An Integrated Contextual Model of Confidence in Local Police

Abstract

Current work tests an integrated contextual model of confidence in local police. The model addresses four questions. (a) Do incivilities, procedural justice, and local social climate each affect confidence? (b) Do incivilities more powerfully corrode confidence at some points along the urban versus rural continuum? (c) Where on the continuum is confidence weakest? (d) Does confidence in local police bolster confidence in the broader justice system? Surveys from households across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania were supplemented with municipality-level census and reported crime data, and county-level urban versus rural continuum codes. Findings showed significant net effects of both procedural justice and incivilities on the outcome; strongest corrosive impacts of incivilities in rural counties; lowest confidence in rural counties; and connections between confidence in local police and confidence in the broader criminal justice system. Results underscore the broad importance of police simultaneously maintaining order and treating citizens fairly.

Policing the Ivory Tower: Students’ Perceptions of the Legitimacy of Campus Police Officers

“…Just as citizens' perceptions of police legitimacy varies by context, in that those who live in more rural and suburban areas exhibit different levels of confidence in the police than those living in urban areas (Boggs 1971;Taylor and Lawton 2012), the specific context of the college campus has an impact on how students perceive the police. Sloan and colleagues (2000) argued, for example, Downloaded by [Michigan State University] at 08:00 01 April 2015 that "contemporary college/university campuses represent a specific context, a 'community,' that presents somewhat specialized challenges to campus police agencies" (p. 8).…”

Despondent officer narratives and the ‘post-Ferguson’ effect: exploring law enforcement perspectives and strategies in a southern American state

“…As discussed earlier in the article, a vast body of literature has suggested that the more citizens believe that approaches to policing promote procedural justice the more likely they are to support law enforcement institutions and respond to officers with compliance, respect and cooperation (Jonathan-Zamir et al, 2015;Taylor and Lawton, 2012). The insights from the interviews conducted with officers in our sample suggest that they believed that they were consistently experiencing a profound lack of cooperation and willingness to engage with law enforcement, and that this was leading to heightened levels of confrontation, aggression and tension (MacDonald, 2016a).…”

“…Substantively, the exercise of law enforcement authority that is fair, impartial, transparent and gives voice to residents, has the potential to increase the State's institutional legitimacy (Sunshine & Tyler, 2003;Taylor & Lawton, 2012).…”

“…Substantively, the events in Ferguson did not create unfavorable sentiments for the police, such sentiments already existed for many racial and ethnic minorities (Bradford, Jackson, & Stanko, 2009;Taylor & Lawton, 2012;Weitzer & Tuch, 2006). The events in Ferguson, however, were followed by a number of high profile news media events depicting the deaths of young, black, males by police throughout the nation that confirmed existing beliefs (for instance, Though some have suggested that the frequency of these incidents has remained somewhat stable in the post-Ferguson era (Buehler, 2017), these tragic events came to be viewed through a different lens as the nation's consciousness about police use-of-force was somewhat awakened by a constant bombardment of social and news media stories.…”

Does What Police Do at Hot Spots Matter? The Philadelphia Policing Tactics Experiment*

“…In other words, if police simply go into a hot spot without a list of repeat offenders, then the likelihood they will use enforcement actions against law‐abiding citizens is increased. When community members perceive that police actions are fair, they are more likely to be more satisfied with and have confidence in police services, follow the law, and help police fight crime (Reisig and Lloyd, ; Taylor and Lawton, ; Tyler, , ). Surveys of community members from the experimental areas suggested they supported a police focus on repeat offenders.…”