Examining the predictors of the public’s trust in the police using local data
Assessing public attitudes toward the police is a mainstay of policing research because of the importance of police-community relations for the betterment of society. To have a better understanding of the antecedents of public trust in the police, we analyze data from residents of the Hampton Roads...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2023
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| In: |
Criminal justice studies
Year: 2023, Volume: 36, Issue: 4, Pages: 353-369 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Summary: | Assessing public attitudes toward the police is a mainstay of policing research because of the importance of police-community relations for the betterment of society. To have a better understanding of the antecedents of public trust in the police, we analyze data from residents of the Hampton Roads region of Southeast Virginia. Our findings indicate that older respondents, those who believe that the police treat racial and ethnic minorities equally as they do whites, and those who believe that the police protect people from crime expressed higher levels of trust in the police. Conversely, males, Blacks, and those who earned $50,000 or less expressed lower levels of trust in the police. To our surprise, we found that protection from crime appeared to matter more for community members than the police’s treatment of racial and ethnic minorities as far as trust in the police was concerned. This means that police effectiveness remains a crucial component of policing, even if the way the police treat minority community members is also very important for improving police-community relations. We point out the implications of our findings for police-community relations, public policy, and future research. |
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| ISSN: | 1478-6028 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/1478601X.2023.2233676 |