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Article
Publication date: 18 May 2015

Sara Stronks and Otto M.J. Adang

– The purpose of this paper is to analyze the interaction of police and citizen representatives during critical moments in reconciliation processes through a relational model.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the interaction of police and citizen representatives during critical moments in reconciliation processes through a relational model.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on 26 in-depth interviews with key actors in three different cases of media-salient police-citizen group conflict, the interactions in the run-up to, during and after five moments that were critical in the transformation from conflict to cooperation, were analyzed. In focussing on the role of the intergroup relationship in conflict interaction, the applicability of relationship-value, compatibility and security in defining this relationship were explored.

Findings

Although interactions during critical moments differed along the specific conflict contexts, three chronological stages could be deduced. In the first stage, interactions were tensed and emotional. During the second stage, repressing this insecurity through the exchange of value and compatibility signals was important. In the third stage, the transformation toward friendlier, cooperative dialogue and a less tensed atmosphere was made. Emotional expression, information sharing and emphasizing compatibility seemed particularly important in (re)defining and negotiating police-citizen relationships.

Research limitations/implications

In analysis, the authors had to rely on limited and retrospective accounts of interactions and attitudes and its indivertible errors.

Originality/value

This is one of very few studies that analyses police-involved post conflict interactions with a relational model. With regard to the importance of strong police-citizen relationships, the results should be of value to any operational police worker and specifically those who are involved in operational or strategic conflict-management and communication.

Details

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

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2010

Jacinta M. Gau

Prior research has established the importance of citizens' perceptions of procedural justice in determining their assessments of and satisfaction with police. The present study…

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Abstract

Purpose

Prior research has established the importance of citizens' perceptions of procedural justice in determining their assessments of and satisfaction with police. The present study seeks to contribute to this literature in three ways. First, it aims to test for a link between perceived procedural justice and performance‐based assessments of police officers' ability to control serious crime. Second, it aims to test this link using longitudinal data and controls for existing attitudes to ensure directional validity of the results. Finally, it aims to advance the literature by extending the study of personal experiences and process‐based judgments to non‐urban areas.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were gathered using a panel design consisting of two surveys administered three years apart. The data are analyzed using ordinary least squares regression.

Findings

The results support the hypothesis that citizens' perceived procedural justice during their personal contact with officers significantly predicts their evaluations of the ability of police to keep their communities safe from serious violence. The fact that the data are longitudinal and that existing attitudes about effectiveness were controlled for offers support for the contention that the quality of citizens' personal contact with officers can influence their judgments about police effectiveness.

Practical implications

The findings have implications for procedural justice in policing and for community‐based policing strategies. It would appear that officers' respectfulness toward citizens during personal contacts can enhance their outcome‐based efficacy in citizens' eyes. Police officers' interpersonal interactions with citizens can foster trust and make citizens feel that the police can keep them safe.

Originality/value

The study is one of few that employ longitudinal data to test the experience‐attitude relationship. The results indicate that the relationship often found in cross‐sectional data also holds over time. In addition, the data come from a relatively rural area of the country, and the findings show that the link between personal contact with and attitudes about police – a link previously demonstrated primarily among urban samples of respondents – applies to non‐urban areas as well.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 33 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 August 2022

Yuning Wu, Ivan Sun, Tzu-Ying Lo and Jianhong Liu

This paper comparatively assesses the connections between individual demographic traits, occupational characteristics, and organizational factors and officers' attitudes toward…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper comparatively assesses the connections between individual demographic traits, occupational characteristics, and organizational factors and officers' attitudes toward important groups in China and Taiwan.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data used in this study were collected from 722 police officers from mainland China and 531 officers from Taiwan. Multivariate regression analyses were conducted to assess the correlates of police attitudes toward peers, supervisors, and citizens.

Findings

The Chinese and Taiwanese officers do not differ in their trust in peers, but the Chinese officers hold significantly more positive views on the trustworthiness of supervisors and citizens compared to the Taiwanese officers. Supervisor justice and organizational identification are significant predictors of officers' attitudes toward all three groups in both countries.

