Date of Award
January 2020
Degree Type
Open Access Thesis
Document Type
Master Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Justice Studies
First Advisor
Kristie R. Blevins
Department Affiliation
Justice Studies
Second Advisor
William McClanahan
Department Affiliation
Justice Studies
Third Advisor
Kevin I. Minor
Department Affiliation
Justice Studies
Abstract
Previous research has shown that police presence, which involves visibility of law enforcement personnel, is often related to perceptions of individual safety and individual behavior. The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of college students and campus law enforcement regarding visibility of and citizen/police interaction on Eastern Kentucky University’s campus. The first phase of this project was designed to measure student awareness and visibility of “ghosted” police vehicles, which are black with matte black markings on the doors and have few easily visible indicators of law enforcement vehicles, versus other police types of police vehicles on campus. The second phase of the study involved measuring the police perception of safety on campus while using the ghosted vehicles. Survey and interview data were analyzed to explore whether the use of ghosted law enforcement vehicles impact perceptions of safety and crime detection. Potential policy implications concerning the use of ghosted vehicles are discussed.
Copyright
Copyright 2020 MacKenzie Kibler
Recommended Citation
Kibler, MacKenzie, "Hiding In Plain Sight: Ghosted Police Vehicles And The Perception Of Police Presence On College Campuses" (2020). Online Theses and Dissertations. 736.
https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/736
