using OLS regression, I was able to see the effect of select variables, like race, gender, living on/off campus, fear of crime on campus, social cohesion on perceptions of police. This study found that effectiveness, social cohesion, race, and sexual orientation was statistically significant and positively associated with the dependent variable.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Pierce, Angela"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Law and Justice","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Cody Stoddard","Jillian Desmond","Michael Harrod"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:37:48Z","subjects":["Attitudes towards police","campus police","special police districts","race","sexual orientation","social cohesion","and effectiveness","Criminology and Criminal Justice","Social and Behavioral Sciences"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/1387","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Cody Stoddard","Jillian Desmond","Michael Harrod"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Pierce, Angela"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2021-08-24T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Law and Justice"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Attitudes towards police","campus police","special police districts","race","sexual orientation","social cohesion","and effectiveness","Criminology and Criminal Justice","Social and Behavioral Sciences"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/1387"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Understanding the public perceptions of police is not a new topic, but it is one that has not focused on that of university students. This current study aims to fill the gap in knowledge by comparing student’s perceptions of two different police departments; traditional hometown police departments and special district police. This study targeted a specific population, college students, that needs additional research to understand what factors contribute to their perceptions of police. This study gathered students’ perceptions of police using an email survey of all on-campus students in a regional state university. Using OLS regression, I was able to see the effect of select variables, like race, gender, living on/off campus, fear of crime on campus, social cohesion on perceptions of police. This study found that effectiveness, social cohesion, race, and sexual orientation was statistically significant and positively associated with the dependent variable.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Comparing Students' Perspectives on a Rural University's Special District Police Department and Student's Traditional Hometown Police Departments"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Cody Stoddard","Jillian Desmond","Michael Harrod"],"dc:creator":["Pierce, Angela"],"dc:date.available":["2021-08-24T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Understanding the public perceptions of police is not a new topic, but it is one that has not focused on that of university students. This current study aims to fill the gap in knowledge by comparing student’s perceptions of two different police departments; traditional hometown police departments and special district police. This study targeted a specific population, college students, that needs additional research to understand what factors contribute to their perceptions of police. This study gathered students’ perceptions of police using an email survey of all on-campus students in a regional state university. Using OLS regression, I was able to see the effect of select variables, like race, gender, living on/off campus, fear of crime on campus, social cohesion on perceptions of police. This study found that effectiveness, social cohesion, race, and sexual orientation was statistically significant and positively associated with the dependent variable.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/1387"],"dc:subject":["Attitudes towards police","campus police","special police districts","race","sexual orientation","social cohesion","and effectiveness","Criminology and Criminal Justice","Social and Behavioral Sciences"],"dc:title":["Comparing Students' Perspectives on a Rural University's Special District Police Department and Student's Traditional Hometown Police Departments"],"dc:type":["Text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Law and Justice"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:37:48Z"}