Research limitations/implications

A major limitation revolves around the inability to test and explain exactly why findings from the two groups vary in their ways. Future research should include specific social, political, and cultural predictors.

Originality/value

This study represents one of the few studies that compare police attitudes toward important groups of peers, supervisors, and citizens across nations/cultures.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 46 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2013

Sunghoon Roh, Dae‐Hoon Kwak and Eunyoung Kim

The purpose of this paper is to examine the complex constellation of underlying factors between community policing and fear of crime by embracing various exogenous variables…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the complex constellation of underlying factors between community policing and fear of crime by embracing various exogenous variables identified through accumulated empirical research. Another important purpose of the current study is to examine the association between community policing and fear of crime in the Korean context.

Design/methodology/approach

The data originated from a survey administrated by the Korean Institution of Criminology in the area of Seoul, South Korea, in an attempt to examine citizens’ fear of crime, perceptions of public safety and environment. Using a stratified sampling method, a total of 654 respondents were selected. Structural equation modeling was used to examine direct and indirect relationships among exogenous and endogenous variables and to test the authors’ hypothesized structural model of the citizen's fear of crime.

Findings

The current study found that the four proposed models between community policing and fear of crime were not supported in the Korean context. Neither direct nor indirect relationships between community policing and fear of crime were statistically significant. On the other hand, community policing was found to be significantly and indirectly associated with perceived risk of crime; those who more perceived community policing activities felt a greater risk of crime. A logical explanation for these findings requires understanding of the characteristics of community policing practice and the unique crime environment in South Korea.

Originality/value

This study shows unique characteristics in the community policing‐fear of crime nexus in Korean society in relation to the implementation of community policing, the level of fear of crime and perception of community‐based crime control.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 36 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 April 2019

Guangzhen Wu and Francis D. Boateng

The purpose of this paper is to examine the similarities and differences in police officers’ attitudes toward citizens between China and Ghana, and explore the extent to which…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the similarities and differences in police officers’ attitudes toward citizens between China and Ghana, and explore the extent to which officers’ perceptions of citizens influence their effectiveness and behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 271 Chinese police officers were surveyed representing those attending in-service training program at a national police university in China in 2014, and a random sample of 145 Ghanaian police officers was surveyed in 2013, representing those from five police districts in the Accra region of Ghana Police service.

Findings

Results revealed significant perceptual variations across the two countries. While Ghanaian officers were found to have more favorable perceptions of citizens’ cooperation and recognition, Chinese officers reported greater levels of citizens’ compliance and disrespectfulness. Moreover, results indicated significant relationships between officers’ attitudes and their sense of effectiveness and behavior in the two countries.

Research limitations/implications

This study is based on a convenient sample of Chinese police officers, which restricts the generalizability of the results.

Practical implications

Findings offer insights for police administrators to reform the police with a focus on improving police perceptions of citizens.

Originality/value

Although there are a few comparative studies that compare police attitudes toward citizens between developing and developed countries, and between western democracies, there is a profound lack of studies comparing these attitudes between developing/transitional countries. This study is an initial attempt to identify variations in officers’ perceptions of the public between two developing/transitional countries.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 42 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2006

Byongook Moon

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

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Abstract

Purpose

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

Design/methodology/approach

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

Findings

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.

Originality/value

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

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 29 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 November 2019

Sean Patrick Roche

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of surveillance from civilian smartphones and police body-worn cameras (BWCs), procedurally just tactics, and legal…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of surveillance from civilian smartphones and police body-worn cameras (BWCs), procedurally just tactics, and legal culpability on individuals’ emotional reactions and willingness to comply during police interactions.

Design/methodology/approach

Data are used from two randomized factorial survey vignette experiments conducted with a national sample of Americans (n=962).

Findings

The presence of BWCs reduces reported fear in both vignettes, and also reduces reported anger in one vignette. In contrast, the presence of a smartphone is not significantly related to anger or fear. In both vignettes, non-procedurally just treatment increases reported fear and anger, and decreases intent to comply, with reported anger mediating the relationship between non-procedurally just treatment and compliance.

