CP-SAT Short Form

Community
y policing is a philosophy that
t promotess organizationnal strategies, which suppoort the system
matic use of
partnerships and problem--solving techn
niques, to pro
oactively addrress the immeediate conditions that give rise to publicc
safety issues such as crime, social disorrder, and fearr of crime.
The Commun
nity Policing Self-Assessm
ment Tool (CP
P-SAT) is dessigned to asseess three key areas in comm
munity
policing: com
mmunity partn
nerships, prob
blem solving,, and organizaational transfo
formation. Thee three key arreas of
community policing
p
inclu
uded in this to
ool are describ
bed below.
ƒ

COMMUN
NITY PART
TNERSHIPS
Collaborattive partnersh
hips between the
t law enforccement agenccy and the inddividuals and organizations
they serve to develop so
olutions to pro
oblems and inncrease trust iin police.

ƒ

M SOLVING
G
PROBLEM
The processs of engaging
g in the proacctive and systtematic examiination of ideentified probleems to
develop efffective respon
nses.

ƒ

ORGANIZ
ZATIONAL
L TRANSFOR
RMATION
The alignm
ment of organ
nizational man
nagement, struucture, personnnel, and infoormation systtems to
support co
ommunity parttnerships and
d proactive prooblem solvingg.

The majority
y of questions follow the saame format. Please
P
indicatte your responnse by selectinng the approppriate
answer. You may skip any
y survey item
ms you do not feel comfortaable answerinng, but we enccourage you tto respond to
as many item
ms as possiblee.
Your respon
nses to this su
urvey will bee kept confidential to the extent proviided by law. There are noo individual
identifiers in
n the data that the agency
y will receivee, and the aggency will nott be able to liink an indiviidual’s data
to their ema
ail address. This
T is not a test
t and theree are no righ
ht or wrong aanswers. Pleaase answer eaach question
n
honestly.

1. Please choose the response that best indicates your level or relationship with the agency:

○
○
○
○
○

Line officer
First-line supervisor/Middle management
Command staff
Civilian staff
Community partner

If you do not work for the police agency, please select “Community partner.” A community partner is an individual who has, or
works for an organization that has, formally agreed to work in a partnership with a law enforcement agency in the pursuit of
common goals. Community partnerships involve a two-way relationship that involves collaboration, shared power, and shared
decision-making with the law enforcement agency (e.g., media, business owner, city employee in Public Works department).
If you are a volunteer for the police agency who provides support services to the agency without monetary benefit, please select
“Civilian staff.” Services a volunteer performs typically include community outreach, telephone work, research, and other
administrative tasks.
If you are a detective or a member of a special operations unit (e.g., gang unit, SWAT, school resource officer), please select the
level of sworn staff that best fits with your level in the agency. For example, please select “First-line supervisor/Middle
management” if you are a supervisor, but select “Line officer” if you have a non-supervisory position in your unit.

Community Partnerships
Community partnerships refer to collaborative partnerships formed between the law enforcement agency and the
individuals and organizations the agency serves in order to develop solutions to problems and increase trust in police.
The following questions ask about your agency’s community partnership activities during the last year.
No
involvement

A little
involvement

Moderate
involvement

Significant
involvement

Extensive
involvement

○

○

○

○

○

2. (Civilian Only) Please indicate your level
of involvement with community partnerships
in your agency. ("Community
partnerships" refer to collaborative
partnerships formed between the law
enforcement agency and the individuals and
organizations the agency serves in order to
develop solutions to problems and increase
trust in police.)

[If 1 = No involvement or 2 = A little involvement, skip to Problem Solving section]

Engagement with a Wide Range of Partners
To what extent do the following types of organizations actively participate as community partners with your
law enforcement agency? (“Actively participate” refers to information sharing, attending meetings, problem
identification, and/or problem solving.)
Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

3. Law enforcement agencies (e.g., Federal, State,
and/or other jurisdictions) who serve the community.

○

○

○

○

○

4. Other components of the criminal justice system
(e.g., probation, parole, courts, prosecutors, and
juvenile justice authorities).

