Factors influencing public satisfaction with the local police: a study in Saskatoon, Canada

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore determining factors that account for variation in public satisfaction with the local police in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Design/methodology/approach – An integrated method was used to gather the data for this study, including official survey data conducted by Insightrix, and interviews with citizens in Saskatoon. Findings – This research found that demographic factors including age, race (in this study, Aboriginal status in particular), education, and income, perception of neighborhood safety, citizen-police interaction, and learning about crime from news media all have impact on public attitudes toward the police, to different degrees. The gap or distance between the police and the Aboriginal community was highlighted as a major factor. Research limitations/implications – Further research should be done to compare statistical patterns in other same-level cities in Canada. Practical implications – This paper indicates that Saskatoon Police Service in the future should provide a more structured avenue for citizen participation in establishing safe neighborhoods, more structured cultural sensitivity training, and create a wider channel through which community residents with various social backgrounds can demand some measure of accountability for police work in their area. Originality/value – The paper is of value to law enforcement policy-makers and academic researchers with interest in policing and police-community relationship.

Developing a model of perceptions of security and insecurity in the context of crime

“…Perceived low-crime-rate neighbourhoods were related to greater Trust in Police and Collective Efficacy . These findings suggest that participants who think they live in areas with lower crime rates where they feel safe are found to express more positive attitudes towards the police than do those who live in areas where there are higher crime rates where they do not feel safe (Cheng, 2015 ; Hwang, McGarrell, & Benson, 2005 ; Skogan, 2005 ). Areas with perceived low crime rates are associated with greater collective efficacy, where participants have a greater social cohesion and level of interaction with their neighbours, which is consistent with the findings of previous research (Hicks & Brown, 2013 ).…”

Canadian Rural Youth and Role Tension of the Police: ‘It’s Hard in a Small Town’

“…Youth are thus often positioned as a population of ‘permanent suspects’ (McAra and McVie, 2005). Such studies are, as may be expected, often centered on urban areas, and Canadian studies – either in the West or Central provinces – are no exception to this trend (Cheng, 2015; Chow, 2011; Wortley and Owusu-Bempah, 2011).…”

Confidence in Law Enforcement When African-Americans are Underrepresented on the Force: An Exploratory Study

“…Also, studies in several other countries, assessed one country at a time, have demonstrated that similar variables are significantly correlated with confidence in local law enforcement: Canada (Clark, Davidson, Hanrahan, & Taylor, 2017;Cheng, 2015;Maslov, 2015); Australia (Dai & Jhang, 2016); Brazil (Sampaio, De-Losso, Cunha, & dePieri, 2015); Ghana (Tankebe, 2010); and others.…”