In the fall of 2015, Howard University’s Ronald W. Walters Leadership and Public Policy Center was
notified that it would receive a Community Policing Development grant from the U.S. Department
of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office). The grant was awarded
for a study of police-community relations using college students to help drive the discussion on diversity and inclusion and how best to transform recruitment strategies for law enforcement agencies
in the 21st Century.
Data for this study were collected through two methods: focus groups and convenings between
college students and law enforcement managers and supervisors. The focus groups were conducted
in four regions of the United States—Midwest, East, South, and West Coast—during the summer
and fall of 2016. The focus groups were conducted at Historically Black Colleges and Universities
(HBCUs) and Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs) to ensure that most of the students included
in the focus groups were African American. In addition to the discussion, focus groups were given a
demographic survey that included a few questions about their experience with the police. The focus
groups provided insight into how college students perceive police officers and how they believe
relations between police and the Black community can be improved.
