The Police, the Public, and the Pursuit of Trust
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Dorian Schaap The police, the public, and the pursuit of trust A cross-national, dynamic study of trust in the police and police trust-building strategies Public trust in the police is a matter of great importance for police organizations and govern- ments all over Europe. The police, the public, and the pursuit of trust offers a unique perspective on both citizens’ trust in the police and police trust- building strategies from internationally comparative and dynamic angles. It applies rigorous statistical analyses and in-depth case study research. This book assesses differences and developments in trust in the police across Europe over the past decades. Guided by three theoretical perspectives – instrumentalism, proximity policing and procedural justice – , it also examines what factors on the national and individual level can explain trust in the police. These fi ndings are contrasted with the invention and development of police trust- building strategies in England & Wales, Denmark and the Netherlands. The book inquires how and when trust in the police was fi rst defi ned as a policy problem, what solutions or strategies have since been formulated to address it, and how we can understand differences between these three countries. The author shows that trust in the police cannot be understood without taking into account police trust-building strategies, nor can these strategies be grasped without an appreciation of national and local context and history. This study will appeal to all readers with an interest in the relationship between citizens and the police, including scholars, policy makers and police offi cers. ISBN 978-94-6236-845-3 9 789462 368453 The police, the public, and the pursuit of trust The commercial edition of this book is published by Eleven International Publishing. ISBN 978-94-6236-845-3 ISBN 978-94-6274-850-7 (e-book) Published, sold and distributed by Eleven International Publishing P.O. Box 85576 2508 CG The Hague The Netherlands Tel.: +31 70 33 070 33 Fax: +31 70 33 070 30 e-mail: [email protected] www.elevenpub.com Sold and distributed in USA and Canada International Specialized Book Services 920 NE 58th Avenue, Suite 300 Portland, OR 97213-3786, USA Tel.: 1-800-944-6190 (toll-free) Fax: +1-503-280-8832 [email protected] www.isbs.com Eleven International Publishing is an imprint of Boom uitgevers Den Haag. © 2018 Dorian Schaap | Eleven International Publishing Cover image by Jaanus Jagomagi; http://jaanus.cc This publication is protected by international copyright law. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy- ing, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Printed in The Netherlands The police, the public, and the pursuit of trust_dissertatievoorwerk.indd 2 23-3-2018 14:18:00 The police, the public, and the pursuit of trust A cross-national, dynamic study of trust in the police and police trust- building strategies Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen op gezag van de rector magnificus prof. dr. J.H.J.M. van Krieken, volgens besluit van het college van decanen in het openbaar te verdedigen op woensdag 16 mei 2018 om 16.30 uur precies door Dorian Peter Schaap geboren op 13 juni 1988 te Roden The police, the public, and the pursuit of trust_dissertatievoorwerk.indd 3 23-3-2018 14:18:00 Promotoren: Prof. dr. ir. J.B. Terpstra Prof. dr. P.L.H. Scheepers Manuscriptcommissie: Prof. dr. P.H.P.H.M.C. van Kempen (voorzitter) Prof. dr. T. Brandsen Prof. dr. E. Enhus (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, België) The police, the public, and the pursuit of trust_dissertatievoorwerk.indd 4 23-3-2018 14:18:00 Preface It is often so ‘that within a given case, when we try to track down the origins of an idea or proposal, we become involved in an infinite regress’ (Kingdon, 1995: 72-73). Taking that into account, I would still argue that this project must have commenced sometime in early 2010. The starting point was a paper I wrote for Crime & Security Policy, a subject I attended as part of a minor to my sociology bachelor’s education at Rad‐ boud University Nijmegen. In spare hours I had as a student-assistant at the Crimi‐ nal Law & Criminology department, I delved deeper into the subject and decided to make it my research master thesis topic. An application for a Ph.D. grant to the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) was honored in 2012. As such, I gained a Ph.D. position at Criminal Law & Criminology under supervision of prof. dr. ir. Jan Terpstra and prof. dr. Peer Scheepers; both of whom had been involved with my master thesis as