○

○

○

○

○

5. Other government agencies (e.g., Parks, Public
Works, Traffic Engineering, Code Enforcement,
Schools).

○

○

○

○

○

6. Non-profit/community-based organizations that
serve community members.

○

○

○

○

○

7. Businesses operating in the community.

○
○

○
○

○
○

○
○

○
○

○

○

○

○

○

8. The local media.
9. To what extent do individuals in the community
actively participate as community partners with your
law enforcement agency?

Government Partnerships (Non-law enforcement)
The following questions refer to non-law enforcement government agencies in your community, such as parks,
public works, traffic engineering, code enforcement, and/or the school system.
Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

10. To what extent does your agency provide sufficient
resources (e.g., financial, staff time, personnel,
equipment, political, and/or managerial support) to
support the work of its government partnerships?

○

○

○

○

○

11. To what extent are you involved in implementing
problem-solving projects with government partners?

○

○

○

○

○

12. To what extent do you collaborate in developing
shared goals for problem-solving efforts with
government partners?

○

○

○

○

○

13. To what extent do government partners share
accountability for the partnership activities?

○

○

○

○

○

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Often

Very
Often

○

○

○

○

○

14. How often do you communicate with government
partners?

Community Organization and Local Business Partnerships
The following questions refer to non-government partners, such as block watch groups, faith-based organizations,
neighborhood associations, non-profit service providers, media, local businesses, and youth clubs.
Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

○

○

○

○

○

16. To what extent do non-government partners trust
your law enforcement agency (e.g., share information,
believe that the department takes accountability
seriously, believe the agency follows through on
commitments, believe the agency will be honest about
problems)?

○

○

○

○

○

17. To what extent are you involved in implementing
problem-solving projects with non-government
partners?

○

○

○

○

○

18. To what extent do you collaborate in developing
shared goals for problem-solving efforts with nongovernment partners?

○

○

○

○

○

19. To what extent do non-government partners share
accountability for the partnership activities?

○

○

○

○

○

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Often

Very
Often

○

○

○

○

○

Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

21. Involve community members in solutions to
community problems?

○

○

○

○

○

22. Make contact with a wide range of community
members to assess community priorities?

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

15. To what extent does your agency provide sufficient
resources (e.g., financial, staff time, personnel,
equipment, political, and/or managerial support) to
support the work of its non-government partnerships?

20. How often do you communicate with nongovernment partners?

General Engagement with the Community
To what extent do you…

23. Attend community events and meetings?

Problem Solving
The following questions ask about problem solving work by you and your agency during the last year. Problem
solving is a proactive, analytic process for systematically:
•
•
•
•

Identifying neighborhood problems through coordinated community/police assessments (Scanning)
Collecting and analyzing information about the problems (Analysis)
Developing and implementing responses with the potential for eliminating or reducing the problems
(Response)
Evaluating the responses to determine the effectiveness (Assessment).

Problem solving goes beyond traditional crime responses to proactively address a multitude of problems that
adversely affect quality of life.
No
involvement

A little
involvement

Moderate
involvement

Significant
involvement

Extensive
involvement

○

○

○

○

○

24. (Civilian Only) Please indicate your
level of involvement with your agency's
problem-solving efforts. ("Problem
solving" is the process of engaging in the
proactive and systematic examination of
identified problems to develop effective
responses.)

[If 1 = No involvement or 2 = A little involvement, skip to Organizational Transformation section]

General Problem Solving
Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

25. How aware are you of the Scanning, Analysis,
Response, and Assessment (SARA) model?

○

○

○

○

○

26. To what extent are officers in your agency given the
shift time to engage in the problem-solving process?

○

○

○

○

○

27. To what extent does your agency keep historical
records (e.g., lessons learned, after action report) of
problem solving for future reference?

