At the Intersection of Disadvantage: Socioeconomic Status Heightens Ethnic Group Differences in Trust in the Police

Abstract

Although trust in, and cooperation with, the police is critical to effective crime prevention, the relationship between citizens and police can be tenuous, especially for ethnic minorities. However, the impact that membership in multiple marginalised groups has on attitudes toward the police has received limited attention. We address this oversight using a national probability sample of New Zealand adults ( N = 11,669) to examine how the intersection between ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) affects trust in, and willingness to cooperate with, the police. As hypothesised, minorities trusted the police less than did ethnic majority group members. However, ethnic group differences in trust in the police were heightened at low (vs. high) levels of SES. In turn, trust in the police mediated the relationship between minority status and willingness to cooperate with the police. These results demonstrate that (low) SES exacerbates the already fragile relationship between ethnic minorities and the police.