Ivan Y. Sun, Yuning Wu, Ruth Triplett and Shun-Yung Kevin Wang
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of media exposure and political party orientation on public satisfaction with and trust in the police in Taiwan.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of media exposure and political party orientation on public satisfaction with and trust in the police in Taiwan.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were collected from more than 2,000 respondents in three large metropolises and two rural counties in Taiwan in 2011. Multivariate regression was used to assess the effects of media exposure and political party affiliation on public satisfaction with and trust in the police, controlling for crime experience, neighborhood conditions, background characteristics, and locality.
Findings
Taiwanese who were exposed to media reports of police misconduct and believed in the authenticity of such reports were more likely to have lower levels of satisfaction with national police and trust in the police. Though it varied somewhat by whether it was satisfaction with national or local police, the Taiwanese respondents who identified themselves as supporters of the opposition party, or politically neutral, showed lower levels of satisfaction with and trust in the police than supporters for the ruling party. Respondents who shared the same political party orientation expressed higher levels of satisfaction with local police.
Research limitations/implications
The measures of media influence, while classic and straightforward, were relatively simple and future research should not only quantify the links between media use and public trust, but also develop a qualitative cultural understanding of the communicative roles that the media play in shaping public perceptions of the police. In addition, while this study relied on a scientific sampling procedure, the sample cannot completely represent the general population in Taiwan.
Practical implications
It is important for police departments to cultivate good relations with the news media and to adopt a balanced role between law enforcers who are capable of curbing crime and reducing fear of crime, and moral guardians who are willing to uphold community social cohesion and value structures.
Originality/value
Despite a growing number of studies on public assessments in the police in Taiwan, empirical research on the impact of media and political orientation on satisfaction with and trust in the police remains very limited. This study represents one of the first attempts to assess factors related to media and political party orientation in Taiwan.
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Yuning Wu, Ruth Triplett and Ivan Y. Sun
The purpose of this paper is to examine Chinese immigrants’ contact with local police, uncovering the extent, nature, distribution, and consequences of police contact. Although…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine Chinese immigrants’ contact with local police, uncovering the extent, nature, distribution, and consequences of police contact. Although literature on immigrants’ perceptions of the police has been accumulating during the past few years, research on immigrants’ encounters with the police remains extremely limited.
Design/methodology/approach
This study relies on survey data collected from approximately 350 foreign‐born Chinese immigrants residing in New York City, Philadelphia, and Delaware. Non‐probability (both purposive and convenience) sampling methods are used.
Findings
Chinese immigrants report a higher rate of police contact than the general public, with the most frequent contact occurring through traffic law violations or accidents. Immigrants who are male, older, and recent arrivals to the USA, and have vicarious experience with the police are more likely to have police contact, particularly officer‐initiated contact. The mere occurrence of contact does not affect Chinese immigrants’ global satisfaction with the police. There is, however, a significant positive link between satisfaction with recent contact and global satisfaction.
Originality/value
The paper's findings improve our understanding of police‐community relations regarding Asian Americans and also contribute to the broad literature on race/ethnicity and policing by incorporating both immigration status and ecological context into analysis.
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Ivan Y. Sun and Ruth A. Triplett
The purpose of this paper is to examine differential perceptions of neighborhood problems by the police and residents.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine differential perceptions of neighborhood problems by the police and residents.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses interview and survey data collected from 50 neighborhoods a mid‐western city to assess whether police officers and citizens differ in their perceptions of neighborhood disorder, drug‐gang, and property crime problems. Multivariate regressions were conducted to examine the effects of neighborhood structural characteristics, social organization, perceptions of the legitimacy of local authorities, and actual crime rates on police's and citizens' perceptions of neighborhood problems.
Findings
Police officers rate neighborhood problems more seriously than do local residents. Neighborhood structural characteristics and perceptions of the legitimacy of local authorities significantly affect variation in perceptions of neighborhood problems by citizens and police. Actual property crime rates influence police perceptions of disorder and property crime problems.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should continue to explore the factors that contribute to perceptual differences between citizens and police officers. Research should also pay more attention to variables such as informal control, social capital, and collective efficacy. More research efforts should be devoted to explore how variation in officers' perceptions of neighborhood problems affects their behavior toward local residents.
Originality/value
The study incorporates neighborhood contexts in its analysis and tests both officers' and citizens' perceptions of neighborhood problems simultaneously, which have rarely been done in previous research.
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Ruth F.G. Williams and D.P. Doessel
It is usually unnecessary to define the output of an industry, but this is not the case with mental health services. Following Grossman's conception of health capital, the outputs…
Abstract
It is usually unnecessary to define the output of an industry, but this is not the case with mental health services. Following Grossman's conception of health capital, the outputs of mental health care enter a household production function as a commodity vector. Considering the multiple and heterogeneous nature of the services of this industry, preferences exist in multi‐dimensional space. An application of the characteristics theory of consumer demand associated with Ironmonger and Lancaster illustrates the outputs in terms of two characteristics, viz. symptom alleviation and disability reduction. Representing preferences by indifference curves, in the usual way, clarifies the relationship between mental health care inputs and the outputs of mental health care. The theoretical problem in the economics of mental health care of whether, or how, individual preferences can count is also addressed. It is shown on an indifference map what it means when society institutionalises some individuals. This approach also enables the deinstitutionalisation movement to be placed into an economic context. It is noted that empirical work on goods and services that have multiple characteristics involves the application of hedonic price analysis, a technique already applied in the economic literature on mental health.