○

○

○

○

○

28. To what extent does your agency coordinate
problem-solving efforts across the agency (e.g., separate
police divisions and shifts)?

○

○

○

○

○

29. How often do you conduct problem
solving in your daily work?

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Often

Very Often

○

○

○

○

○

Problem Solving Processes: Scanning
In identifying and prioritizing the problems in your
community, to what extent do you consider…

Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

○
○
○

○
○
○

○
○
○

○
○
○

○
○
○

○

○

○

○

○

Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

34. Examine a comprehensive set of factors, such as
the location, day of week, time of day, season and
environmental factors (e.g., street lighting and
landscape)?

○

○

○

○

○

35. Analyze the strengths and limitations of past or
current responses to the problem?

○

○

○

○

○

36. Examine a range of non-police data (e.g.,
government records, community surveys, school
information)?

○

○

○

○

○

37. Research and conduct analyses based on best
practices?

○

○

○

○

○

38. Gather information about the victims affected by
a problem?

○

○

○

○

○

39. Gather information about offenders contributing
to a problem?

○

○

○

○

○

40. Gather information about locations contributing
to a problem?

○

○

○

○

○

30. Locations?
31. Victims?
32. Offenders?
33. In identifying and prioritizing the problems in your
community, how much do you use non-law enforcement
information (e.g., community surveys, community
partners, input from caregivers, parole officers,
landlords or business managers)?

Problem Solving Processes: Analysis
When analyzing a problem, to what extent do you…

Problem Solving Processes: Response
Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

○

○

○

○

○

42. In responding to problems, to what extent do you
focus on long-term solutions that address underlying
conditions of problems?

○

○

○

○

○

43. To what extent do you determine a response based
on results of problem analysis?

○

○

○

○

○

44. To what extent do your problem-solving responses
supplement enforcement activities with preventionoriented strategies, such as situational crime prevention,
nuisance abatement, zoning, and involving social
services?

○

○

○

○

○

Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

45. How much do you (or someone else) examine
whether the response was implemented as planned?

○

○

○

○

○

46. To what extent do you (or someone else) determine
if the response was effective, compared to baseline data?

○

○

○

○

○

47.To what extent do you (or someone else) analyze the
nature of the problem further if a response does not
work?

○

○

○

○

○

48. To what extent do you (or someone else) analyze the
response further if a response does not work?

○

○

○

○

○

41. How much do you work with stakeholders in
developing responses to problems?

Problem Solving Processes: Assessment
When assessing your problem-solving efforts…

Organizational Transformation
Organizational transformation refers to the alignment of policies and practices to support community
partnerships and proactive problem-solving.
The four aspects of organizational transformation measured on this survey are organized as follows:
• Agency Management
• Personnel Management
• Leadership
• Transparency
The following questions ask about your agency’s management, personnel practices, leadership, and transparency
during the last year.

Agency Management
Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

49. To what extent are you readily able to access
relevant information (e.g., police, community, and
research data) to support problem solving?

○

○

○

○

○

50. To what extent are the problem-solving data
available to you accurate?

○

○

○

○

○

51. To what extent does your agency provide the data
(e.g., through reports or intranet access) that you need
to engage in effective problem solving?

○

○

○

○

○

52. To what extent has your agency acquired the
necessary information technology hardware and
software (e.g., crime analysis, mapping) to support
problem solving?

○

○

○

○

○

53. (Command only) To what degree has your agency
included community policing values (e.g.,
empowerment, trust, accountability, problem solving,
and community partnership) in its mission statement?

○

○

○

○

○

54. (Command only) To what degree does your
agency's strategic plan (or similar document) include
goals or objective statements that support community
policing?

○

○

○

○

○

55. (Command only) To what extent are community
partners represented in planning and policy activities
(e.g., budgeting, citizen advisory panels)?

○

○

○

○

○

56. (Command only) To what extent does your agency
prioritize community policing efforts in making
budgetary decisions?

