NCJ Number
216381
Journal
Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management Volume: 29 Issue: 3 Dated: 2006 Pages: 451-463
Date Published
2006
Length
13 pages
Annotation
After determining the Turkish public's confidence in the police, findings were compared with public confidence in the police in member states of the European Union (EU), countries neighboring Turkey, and several Muslim societies.
Abstract
Over two-thirds of Turkish respondents reported they had confidence in their police. This is comparable to public confidence in the police in democratic societies, most notably the United States. The Turkish public's confidence in their police was high compared with EU member states, Turkey's neighboring countries, and other Muslim nations. The findings suggest the possibility that the relatively slow but steady reforms implemented by the Turkish Government have created more favorable public opinion of the police force. These findings are consistent from three datasets that span over a decade at three points in time. The study used data from the European and World Values Surveys Integrated Data File, 1999-2000 Release I (2004). This dataset is the compilation of the European Values Surveys and World Values Surveys, which is a product of a collaboration of investigators from just over 80 countries. Questionnaires were designed to facilitate cross-national comparison of basic values regarding a wide range of issues. With few exceptions, most national sample sizes in the combined dataset contained approximately 1,000-2,000 respondents. Turkey had the largest sample of all nations with a combined 4,543 respondents. The main question that measured public confidence in police was, "How much confidence do you have in the police?" 1 table, 3 figures, and 35 references