The effects of nonresponse and follow-up mailings on a citizen survey of law enforcement services

ABSTRACT

Law enforcement agencies in many countries conduct surveys to learn about community opinions and concerns but low response rates can raise doubts about the generalizability of the results. This study examined differences between responders vs. nonresponders, and early vs. late responders, in a mailed survey of citizen satisfaction about law enforcement, and whether survey estimates changed with follow-up mailings. The univariate analysis revealed significant but small race/ethnicity and age differences between responders and nonresponders. Nonresponders tended to be nonwhite rather than white and to be younger. Late responders reported more negative attitudes toward law enforcement than did early responders with respect to perceived procedural justice and police legitimacy, although differences were small. While follow-up mailings increased the number of returns, this study found that the characteristics and attitudes of responders changed very little with additional mailings. The multivariate analysis revealed no evidence of multivariate bias, in particular, late survey responses did not change the positive association between procedural justice and police legitimacy. The findings imply that criminal justice scholars and law enforcement agencies that conduct citizen satisfaction surveys might consider increasing the initial sample size to boost statistical precision and power, or targeting unlikely respondents to reduce nonresponse bias, instead of investing in costly follow-up mailings. For police practice, the findings do not rule out invariance assertions about procedural justice. To the extent late responders resemble nonresponders, the impact of procedural justice may not depend on citizens’ survey response propensity.

KEYWORDS:

• Nonresponse bias
• follow-up mailings
• survey research
• citizen attitudes toward the police
• procedural justice and police legitimacy

Acknowledgments

A portion of this research was presented at the annual meeting of the South Carolina Sociological Association in February 2021. The author wishes to thank Major Michael M. Nunn, General Counsel/Public Information Officer, at the Florence County Sheriff’s Office for cooperating with this research. Appreciation is also extended to the editor and two anonymous reviewers for their careful reading of the manuscript and suggesting substantial improvements.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request. The data are not publicly available due to information that could compromise the privacy of survey participants.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Robert E. McNair Center for Research and Service at Francis Marion University.

Notes on contributors

Russell E. Ward

Russell E. WardJr is a professor in the Department of Sociology at Francis Marion University. He has conducted research for law enforcement and domestic violence prevention agencies. His research has appeared in Aggression and Violent Behavior, International Journal of Sport Communication, Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education, Michigan Sociological Review, Sex Roles, Sociological Spectrum, and Sociology of Sport Journal. He earned his PhD in 2000 from Kent State University in Ohio.