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Public Confidence in the Police: Testing the Effects of Public Experiences of Police Corruption in Ghana

NCJ Number
230051
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 50 Issue: 2 Dated: March 2010 Pages: 296-319
Author(s)
Justice Tankebe
Date Published
March 2010
Length
24 pages
Annotation

The aim of this empirical study is to compare the effects of three dimensions of police corruption on perceptions of police trustworthiness, procedural justice and effectiveness.

Abstract

Nearly every study of police corruption hypothesizes that public experience of police corruption undermines the moral standing of the police. However, scarcely any studies actually test the hypothesis. The three dimensions of corruption identified in this study are personal experience, vicarious experience, and subjective evaluations of police anti-corruption measures. The data come from a survey of people living in Accra, Ghana. The findings show that both vicarious experiences of corruption and satisfaction with reform measures explain assessments of police trustworthiness, procedural justice and effectiveness, but that personal experiences of police corruption do not do so. Tables, figure, and references (Published Abstract)