Satisfaction with the Police: Perceptions and Related Variables from an Urban Community Sample

Abstract

This quantitative, correlational, and transversal study was performed with a sample of 482 participants from an urban community at the Historic Centre of Porto (HCP). Participants answered to an enquiry designed to collect information about (dis)satisfaction with the police and its performance, with sociodemographic, victimisation, criminal, environmental, social control, and community variables as potential predictors. Findings revealed that the community was mainly satisfied with the police in its efforts to guarantee security, and there was no relationship between those variables, and sociodemographic and some community variables (e.g., years at the HCP, willingness to collaborate in security measures, and strength of attachment to HCP). On the other hand, there were relationships of (dis)satisfaction with the police and being the victim of crime, and some criminal and environmental variables (e.g., perception of increased criminality, conditions promoting crime, and incivilities). Regression analyses found that the perception of increased criminality and the need to adopt improvement measures were significant predictors of dissatisfaction with the police. This study promotes further discussion on factors that can be improved to increase satisfaction with the police and the connection of community–institutions to promote community security.

Exploring Citizen’s Satisfaction with the Police in Developing Society

“…Police and citizens of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) are important coproducers of safer communities, supporting the moral fabric of society, reducing criminality and fear of crime (Mathura, 2022;Sani et al, 2022). For the police service to obtain citizens support towards achieving the institution's objectives of protecting citizens, it is imperative that citizens feel satisfied with the police (Murphy, 2009;Nivette & Akoensi, 2017).…”

“…For the police service to obtain citizens support towards achieving the institution's objectives of protecting citizens, it is imperative that citizens feel satisfied with the police (Murphy, 2009;Nivette & Akoensi, 2017). Citizens' satisfaction with the police is usually developed from personal or vicarious and positive or negative experiences (Lloyd & Foster, 2009;Sani et al, 2022) and such experiences could determine citizens' acceptance of the police service as legitimate or not (Bottoms & Tankebe, 2012;Adams, 2019). It is imperative for citizens to have productive and satisfying experiences with the police service because dissatisfaction could undermine the legitimacy of the institution and negatively impact citizens moral obligation to comply with the law (Tyler, 1990;Mathura, 2019).…”

“…Previous research on satisfaction with the police often focused on factors such as race/ethnicity, socio-economic status, age, gender and asking people if they were happy with the police service (Sani et al, 2022). Most of these studies were conducted in developed countries such as Australia, Canada, USA, and UK whilst developing countries experienced lower levels of attention and research findings (Khuns et al, 2011).…”

Police, violence, and social justice: A call for research and introduction to the special issue.

“…Additionally, most police officers only see community members during difficult times, which may further reinforce negative stereotypes that they have about the people they are charged to serve. Partnerships with grassroots and community organizations that provide police officers with opportunities to understand the strengths and lived experiences within the communities they serve could begin to repair severed relationships between the police and community (Calvert et al, 2020; Janopaul-Naylor et al, 2019; Sani et al, 2022).…”

“…While there are efforts to train the police to address these broader issues, the reality is that there are significant limitations with the overreliance on law enforcement to address social service, education, mental health, and public health issues (Rogers et al, 2019). There are not enough service providers in most communities, making it challenging for police officers to refer people to appropriate services (Sani et al, 2022). Additionally, most police officers only see community members during difficult times, which may further reinforce negative stereotypes that they have about the people they are charged to serve.…”