Community policing experience, public trust in the police, citizens’ psychological safety and community well-being in Ghana

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how community policing experience elicits public trust in the police, citizens’ psychological safety and community well-being in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach A cluster sampling technique was used in the selection of 474 community members, who answered questions relating to community policing experience, public trust in the police, citizens’ psychological safety and community well-being. Structural equation modelling was employed to test the relationships and effects of the hypothesized paths. Findings The findings showed that community policing experience was positively related to public trust in the police, citizens’ psychological safety and community well-being in Ghana. Research limitations/implications Mediation does not fall within the scope of the current study; hence, issues of indirect effects among the variables were not examined. Nevertheless, future studies should consider investigating the phenomenon through mediation analysis. Practical implications The study further highlights that probable negative consequences of divulging information to the police about potential or actual crime may hinder citizens from engaging with police. Hence, police administrators must find ways to conceal identities of whistle blowers on crime and its related issues, so they do not suffer any personal cost. Originality/value In this research, the academic scope of community policing was expanded by linking the concepts of public trust in police, citizens’ psychological safety and community well-being, which the study admits has been undertaken separately in empirical policing literature but not within the context of developing countries such as Ghana.

Fear of terrorist attacks and psychological distress in Sub-Saharan Africa: moderated mediation model

“…Also, the study outcome explains that when FTA is low, it is an expression of confidence and trust in the police. Confidence and trust in the police may promote psychological safety among residents, improve police-public engagements, promote positive affect and improve community well-being (Hevi et al , 2022a). These attributes account for community members’ perception of police performance in times of large-scale emergencies, thus affecting their sense of judgment on policing efficacy in Ghana (Torrible, 2022).…”

Perceptions of police use of surveillance cameras in Ghana; does procedural justice matter?

“…For example, in the USA, the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014 and George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 in the hands of the police have ignited public uproar and condemnation of the police across the globe. Also, within the context of developing countries, some scholars argue that the GPS, for example, still suffers from the shackles of colonization; therefore, a paramilitary approach to policing is evidential in contemporary policing in Ghana (Boateng and Nortey Darko, 2016; Hevi et al , 2022). These trends across the globe have led to deep-rooted mistrust between the police and citizens and have sparked debates about the scope of authority of the police.…”