Measuring everyday experiences with the police: A pilot study

• In Event: Science, Technology, and Criminal Justice Attitudes

Abstract

Traditional survey approaches to measuring experiences with the police either ask respondents to judge specific interactions, or provide broad judgements about police behaviour, treatment, and values. Such approaches lack ecological validity as they cannot adequately capture the varying nature and situational context of experiences, emotions, and reactions close to the moment that they occur. This project pilots a new approach to measuring experiences with the police in “real time” using experience sampling techniques via a smartphone app. Specifically, we recruit participants living in the Netherlands to complete short daily surveys on experiences and attitudes towards the police over a period of 3 weeks. The results will provide us a preliminary look into the broad variety of different experiences that occur in everyday life. This can include direct contact, hearing stories from family and friends, or watching (social) media. The study aims to describe the nature of these experiences, and examine to what extent different experiences are associated with within-individual changes in attitudes towards the police.

Authors

• Amy Nivette, Utrecht University

• Christof Nägel, Utrecht University

• Amina Op de Weegh, Utrecht University