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The increased contact that police have with citizens that characterizes community policing makes mutual trust and respect between police and citizens crucial to success. Despite the importance of examining officers' perceptions of citizen trust and support, few studies have been conducted to examine officers' perspectives. The current research attempted to fill that void by examining the effects of individual, organizational and beat characteristic variables on officers' attitudes toward citizen support, using a sample of 434 Korean police officers.

The current research attempted to fill that void by examining the effects of individual, organizational and beat characteristic variables on officers' attitudes toward citizen support, using a sample of 434 Korean police officers. The results of OLS regression analyses indicate that individual and organizational factors such as seniority and the level of the officers' assigned police department were significantly related to officers' attitude toward citizen support.

The results of OLS regression analyses indicate that individual and organizational factors such as seniority and the level of the officers' assigned police department were significantly related to officers' attitude toward citizen support. As expected, beat characteristic variables (i.e. the perceived community income level and the perceived community crime problem) have significant effects on the officers' perceptions of citizen support.

To better understand determinants of officers' perceptions of citizen support further research is necessary to examine the effects of personality traits, occupational socialization, and working environments, all features which were found to have significant effects on officers' attitudes and behaviors.

Overall, the current study augments our understanding of officers' perceptions of citizen support and factors affecting those perceptions.

The Korean police have been greatly affected by the political developments of the twentieth century. Political neutrality and structural autonomy of the police from the government has not been ensured at all times since the establishment of the Korean police. Instead, the police had been used as an instrument for ruling regimes to seize and maintain their political power. The Korean police, siding with the authoritative governments, emphasized politically‐oriented policing rather than citizen‐oriented policing, frequently violating constitutional and human rights in the process, all of which has contributed to the crisis the Korean police now face. To prevent the political manipulation of the police and ensure their autonomy, more structural reforms should occur.

The study aims to examine the effect of organizational socialization into police culture on officers' attitudes toward community policing in South Korea.

The study sampled 694 Korean police officers. Policy implication and direction for future research is discussed.

The results indicate a positive relationship between the degree of organizational socialization and police officers' attitudes toward community policing, contrary to hypothesized directions. Police officers who report higher levels of socialization into police culture are more likely to support the philosophy of community policing and line officers' autonomy/participation, and to perceive a positive relationship with citizens. The findings may indicate that police culture in Korea is fundamentally different from those of other countries, even though the Korean police share some common characteristics of police culture (i.e. machismo, isolation, or conflict with citizens) with its counterparts.

The study provides useful information on the effect of organizational socialization into police culture on officers' attitudes toward community policing.