What do people think of the police presence in their neighborhoods?

Thats what Jim Nolan and Ronald Althouse of West Virginia University want to know.

The two sociology professors have obtained a $467,854 community policing grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to support research they say will cut down on crime. Thats because it ramps up officersawareness of the idiosyncrasies that are unique to each neighborhood they patrol.

Theyre collecting data in Akron, Ohio; Cleveland; Pittsburgh and Ohio County, W.Va. Part of the research includes breaking respective neighborhoods down to three distinct categories: the physical neighborhood, social neighborhood and psych-emotional neighborhood.

Its the third category thats most often overlooked by both police and residents, said Nolan, a former beat cop and FBI investigator.

All three categories are important, but the third one is especially critical because it takes in all the emotional characteristics as a whole,he said.Were hoping the research can actually help police tailor their response to the neighborhood.

Such increased sensitivity could change the makeup of any neighborhood. Residents will feel more comfortable about calling the police, he said, and with enough cruisers on the block, potential lawbreakers in town might get the message.

As part of the study, neighborhoods receive one of four additional characterizations: strong, vulnerable, anomic (lawless) or responsive. The WVU professors also plan to author the primer, The Situational Approach to Community Policing: A Guidebook, which help police identify the above neighborhood categories, so they can do their work accordingly.

Nolan was a police officer in his hometown of Wilmington, Del., for 13 years, where he was project director of Delawares Weed and Seed programwhichweedsout drug dealers whileseedingeconomic development monies for community outreach projects.

He also tracked hate crimes for the FBI as a chief in the Bureaus Crime Analysis, Research and Development Unit. Hes also overseeing a crime-reporting project for Tampa, Fla.

At WVU , he teaches classes on the social particulars of crime.

Althouse directs WVU s Survey Research Center and chaired the Division of Sociology and Anthropology from 1989-2001. Besides teaching, he does research on a variety of worker issues, including mine safety and health, coal mine rescue and recovery, mine management and racism in college sports.

The grant is among many from the Department of Justice, which offers funding opportunities for research and training programs for law enforcement professionals.

WVU s Division of Sociology and Anthropology is part of the School of Applied Social Sciences in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.

For more information on the policing grant, contract Nolan at jim.nolan@mail.wvu.edu or 304-293-5801 ext. 3210.