Police killings reduce trust: Predictors of trust in the police across 46 countries

Abstract

After police killings such as the one of George Floyd, trust in the police in the USA has plummeted. This is problematic because lower trust can lead to a range of disadvantageous outcomes for countries such as lower compliance with the law and difficulties for the police in recruiting qualified people from diverse backgrounds. However, it is unclear whether police killings are associated with lower trust beyond the USA. Across two studies (N = 48,889) including data from 46 countries, we predicted and found that police killings are negatively associated with trust in the police while controlling for a range of other variables. Additionally, we found that conspiracy beliefs are negatively associated with trust in the police whereas right-wing authoritarianism, system justification, socioeconomic status, and human development are positively associated with trust in the police. Together, our findings provide even more reasons why police killings should be reduced.