Student Survey on Snitching


 
 
 
The Snitching Survey
 
 
Thank you very much for agreeing to participate in the survey. This survey was developed by the students of Dr. Rick Frei’s Introduction to Applied Psychology course to measure attitudes about snitching and cooperating with police.  The survey is anonymous and your responses will be kept confidential, so please answer honestly. 
We will be presenting the overall results of this survey during Law and Society Week next semester. If you have any questions about the survey, the course, or the presentation, please contact Dr. Rick Frei at rfrei@ccp.edu
Instructions:
· PARTICIPATION IN THIS SURVEY IS OPTIONAL. If at any time you decide that you do not want to participate, simply keep the survey and do not return it to the survey administrator.
· The survey is anonymous, so PLEASE DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME ANYWHERE ON THE SURVEY! 
· ALL QUESTIONS ARE OPTIONAL! If you do not feel comfortable answering a question, you may skip it.
· If you have filled out the survey in another class, PLEASE DO NOT FILL IT OUT AGAIN.
· When you have completed the survey, place it back in the folder and return it to the survey administrator.

I. Demographic Information
Instructions: We would like to know about you. Please answer the following questions. If you do not feel comfortable answering a question, you may skip it.
 
Age
 
 
______________________
 
Sex
 
 
Male
Female
Race
A.
African American
 
 
B.
Asian/Pacific Islander
 
 
C.
Latino/Hispanic
 
 
D.
Native American
 
 
E.
White
 
 
Marital Status
 
 
Married           Single
Live-in Parnter
Are you a parent?
 
 
Yes
No
Were you born in the United States?
 
 
Yes
No
ZIP Code
 
 
______________________
 
 
 
 
III. What is Snitching?
Instructions: We would like to know how you define the word “snitching”. For each situation below, please indicate with an “X” whether you think it is an example of snitching or not. If you do not feel comfortable answering a question, you may skip it.
 
Situation
This is an example of snitching.
This is NOT an example of snitching.
A child tattles on his brother when he does something bad.
 
 
A student witnesses someone cheating on an exam and reports it to the teacher.
 
 
A person witnesses a crime and calls the police to report it.
 
 
A person who is at the scene of the crime answered questions by police.
 
 
A person who is at the scene of a crime picks out the perpetrator in a police line up.
 
 
A person agrees to cooperate with police in helping set someone else up.
 
 
A person rats on someone else to reduce his sentence for a crime that he committed.
 
 

II. Life Experiences
 
Instructions: We would like to know about your life experiences. Please answer the following questions by circling Yes or No. If you do not feel comfortable answering a question, you may skip it.
 
Have you ever been the victim of a crime?   
Yes
No
Have any of your relatives ever been the victim of a crime?     
Yes
No
Have any of your friends ever been the victim of a crime?
Yes
No
Have you ever been in trouble with the police?     
Yes
No
Have you ever cooperated with the police before?
Yes
No
Do you consider yourself religious?
Yes
No
In the past 30 days, have you used an illegal drug?
Yes
No
In the past seven days, have you drank alcohol?
Yes
No
Do you listen to music that explicitly says that snitching is bad?
Yes
No
Does the music you listen to affect your attitude towards snitching?
Yes
No
Have you ever been falsely accused of a crime?
Yes
No
Has anyone ever snitched on you to the police?
Yes
No
Have you ever gotten out of trouble with police by snitching on  someone else?
Yes
No
Do you trust the police?
Yes
No
Do you personally know any police officers?
Yes
No
Would you be more likely to cooperate in criminal investigations if there was someone else (ie., a neighborhood watch group) to report a crime to besides the police?
Yes
No
Are you currently working in the law or law enforcement profession?
Yes
No
Do you plan on having a career in law or law enforcement?
Yes
No
Did you participate in the D.A.R.E. drug prevention course in school?
Yes
No
Did your parents/guardians teach you that snitching was bad?
Yes
No
 
 
 
 
 
IV. What Influences Whether You Cooperate with Police?
Instructions: We would like to know what factors might influence whether you would cooperate with police or not. For each hypothetical situation below, please indicate with an “X” whether it would: a) make you less likely to cooperate with police, b) make you more likely to cooperate with police, c) have no effect on whether you cooperate with police or not. If you do not feel comfortable answering a question, you may skip it.
 
 
1) Characteristics of the VICTIM: Would you be more or less likely to cooperate with police if the VICTIM of the crime was…
 
 
Victim
It would make me less likely to cooperate with police
It would make me more likely to cooperate with police
It would have no effect on whether I cooperate with police
a senior citizen?
 
 
 
a child?
 
 
 
a relative?
 
 
 
a friend?
 
 
 
a disabled person?
 
 
 
a known drug dealer?
 
 
 
yourself?
 
 
 
 
 
 
2) Characteristics of the PERPETRATOR (person who committed the crime): Would you be more or less likely to cooperate with police if the PERPETRATOR was...
 
Perpetrator
It would make me less likely to cooperate with police
It would make me more likely to cooperate with police
It would have no effect on whether I cooperate with police
a teenager?
 
 
 
a relative?
 
 
 
a friend?
 
 
 
a police officer?
 
 
 
someone with a reputation for being dangerous?
 
 
 
 
3) Characteristics of the CRIME: Would you be more or less likely to cooperate with police if the CRIME…
 
Crime
It would make me less likely to cooperate with police
It would make me more likely to cooperate with police
It would have no effect on whether I cooperate with police
was a violent crime?
 
 
 
was a non-violent crime?
 
 
 
involved a gun?
 
 
 
involved drugs?
 
 
 
involved members of a gang?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4) OUTCOMES of Cooperating with Police: Would you be more or less likely to cooperate with police about a crime if…
 
Outcome
It would make me less likely to cooperate with police
It would make me more likely to cooperate with police
It would have no effect on whether I cooperate with police
there was a reward for cooperating?
 
 
 
doing so would guarantee that a criminal was off the streets?
 
 
 
it would damage your reputation in the neighborhood?
 
 
 
doing so would result in an innocent person going free?
 
 
 
doing so would result in you going free?
 
 
 
 
Thank you very much for your participation in this survey. When you have completed the survey, place it in the folder and wait for the survey administrator.