Thesis
Public trust in the police: identifying factors that shape trust in the Ghanaian police
Washington State University
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
2012
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/102679
Abstract
Though much research has been conducted to examine the influences on public trust in the police in developed countries, little or no such studies have been conducted in developing countries, hence, limiting our knowledge in issues relating to policing in these countries and subsequently creating a gap in the criminal justice and criminology literature. To fill this gap, the present study examines public trust in the Ghanaian police by identifying some factors that influence Ghanaians' trust in their police. Using a representative field survey data collected in Summer, 2011 in Accra, Ghana (N=493), I test three hypotheses: first, I hypothesized that fear of crime among citizens will result in a decreased in public trust in the police, second, citizens who are satisfied with the police have more trust in the police than those not satisfied, and thirdly, economically marginalized citizens (low-income earners and unemployed) are more likely than their counterparts to demonstrate low levels of trust in the police. A multivariate analysis of the result shows that fear of crime and satisfaction with the police are good predictors of public trust in the Ghanaian police. Specifically, I found that individuals who are afraid of victimization will have low levels of trust in the police, and individuals who are satisfied with the work of the police will have more trust in the police. However, the economic marginalization hypothesis was not supported. Policy implications of the findings are discussed.
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Details
- Title
- Public trust in the police
- Creators
- Francis D. Boateng
- Contributors
- Otto Marenin (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Criminal Justice and Criminology, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; Pullman, Wash. :
- Identifiers
- 99900525379201842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis