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Liberty University
CJUS740 Week 7 Field Research, Content Analysis, and Secondary Data
Week 7 Discussion Thread: Bringing it all Together….
What if you were asked to pick a research topic that dealt with all of the
following: communication, perceptions of crime problems, individual
behavior, and criminal justice policy? Can you think of a clear research idea
that would implicate all four?
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Trust in the Law Enforcement
Research Idea
The relationship between the public and law enforcement has always been unstable
despite police doing their best to provide security and social order. Trust in the police is one of
the topics covered heavily by sociological researchers and criminal justice experts to explain the
growing tension between officers and public members (Peyton et al., 2019). The United States is
among the nations currently grappling with a shaky association between law enforcers and
civilians. Law enforcers embraced the community-oriented policing strategy to promote positive,
nonenforcement interaction between security personnel and public members to enhance the trust
and legitimacy of security officers. Some reports claim that public trust in the US police force
was lost in the wake of rising cases of police brutality, rampant gun violence, and deep-rooted
racism (Peyton et al., 2019). Thus, an excellent research problem to consider in this scenario
would be to investigate trust in the police force to explore the factors suggested impact the
interaction between police and the public.
Attitudes and perceptions of the members of the public regarding the work of police and
contact with civilians impact the level of trust in the security organs. Evidence shows that
individuals from minority communities than Caucasians tend to suspect and distrust the police.
Minority groups often claim that law enforcers disproportionately associate them with crime due
to their ethnicity or race. Hence, people in a democratic society judge police officers based on
attitudes and perceptions of how legitimate and lawful they think the police are during their
contact (Lim & Kwak, (2022). Assuming that this idea would merit complete research, the
lawfulness concept could be appraised by investigating whether law enforcers’ actions are
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consistent with constitutional requirements, statutory practices, and professional code of ethics
(Lim & Kwak, (2022). In contrast, legitimacy would be measured by determining whether
citizens believe police do a good job and if they are willing to view law enforcement as a
genuine authority.
Relationship with the concepts
Communication is a core aspect of law enforcement and directly affects the public’s trust
in the police. Police officers are expected to maintain effective communication to ensure that
problems do not happen during arrest, investigation, or processing of evidence. People could lose
confidence in law enforcement if the evidence is lost or tempered, leading to a wrongful
conviction (Nix et al., 2015). Because of poor communication, citizens are also likely to distrust
police if suspects or detainees do not comprehend the investigating officers. Besides, any
inaccuracy or biased delivery of results and inferences regarding a crime because of poor
communication skills could fuel racial profiling, police brutality, and other forms of abuse that
negatively impact the public’s trust in law enforcement (Schaefer & Mazerolle, 2017). In
addition, perceptions of crime problems affect confidence in the police because attitudes are
primarily based on the public’s interaction with law enforcers. Evidence reveals that lived
experiences associated with victimization and contact with officers have a decisive role in
determining whether citizens report serious crime problems in their neighborhood. Therefore,
confidence in the police is likely to improve if citizens believe that actions of law enforcement
and security interventions effectively reduce crime problems or involve minimal victimization or
brutality.
Moreover, individual behaviors that increase the likelihood of interaction with police
influence trust in law enforcement. People associated with criminal activities or violations of the
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law are more likely to meet with the police (Nix et al., 2015). The trustworthiness of law
enforcement depends on how individuals perceive how police treat them when found in the
wrong. Evidence shows that trust in the police is influenced by their procedural fairness,
including arrests, interrogation, and investigation (Lim & Kwak, (2022). Police brutality during
arrests may cause citizens’ distrust in security forces. The nature of implementing criminal
justice policy in a democratic society also relates to trust in the police. Citizens or members of
the public tend to evaluate how police address matters linked to intimate partner violence,
juvenile justice, federal immigration, national security, public safety, terrorism, and many other
policies. Thus, the trustworthiness of law enforcement depends on how the public perceives the
effectiveness of addressing policy-related issues.
Biblical view and conclusion
Many factors, directly and indirectly, impact the public’s trust in police, especially in a
democratic society. The bible commends law enforcers for ensuring peace reigns in society
(Matthew 5:9). Society members have a duty to trust and respect governing authorities as
required by the law (Romans 13:1). However, submitting to governing authorities depends on the
level of trust citizens have in the authorities. The bible encourages everyone to submit to leaders
and authorities by showing obedience, hard work, peace, and respect for others (Titus 3:1-2). All
the four factors aforementioned decisively influence the public’s trust in the police; hence, the
research question could address all of them by focusing on confidence in law enforcement.
Respectfully,
Al
Reference
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Lim, C., & Kwak, D. (2022). Factors influencing public trust in the police in South Korea: Focus
on instrumental, expressive, and normative models. SAGE Open, 12(1).
https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211068504
Nix, J., Wolfe, S. E., Rojek, J., & Kaminski, R. J. (2015). Trust in the police: The influence of
procedural justice and perceived collective efficacy. Crime & Delinquency, 61(4).
https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128714530548
Peyton, K., Sierra-Arevalo, M., & Rand, D. G. (2019). A field experiment on community
policing and police legitimacy. PNAS, 116(40), 19894-19898.
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1910157116
Schaefer, L., & Mazerolle, L. (2017). Predicting perceptions of crime: Community residents’
recognition and classification of local crime problems. Australian & New Zealand
Journal of Criminology, 51(2), 183-203. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004865817721590
