Proximity to Crime and Perceptions of Police Effectiveness

• In Event: Perceptions of Police Across the Globe

Abstract

Enhancing public trust and confidence remains an important endeavor for police. The association between direct and indirect contact with police and perceptions of police is well established (Rosenbuam et al 2005; Hinds, 2009; Skogan 2006) as is the link between crime victimization and confidence in police (Yuksel and Tepe 2013). Other studies show that neighborhood composition and social processes also influence attitudes towards police. Less understood is the association between an individual’s exposure to crime and their perceptions of police effectiveness. In the current study regression analysis is used to test whether temporal and spatial proximity to violent crime events predicts whether residents view the police as effective after controlling for previous victimization, contact with police and neighborhood characteristics. Results indicate that residents who live closer to a more recent violent crime event perceive police as more effective. This finding suggests that seeing police responding to crime may positively influence public perceptions of effectiveness.

Authors

• Renee Zahnow, The University of Queensland

• Rebecca Leigh Wickes, The University of Queensland

• Jonathan Corcoran, University of Queensland