Police Officers' and Police Educators' Receptivity to the Concept of Evidence-Based Policing - A Comparative Study

The paper presents the results of a research study conducted among police officers and police educators in the Republic of Serbia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The research study is based on a questionnaire created by Lum and Telep (2012). Since the questionnaire was intended for respondents from South-eastern Europe, it was adapted to the needs of the survey. The survey aims to assess police officers' and police educators' familiarity with the concept of evidence based policing and policing evaluation research, as well as to obtain their views and opinions on the matter. The results of the survey show that police officers in this region are still not sufficiently familiar with this concept, while police educators show a somewhat higher level of informedness. Accordingly, the first strategic goal in the coming period would be to raise the awareness of this concept and the advantages it entails.