American International Journal of Humanities and Social Science (AIJHSS)

Data from a survey of African Americans living in a single neighborhood are analyzed to explore attitudes and perceptions concerning police, community-police relations, fear of crime, and feelings of safety. An exploratory factor analysis is conducted to uncover latent variables, and then these factors are used, both as predictor and independent variables, in a series of regression analyses to explore the linear causal mechanisms. Our findings demonstrate the complexity of police-community relationships and the important role that perceptions of police play as both predictor and dependent variable. Key word: Police-community relations, fear of crime, feelings of safety, neighborhood crime, perceptions of police, African American neighborhood, factor analysis, latent variable, regression analysis, exploratory research.