○

○

○

○

○

57. (Command only) Does your agency conduct a review of the
performance of the organization regularly (e.g., at least once every year)?

Yes

No

[If No, skip to 61]
Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

61. To what extent does your agency require
demonstrated competency in community policing (e.g.,
ability to form productive partnerships, completion of a
successful problem-solving project) for promotion?

○

○

○

○

○

62. How well are expectations for your role in
community policing defined by your law enforcement
agency?

○

○

○

○

○

Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

○
○

○
○

○
○

○
○

○
○

65. To what extent is community policing an agencywide effort involving all staff?

○

○

○

○

○

66. To what extent are officers in your agency given
adequate uncommitted time to proactively work with
the community?

○

○

○

○

○

58. (Command only) To what extent did your
agency’s most recent effort to evaluate organizational
performance reflect overall impacts of your community
policing efforts?
59. (Command only) In assessing your organization’s
community policing efforts, to what extent does your
agency incorporate community assessment tools (e.g.,
surveys, citizen feedback letters, online input)?
60. (Command only) To what extent did your agency
share the results from your most recent effort to
evaluate community policing?

Personnel Management

To what extent are officers in your agency trained in…
63. Problem solving?
64. Building community partnerships?

Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

69. (Line Officers Only) Developing partnerships with
external groups?

○

○

○

○

○

70. (Line Officers Only) Using problem solving?

○

○

○

○

○

Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

71. (Command only) Problem solving?

○

○

○

○

○

72. (Command only) Developing partnerships?

○

○

○

○

○

Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

○

○

○

○

○

74. (Command only) To what extent does your agency
recruit officers who have strong general problemsolving skills?

○

○

○

○

○

75. (Command only) To what extent does your agency
recruit officers who have an interest in working
collaboratively with the community?

○

○

○

○

○

67. To what extent are geographic, beat, or sector
assignments long enough to allow officers in your
agency to form strong relationships with the
community?
68. To what extent does your agency give patrol
officers decision-making authority to develop
responses to community problems?
To what extent do performance evaluations hold you
accountable for…

To what extent does recruit field training in your
agency include…

73. (Command only) How much does your agency
involve the community in recruitment, selection, and
hiring processes (e.g., the community might help
identify competencies and participate in oral boards)?

To what extent do performance evaluations hold
managers and supervisors in your agency accountable
for…

Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

○

○

○

○

○

77. (First-Line Supervisor/Middle Management
& Command only) Developing partnerships with
external groups?

○

○

○

○

○

78. (First-Line Supervisor/Middle Management
& Command only) Using innovative problem
solving?

○

○

○

○

○

76. (First-Line Supervisor/Middle Management
& Command only) Encouraging community policing
among officers they supervise?

Leadership
To what extent does your Chief/Sheriff stress the
importance of…

Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

79. Community policing to personnel within your
agency?

○

○

○

○

○

80. Community policing externally?

○

○

○

○

○

Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

81. Communicate a vision for community policing to
personnel within your agency?

○

○

○

○

○

82. Advocate partnerships with the community?

○

○

○

○

○

83. Value officers’ work in partnership activities?

○

○

○

○

○

84. Value officers’ work in problem solving?

○

○

○

○

○

Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

85. Establish clear direction for community policing
activities?

○

○

○

○

○

86. Empower officers to do community policing?

○

○

○

○

○

To what extent does the top command staff at your
agency…

To what extent do first-line supervisors in your
agency…

Transparency
To what extent does your agency provide community
members with information on…
87. Agency activities?
88. Crime problems?
89. Crime-prevention tips?
90. Crime maps?

91. To what extent does your agency communicate
openly with community members?

Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

○
○
○
○

○
○
○
○

○
○
○
○

○
○
○
○

○
○
○
○

Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

○

○

○

○

○

Community Partner Perspective
Partnership with the Law Enforcement Agency
The following questions refer to your organization’s partnership with the local law enforcement agency
during the last year.

