Determinants of Trust in Police: A Cross-National Analysis

Zhorayev, Olzhas (2020): Determinants of Trust in Police: A Cross-National Analysis.

Abstract

Understanding what shapes public trust in the police is an important policy issue for both developed and developing countries. Exploiting an advantage of panel research design, I provide new evidence on this question. Using data from the European Social Survey, I show that in 38 (mainly European) nations confidence in police agencies is significantly associated with citizens’ general attitudes toward state institutions (government, parliament, political parties, and the legal system). These findings hold for countries outside of Europe as well. Using data from the Life in Transition Survey, I find that procedural justice aspects (individuals’ satisfaction with the quality of services, their experience of corruption during interaction with the road police) are important determinants of confidence in the police in 26 transition economies. The results are robust, even after controlling for individual characteristics.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Confidence in police, procedural justice, political trust
• Subjects: C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C0 - General > C01 - Econometrics; P - Economic Systems > P1 - Capitalist Systems > P16 - Political Economy; Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics ; Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology > Z18 - Public Policy

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