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Article
Publication date: 29 May 2018

Yuning Wu and Liqun Cao

The purpose of this paper is to propose and test a conceptual model that explains racially/ethnically differential confidence in order institutions through a mediating mechanism…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose and test a conceptual model that explains racially/ethnically differential confidence in order institutions through a mediating mechanism of perception of discrimination.

Design/methodology/approach

This study relies on a nationally representative sample of 1,001 respondents and path analysis to test the relationships between race/ethnicity, multiple mediating factors, and confidence in order institutions.

Findings

Both African and Latino Americans reported significantly lower levels of confidence compared to White Americans. People who have stronger senses of being discriminated against, regardless of their races, have reduced confidence. A range of other cognitive/evaluative variables have promoted or inhibited people’s confidence in order institutions.

Research limitations/implications

This study relies on cross-sectional data which preclude definite inferences regarding causal relationships among the variables. Some measures are limited due to constraint of data.

Practical implications

To lessen discrimination, both actual and perceived, officials from order institutions should act fairly and impartially, recognize citizen rights, and treat people with respect and dignity. In addition, comprehensive measures involving interventions throughout the entire criminal justice system to reduce racial inequalities should be in place.

Social implications

Equal protection and application of the law by order institutions are imperative, so are social policies that aim to close the structural gaps among all races and ethnicities.

Originality/value

This paper takes an innovative effort of incorporating the currently dominant group position perspective and the injustice perspective into an integrated account of the process by which race and ethnicity affect the perception of discrimination, which, in turn, links to confidence in order institutions.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 41 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2005

Liqun Cao and Steven Stack

To re‐test the hypothesis that that the public in Japan have a higher confidence in the police than their counterparts in the USA.

1517

Abstract

Purpose

To re‐test the hypothesis that that the public in Japan have a higher confidence in the police than their counterparts in the USA.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from the national representative samples were analyzed to compare the levels of confidence in the police between the USA and Japan. The new analysis addressed four methodological limitations found in the previous study.

Findings

With more updated data and more appropriate method, the results confirmed the previous study that the US public have a significantly higher confidence in the police than the Japanese public.

Originality/value

Many qualitative studies have found or argued that the public in Japan have higher confidence in their police than their counterparts in the USA. Only one quantitative analysis has found the opposite. One safeguard against overgeneralization in social science is through replication of the inquiry. The duplication of the previous research findings is important because a strong scientific conclusion is based on the one that examines the theoretically deduced hypothesis at one of the indefinitely large number of times and places that it could be tested, and because duplication is critical in social sciences based on cross‐sectional surveys which are time‐dependent and time‐sensitive.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 28 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 May 2015

Liqun Cao

The purpose of this paper is to differentiate clearly between three frequently used concepts found in the research literature on public perceptions of the police: confidence in…

4644

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to differentiate clearly between three frequently used concepts found in the research literature on public perceptions of the police: confidence in the police, satisfaction with the police and trust in the police.

Design/methodology/approach

Systemic literature review and thematic analysis are employed to assess each key term in the official English language dictionary and in the research literature. Their individual origins, their evolvement and their current usages are examined with great care.

Findings

The findings of the study suggest that the three phrases are indeed distinct in their connotation. It is concluded that “confidence in the police” is the preferred choice when we survey the citizenry about the level of support for the police and when the police is evaluated as a political institution.

Practical implications

Given that most criminologists believe that we are doing scientific research, it is our duty to be attentive to the pitfalls of lack of conceptual clarity.

Originality/value

The essay advances the conceptual clarification of one of the popular themes in the study of the police.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 38 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 2006

Liqun Cao and Velmer S. Burton

To find out how much confidence the Turkish public have in the police, how that confidence is compared with other relevant countries in the world, and how to interpret the…

Abstract

Purpose

To find out how much confidence the Turkish public have in the police, how that confidence is compared with other relevant countries in the world, and how to interpret the confidence in the police in Turkey.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from national representative samples were analyzed to compare the levels of public confidence in the police between Turkey and the member states in the European Union, between Turkey and its neighboring countries, and between Turkey and several Muslim societies.

Findings

This paper found that public confidence in the Turkish police was quite high when compared to member states of the EU, neighboring countries, and with selected Muslim nations.

