Police Officers' Attitudes Toward Citizen Support: Focus on Individual, Organizational and Neighborhood Characteristic Factors

• NCJ Number: 220152
• Journal: Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management Volume: 30 Issue: 3 Dated: 2007 Pages: 484-497
• Author(s): Byongook Moon; Laren J. Zager
• Date Published: 2007
• Length: 14 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the relationship between the police and citizens from officers’ perspective and factors affecting officers’ perceptions of citizen support.

Abstract

The study found that a majority of Korean police officers perceived that citizens do not support the police, suggesting that distrust and antagonism between the police and citizens is deep-rooted in the minds of the Korean police. The results clearly show the need for Korean police administrators to make even more aggressive efforts to improve their relationship with citizens. Successful community policing can only occur when the police and citizens trust each other and enter into the activity with a true sense of cooperation. Regarding the determinants of officers’ attitudes toward citizen support, the results indicate that some individual/organizational factors and beat characteristic factors are significantly related to officers’ perceptions of citizen support. Consistent with prior research findings, seniority is positively related to officers’ attitudes toward citizen support. Experienced officers are more likely to have a positive attitude toward citizen support. In addition, officers working at the third-level police department (rural areas) are more likely to report a positive attitude toward citizen support, than those in urban areas. As expected, the perceived community income level and the perceived community crime problem were significantly related to officers’ attitudes toward citizen support. The study augments the overall understanding of officers’ perceptions of citizen support and factors affecting those perceptions in South Korea. The Korean police need to show genuine determination to reform its organization to facilitate mutual trust and cooperation. The increased contact that police have with citizens that characterizes community policing makes mutual trust and respect between police and citizens crucial to success. The current study of 434 Korean police officers examined the effects of individual, organizational, and beat characteristic variables on officers’ attitudes toward citizen support. Tables, references