Perceptions of Police and Safety in a Small Town

Abstract

This study examines how perceptions of police affect feelings of safety in the community. Using a community survey from a nonmetropolitan area, this study investigates predictors of confidence in police and whether confidence decreases concern with safety. Findings indicate confidence in police is influenced predominantly by impressions that crime has decreased in the community or by having a positive encounter with police. In turn, confidence in police significantly increases feeling safe. These findings suggest that fear of crime can be reduced through positive interactions between police and community residents. Thus, in addition to effectively enforcing the law, efforts to develop good community relations are important for police in smaller town settings, just as for urban police.

Perceptions of the Police: The Influence of Individual and Contextual Factors in a Racially Diverse Urban Sample

“…Simply put, unwanted contacts with the police (i.e., an arrest or traffic ticket) are more likely to yield negative perceptions, whereas citizen-initiated calls for service are more likely to produce positive perceptions (Bartsch & Cheurprakobkit, 2004;Nofziger & Williams, 2005;Ren et al, 2005;Skogan, 2005;Webb & Marshall, 1995;Weitzer & Tuch, 2004b, 2005a. Contact with the police through department volunteer activities was also found to produce positive perceptions of the police (Ren et al, 2005).…”

“…This remains the case even when police contact is controlled (Worrall, 1999). Demographic Characteristics AGE Younger people are more likely than older people to express negative attitudes toward the police (Brown & Benedict, 2002;Hurst & Frank, 2000;Nofziger & Williams, 2005;Payne & Gainey, 2007;Weitzer, 2000;Worrall, 1999;Wu et al, 2009). Wu et al (2009) found that age was the most powerful demographic predictor of attitudes toward the police, with younger respondents holding significantly lower opinions of the police than older respondents.…”

“…Similarly, Weitzer and Tuch (2004a) found that Hispanic men are more likely than Hispanic women to believe that police misconduct is common in their neighborhood. In a rural sample, Nofziger and Williams (2005) found that men have significantly less confidence in the police than do women. Similarly, Taylor, Turner, Esbensen, and Winfree (2001) found that teenage girls, regardless of race, held more positive views of the police than did their male counterparts.…”

Fear of crime among citizens of Turkey

“…Much prior research and theorizing on fear of crime, however, focused on urban places, and relatively little is known about patterns in rural areas (Nofziger & Williams, 2005). Yet, the dynamics of fear, as Baumer (1985) suggested, might be contingent on social context.…”

Determinants of public confidence in police: An international perspective

“…When citizens develop more positive attitudes toward the police, their feelings of personal safety tend to increase while their fear of crime decreases (Nofziger & Williams, 2005). Finally, research concerning public confidence in the police is imbedded with cultural and geopolitical factors.…”