Originality/value

The findings fill an existing void in the criminological literature assessing the Turkish public's confidence in its police. The results should be interpreted in light of the following realities: that Turkey remains a nation with a collectivistic orientation, the possible undifferentiated concepts between the effectiveness of the police and confidence in the police, and the unidimensional measure that was employed to examine public confidence.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 29 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1996

Liqun Cao, James Frank and Francis T. Cullen

Considers the impact of a range of variables on confidence in the police, including those given little or no previous attention, e.g. measures of crime experience and of…

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Abstract

Considers the impact of a range of variables on confidence in the police, including those given little or no previous attention, e.g. measures of crime experience and of conservative political orientation. Draws data from a larger study of urban crime‐prevention issues based on Cincinnati, Ohio. Finds that respondents’ race is not a significant determinant of confidence in the police; the most important determinant being the community context. Suggests that neighborhood social integration may provide a supportive context which could encourage positive evaluation of formal institutional arrangements. Finds that attitudes toward the police (ATP) are regulated by the social context and that much of the existing research, which excluded contextual variables, may have been wrong in making race a significant variable. Notes that confidence in the police is higher in women than in men, but this may be due to a lower rate of antagonistic contact between police and women (not measured here).

Details

American Journal of Police, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0735-8547

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 May 2008

Lan‐Ying Huang and Liqun Cao

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the conceptual and empirical issues related to sexual harassment (SH) in a police department in Taiwan.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the conceptual and empirical issues related to sexual harassment (SH) in a police department in Taiwan.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data were collected. Through the analysis, the paper proposes that SH can be better divided into two subcategories: quid pro quo and hostile work environment harassment. Multivariate analysis is used to explore the sources of SH.

Findings

It was found that both types of SH can be better explained by work environment variables than by demographic variables, but the specific sources differ. Hostile work environment harassment is predicted by the extent to which female officers perceive or experience that deployment and transfer practices are influenced by their gender. Quid pro quo harassment is related to job barriers and dodging from work.

Research limitations/implications

The two scales used in this research have captured the core of SH, but they might not fully depict the nature of SH in the police department in Taiwan. The sample was limited to the largest police department in Taiwan and it may not represent the entire police in Taiwan.

Practical implications

If hostile work environment and quid pro quo harassments are related to different organizational factors, it is useful for policy makers in the police to differentiate these two different types of SH and develop differential prevention and response measures.

Originality/value

This paper highlights the need to differentiate quid pro quo and hostile work environment harassments. It fills a gap in the literature by providing the baseline information on the prevalence of SH in one police department in Taiwan and by examining sources of SH in a profession dominated by males.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 31 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 1 September 1999

Liqun Cao

1314

Abstract

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 22 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2000

Liqun Cao, Xiaogang Deng and Shannon Barton

Applying Lundman’s organizational product thesis in explaining citizen complaints against police use of excessive physical force, the current study tests several hypotheses with a…

Abstract

Applying Lundman’s organizational product thesis in explaining citizen complaints against police use of excessive physical force, the current study tests several hypotheses with a national data set. Tobit regression analyses of the data show that Lundman’s thesis is partially supported. Both organizational behavior and organizational characteristics are important covariates of the complaint rate against police use of excessive physical force. Although generalization is limited, police departments need to actively recruit more mature persons into the police force, reinforce field training officer programs, and continually provide more in‐service training programs for its members if they are serious in reducing citizens’ complaints.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 23 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 20 December 2000

Abstract

Details

Sociology of Crime, Law and Deviance
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-889-6

Article
Publication date: 14 July 2020

Liqun Xiang, Yongtao Tan, Xin Jin and Geoffrey Shen

This study aims to identify the stakeholders and critical factors (CFs) of promoting age-friendly communities (AFCs), discuss the relationship between the stakeholders and CFs and…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to identify the stakeholders and critical factors (CFs) of promoting age-friendly communities (AFCs), discuss the relationship between the stakeholders and CFs and develop a preliminary framework for the briefing stage of promoting AFCs in urban China.

Design/methodology/approach

Stakeholders and CFs were identified through literature review and document analysis. The Delphi method was used to screen the extracted stakeholders and CFs. The focus group methodology was applied to obtain evaluation matrices of relationships between stakeholders and CFs. A two-mode social network was formed to analyse the evaluation matrices generated.

Findings

Results of the analyses indicate that local governments and policymaking institutions, together with project investors, obtained high prioritisations in the stakeholders' group, whilst senior citizens and caregivers appear to rank last. For CFs, communities' environmental factors receive the most attention from stakeholders.

Research limitations/implications

Results of the analyses can only show similarities of the participating stakeholders' opinions on their concerns, and provide researchers and practitioners with initial ideas on analysing stakeholders and CFs at the briefing stage of promoting AFCs. For a specific project, the concerns and prioritisations would change. Diverse voices are necessary and case studies are in need.

Practical implications

Challenges in promoting AFCs in urban China are discussed, and a preliminary framework of the briefing stage is developed for practitioners to follow when promoting AFCs.

Originality/value

This study discusses which CFs should be considered priorities and what consensuses are generally reached by stakeholders. CFs are utilised to interpret stakeholders' relationships, influences and concerns on AFC projects when conducting the social network analysis (SNA).

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 28 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

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