Comparison of Attitudes to the Police Between Greek Cypriots and Ethnic Minorities Living in Cyprus

• NCJ Number: 229206
• Journal: International Criminal Justice Review Volume: 19 Issue: 4 Dated: December 2009 Pages: 381-399
• Author(s): Alexia Zalaf; Jane Wood
• Date Published: December 2009
• Length: 19 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the attitudes of ethnic minorities and Cypriots toward the police.

Abstract

Findings show that levels and types of victimization did not differ between Cypriots and non-Cypriots. Also found was that victimization, gender, and possession crime did not predict participants' attitudes to the police. However, age, crime against the person, and ethnicity were significant predictors of attitudes to the police; Cypriots held more negative views of the police than did ethnic minorities. Findings support previous work that shows ethnic minorities experience higher levels of victimization than majority groups. Discussion centers on reasons why differences in attitudes toward the police might exist and the implications of the finding for the Cypriot police force in terms of public relations. Data were collected from 66 ethic minorites and 152 Cypriots using questions based on the British Crime Survey (BCS) and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS); questions were translated into Greek. Tables and references