Originality/value

These findings suggest different forms of surveillance may have distinct effects on citizens’ reported emotional states and behavioral intentions. Further, the results corroborate research on the relationship between procedural justice and affect, and provide evidence procedurally just strategies may decrease crime directly by preemptively dampening non-compliance.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 42 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 November 2009

Vivian B. Lord, Joseph B. Kuhns and Paul C. Friday

This paper aims to examine the impact of the implementation of community‐oriented policing and problem solving in a small city.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the impact of the implementation of community‐oriented policing and problem solving in a small city.

Design/methodology/approach

Citizen surveys that measure perceptions and activities of the police are completed before and three years after broader implementation of community policing. Because the existing literature supports the influence of a number of individual, neighborhood, and situational characteristics, several variables are included and controlled.

Findings

The results show that although the police invest a great deal of time building partnerships with and problem solving in neighborhoods, there are no significant differences over time in citizen satisfaction with police or in fear of crime. Personal contact with police mediates the influence of individual and neighborhood characteristics on citizen satisfaction. Police presence remains a common significant predictor of citizen satisfaction.

Research limitations/implications

Ensuring anonymity of subjects requires different samples between data collection periods; however, the same stratified random sampling process is used both times. The pre/post research design allows for measuring changes over time, but the lack of a control city threatens internal and external validity.

Practical implications

Citizen satisfaction is an important concern for all police and local governmental administrators; therefore, the findings of this study are useful for smaller agencies that are implementing or planning to implement community‐oriented policing.

Originality/value

With its focus on a small city and the capability to survey citizens before department‐wide implementation, this article expands research conducted on citizen satisfaction with police in a small town.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 32 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 May 2019

Kuotsai Tom Liou

The purpose of this paper is to examine critical issues and challenges that are related to the application of technology to improve the management of police organizations.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine critical issues and challenges that are related to the application of technology to improve the management of police organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the study reviews the background of the police service model, the development of police-related technology and the relationship between these technologies and police performance measures. Based on the analysis of managerial concepts, the study provides discussions about risks of technology and human factors, resource limitation, professional attitude and culture, privacy concerns, citizen video and social media, and public trust.

Findings

The study concludes with suggestions to examine police technology application from a broad perspective to address not only technology operational issues but also related organization, management, community and policy concerns.

Originality/value

Findings of this study contribute to the understanding of technology application, contribution and limitation in public management.

Details

International Journal of Organization Theory & Behavior, vol. 22 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1093-4537

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 10 June 2016

Ashley K. Farmer and Ivan Y. Sun

This chapter examines how citizen journalism affects perceptions of legitimacy among local residents and police officers.

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter examines how citizen journalism affects perceptions of legitimacy among local residents and police officers.

Methodology/approach

Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews with residents and police officers.

Findings

Local residents are mostly willing to obey police commands, but a lack of trust in the police and fear of retaliation hinder willingness to cooperate with the police. Citizens’ willingness to follow police orders is mostly a way for them to end the encounter as quickly as possible so the contact will not extend for a prolonged period of time and cause even more serious consequences. Citizens have recorded the police in the past when they witnessed officers not following proper procedures. The police view citizens recording them as a form of defiance and while this makes policing challenging, police officers interviewed still hold high levels of self-legitimacy, most likely due to their organizational and occupational culture. Recording the police has emerged as a way for citizens to challenge police authority and legitimacy during encounters.

Originality/value

While recording the police has increased with recent technological advances, little empirical research has examined its impact on policing and police-community relations. This study connects three critical issues in policing – technology, citizen journalism, and police legitimacy – by assessing the impact of recording the police on police legitimacy in the eyes of the public and police officers. Not only does this study fill our gap in knowledge on citizens recording the police, but it also furnishes valuable implications for policy and future study.

Details

The Politics of Policing: Between Force and Legitimacy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-030-5

Keywords

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