Graduate Studies

 

First Advisor

Elizabeth Niehaus

Department

Educational Administration

Date of this Version

Spring 2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Comments

Copyright 2024, Hassan Ramzah. Used by permission

Abstract

This qualitative, single case study explored whether and how a campus police agency’s community policing model fostered collective efficacy among students, faculty, staff members and campus police. Using Bandura’s (2000) collective efficacy theory, this study was guided by the following questions: (1) How does a campus police department use a community policing model to build partnerships with students, faculty, and staff? (2) How do police officers, students, faculty, and staff perceive these partnership-building efforts, particularly as it relates to fostering collective efficacy within the campus community? (3) Through what processes have campus police partnerships with students, faculty, and staff contributed to participation in the co-production of campus safety? (4) What do the campus police relationships with students, faculty, and staff reveal about building trust and establishing legitimacy? Participants included four members of the campus police department, as well as three students and three campus staff members. The case site was a mid-sized, public higher education institution in the Midwest. Data collection involved document analysis, observations of campus police activities, and interviews with students, staff members and campus police officers. The findings of this study suggest community policing in a campus environment influenced mutual trust beliefs among students, staff members and campus police in their capability to succeed and work collaboratively to solve problems. These shared beliefs contributed to student and staff members’ willingness to intervene to promote campus safety. This study offers implications for research and recommendations for practice based on these findings.

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