Underlying Dimensions in Young People's Attitudes Towards Police Weaponry in England: Some Experiential Influences from Criminal Victimization and Police Contact

• NCJ Number: 191023
• Journal: Legal and Criminological Psychology Volume: 6 Issue: 2 Dated: September 2001 Pages: 149-163
• Author(s): Claire Ann Cooke; John E. Puddifoot; Jennifer Brown
• Editor(s): Ron Blackburn
• Date Published: September 2001
• Length: 15 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This study explored the underlying dimensions of attitudes towards police weaponry in England and specifically, the degree to which these were influenced by experiential factors.

Abstract

This study examined the influence of experiential variables, such as reported contacts with the police on attitudes towards the use of police weaponry in England and Wales. The effects of specific experiential variables were explored and included: the degree of trust in the police, perceptions of the police as a helpful and positive influence within society, participants personal experiences of irresponsible behavior by the police, and aspects of the experience of criminal victimization, including the perceived character of police assistance after victimization. The participants in the study were all of British nationality, chosen at random from the northeast of England mostly from the colleges and universities in the region. Five underlying dimensions of public attitudes toward police weaponry were identified. In addition, further analyses explored the role of demographic and experiential variables in these attitudes. Results indicated that neither age nor sex were found to have a significant effect upon attitudes towards police weaponry. However, respondents' personal experience of responsible or irresponsible behavior by the police had a significant effect. For those who were victims of crime, such experiences were important in altering their views of the police, positively or negatively. Trust in the police appeared to be a key mediating influence upon attitudes towards police weaponry. Experiential variables relating to perceptions of police behavior and to actual contacts with police officers appeared to be influential in forming attitudes towards police weaponry in England. The perceived character of response, assistance, and support received from the police following criminal victimization were found to be significant predictors of favorable or unfavorable attitudes towards police weaponry, possibly through the mediation of increasing or decreasing trust in the police. Tables and references