Honors Theses

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Sociology

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

Major

Criminology

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Abstract

Trust in the legitimacy of law enforcement is necessary for effective policing. Literature focuses in on three broad areas in its discussion of trust in the police; general feelings of social trust toward one’s community, belief in absence or presence of procedural justice, and perceptions of police effectiveness in the neighborhood in terms of disorder and incivilities. In this paper, I use data from the World Values Survey collected in 2011 in the United States to examine these correlates of trust in the police by way of logistic regression models. I find that, in accordance with recent scholarship, individuals’ perceptions of procedural justice have the greatest impact on one’s trust in the police. These findings should impart legislators to give substantial weight to potential policies such as the “Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act of 2018” if the US wishes to improve its policing.

Publication Date

5-1-2019

First Advisor

Perry, Ashley

Second Advisor

Peterson, Lindsey

Third Advisor

Oppenheimer, Seth

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