Activities per year
Abstract
The association between trust in the police and neighbourhood context is well known. Police seem to enjoy more trust when community settings are perceived as orderly, cohesive and well-functioning, and trust seems to be lower when order and cohesion seem attenuated or under threat. Yet, little attention has been paid to the association between neighbourhood diversity and trust in the police. Allport’s contact hypothesis suggests that because diversity increases intergroup contact and thus a sense of cohesion, it may promote trust in the police. We use data from a nationally representative survey conducted in 2014, combined with Census and other local- area data, to explore the association between ethno-religious diversity and trust in the Police Service of Northern Ireland. We find that trust is higher in more diverse areas, primarily because Catholics living in such areas report significantly higher levels of trust than their counterparts living in less diverse areas. We interpret these results in light of what policing means in contemporary Northern Ireland, almost two-decades after the country’s landmark reform of policing began.
Keywords: Police Service of Northern Ireland; diversity; confidence; police-community relations
Keywords: Police Service of Northern Ireland; diversity; confidence; police-community relations
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1022 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Journal | Policing and Society |
Volume | 29 |
Issue number | 9 |
Early online date | 25 May 2018 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Early online date - 25 May 2018 |
Keywords
- confidence
- diversity
- Police Service of Northern Ireland
- police–community relations
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Sociology and Political Science
- Law
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- 1 Oral presentation
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Summary / overview of Continuing a-PACE research for the PSNI
Topping, J. (Invited speaker)
08 Oct 2020Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation