Policing and the Public Trust: A Study of Contextual Variability Across Measures of Police-citizen Support for Visual Surveillance Technology

• In Event: New Directions in Policing Research

Abstract

An extensive volume of research has examined police-citizen relations and factors associated with public support and cooperation in various policing activities. This research has repeatedly shown that citizen’s views about procedural justice (e.g., fairness) and police legitimacy (e.g., trust, moral alignment with the community) are strong predictors of their support and cooperation.

Using national survey data and the method of conjunctive analysis, the current study extends previous work by examining the nature and magnitude of contextual variability of public support for police and police activities. Contexts are defined by the joint distribution of different types of policing activities (e.g., reporting crimes, using body cameras, aerial drones), individuals’ demographic profiles (e.g. gender, race, age, income, education), and their composite beliefs about justice concerns (e.g., procedural fairness, legitimacy, distributive justice). Analysis of these distinct contexts will provide direct evidence of (1) whether there is contextual invariance in public support for police and (2) the situational contexts in which the public is more or less receptive to police practices. The results are discussed in terms of future research and developing public policy that is responsive to differences in citizens’ support for various policing activities.

Authors

• Terance D. Miethe, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

• Joel D Lieberman, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

• Miliaikeala SJ. Heen, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

• Mari Sakiyama, University of Nevada, Las Vegas