NCJ Number
225397
Journal
Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention Volume: 9 Issue: 2 Dated: 2008 Pages: 141-159
Date Published
2008
Length
19 pages
Annotation
The purpose of this article is to explore how certain factors related to the quality and effectiveness of police work possibly explain the strong trust the Finnish public place in the police.
Abstract
The results of the survey indicate that the explanation for the good public trust in the police has to be searched for among broader social factors than the effectiveness of police work, the proximity of the police, or the quality of police work. Public trust in the police is generally measured in international comparative surveys. The level of public trust in the police in Finland has been found to be very high in international comparative studies. However, international comparative studies do not provide detailed enough data to establish whether public trust in the police in different countries can be explained by factors related to policing or crime. This is the reason some have turned to national data. This article looks at the trust that the Finns have for the police. The empirical data consist of results gained in Police Barometer 2005, which is a Finnish interview survey conducted to find out Finnish citizens’ experiences of safety and of policing. Tables, figure, and references