well. Ideas and projects change over time. This holds for ideas about policing—as we will see throughout this book—but also for this research project itself. It grew a wider scope, gained more dimensions, added questions, theories and methods. Departing initially from the question how meaningful differences in trust in the police between countries are (and how to explain those differences), soon a syn‐ chronic perspective was adopted by tracing developments in trust over time. Most importantly, however, realization dawned that all studies of levels of trust in the police tend to be one-sided: police trust-building strategies needed to be taken into account, lest we remain half-blind in our understanding of trust in the police. The resulting contribution attempts to provide a more complete image of trust in the police, dispelling some common myths about the subject in the process. It is explicitly cross-national in nature, albeit primarily focused on the European con‐ text. Moreover, it takes a dynamic perspective, taking account of change in differ‐ ent ways. Finally, by including quantitative analyses of levels of trust as well as qualitative examinations of how the police themselves relate to the problem of trust, two sides of the medal are illuminated. Without one, I would argue that knowledge of the other will be only of limited use. It is my hope that including both perspectives, that of the police and that of the public, will be to the benefit of all. 6 The police, the public, and the pursuit of trust There are those who consider themselves to be self-made men and women; people who do not owe anything to anyone, who have only themselves to thank for their achievements. These people clearly never wrote a Ph.D. dissertation. Often cast as the ultimate solitary activity, producing a dissertation is, in fact, a deeply social process. Finishing a project like this is a humbling experience, much more so than start‐ ing it. In the beginning, one is full of optimism, fresh ideas, a revolutionary atti‐ tude. The end is, strangely, a much more introspective phase. Over the past year, my thoughts wandered more and more often to all who made this book possible. Where can I begin to express my gratitude to everyone who contributed? This doubt becomes even more embarrassing when I realize that many of these people may have forgotten all about me—after all, for them, I must have been just a for‐ eign researcher doing some interviews, an observer, almost a ghost. For others, a friend or family member who tends to disappear behind stacks of books and has occasional troubles keeping in touch. And for yet different people, a colleague rather less reliable than they might have wished. I am grateful to all of them. Some individuals in particular are worthy of thanks. My supervisors, Jan Terp‐ stra and Peer Scheepers, have seen my work evolve (or escalate) from a minor study project, to a master thesis, to a Ph.D. dissertation. Both of them have had a powerful influence on who I am as a professional. Jan once told me he only employs people who are as headstrong as he is (his words, not mine!). Meanwhile, I can only admire the patient and rock-solid way he guided this particular head‐ strong candidate towards completion of his book. I am more than grateful for all the opportunities he has given me. Peer deserves the highest praise and apprecia‐ tion for his rigorous approach towards structure and methods, for his occasional directness when I was in need of a wake-up call and for his support and positive attitude during times when I doubted my work. It is hard for me to properly convey my gratitude to Barry Loveday and Lars Holmberg, both of whom went above and beyond the line of duty to help a young foreign researcher find his way. I am looking forward to buying them a well- deserved beer or two during a future ESC conference. To the members of my manuscript committee, Piet Hein van Kempen, Taco Brandsen and Els Enhus, I am deeply indebted for their time, effort and constructively critical attitude. I would like to thank NWO for funding this project, as well as the Faculty of Law of Rad‐ boud University. Geoff Palmer is not just a good friend; he has been an extremely dedicated and thorough editor, too. I feel that his contribution vastly improved this book. Any remaining errors are obviously my own. I would also like to use this opportunity to thank all the people who proved willing to be interviewed, from small-town police officers to eminent scholars, and those who otherwise contributed. There is a remarkable list of former office mates who put up with me through‐ out the years: Caroline, Mirjam, Jelle, Teun, Ruben, Joeri, Jeroen and Elco.