92. (Partner only) To what degree is the
law enforcement agency involved in
problem-solving projects with your
organization?
93. (Partner only) How much does the
law enforcement agency collaborate in
developing shared goals for problemsolving efforts with your organization?
94. (Partner only) To what degree does
the law enforcement agency provide
sufficient resources (e.g., financial, staff
time, personnel, equipment, political,
and/or managerial support) to support
the work of your partnership?
95. (Partner only) To what extent does
your organization share accountability
with the law enforcement agency for the
partnership activities?
96. (Partner only) To what extent does
your organization trust the law
enforcement agency (e.g., share
information, believe that the department
takes accountability seriously, believe
the agency follows through on
commitments, and believe the agency
will be honest about problems)?

97. (Partner only) How often does the
law enforcement agency communicate
with your organization?

Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great extent

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Often

Very Often

○

○

○

○

○

98. (Partner only) Please indicate the statement that best describes the relationship between your organization
and the law enforcement agency:
□ Interaction with the law enforcement agency involves one-way communication from the law
enforcement agency to your organization (for example, educating and/or informing the
organization about current law enforcement initiatives).
□ Interaction with the law enforcement agency involves one-way communication from your
organization to the law enforcement agency (for example, informing the law enforcement agency
of community-related concerns).
□ Interaction between your organization and the law enforcement agency involves two-way
information sharing (for example, your organization collects information on community priorities
and concerns for the law enforcement agency and the law enforcement agency provides
information about responses).
□ Interaction with the law enforcement agency involves collaboration, shared power, and shared
decision-making between the law enforcement agency and your organization to determine
community needs, priorities, and appropriate responses.

General Engagement and Communication with the Community
The following questions refer to the law enforcement agency’s engagement and communication with the
general public during the last year.
Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

101. (Partner only) To what extent does the law
enforcement agency develop relationships with
community members (e.g., residents, organizations, and
groups)?

○

○

○

○

○

102. (Partner only) To what extent is the law
enforcement agency aware of the priorities of
community members?

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

99. (Partner only) To what extent does the law
enforcement agency involve community members in
solutions to community problems?
100. (Partner only) To what extent do officers in the
law enforcement agency introduce themselves to
community members (e.g., residents, organizations, and
groups)?

103. (Partner only) To what degree are beat
assignments in the law enforcement agency long enough
to allow police to form strong relationships with the
community?

Not at all

A little

Somewhat

A lot

To a great
extent

104. (Partner only) Regularly communicate with
residents (e.g., through websites, newsletters, public
meetings)?

○

○

○

○

○

105. (Partner only) Communicate with the community
openly?

○

○

○

○

○

106. (Partner only) Share information on crime
problems with external parties?

○

○

○

○

○

107. (Partner only) Provide residents with a
mechanism to provide feedback to the agency?

○

○

○

○

○

108. (Partner only) Make it easy for community
residents and others to contact the beat officer assigned
to their area?

○

○

○

○

○

109. (Partner only) Communicate a vision for
community policing externally?

○

○

○

○

○

To what extent does the law enforcement partner…

Thank you for completing the Community Policing Self-Assessment Tool (CP-SAT).
Your feedback will be used to help create a better understanding of your agency’s community policing
achievements and activities.

This project was supported by Cooperative Agreement Number # 2010-CK-WXK-003 awarded by the Office of
Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions contained herein are those of the
author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
References to specific companies, products, or services should not be considered an endorsement by the author(s) or
the U.S. Department of Justice. Rather, the references are illustrations to supplement discussion of the issues.
Paperwork Reduction Act Notice: A person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it
displays a valid OMB control number. The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to
be up 17 minutes per response, which includes time for reviewing documentation. Send comments regarding this
burden estimate or any other aspects of the collection of this information, including suggestions for reducing this
burden, to the COPS Office; 145 N Street, NE; Washington, D.C. 20530, and to the Public Use Reports Project,
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, D.C. 20503.