Police visibility, trust in police fairness, and collective efficacy: A multilevel Structural Equation Model

Julia Yesberg,Ben Bradford,Ian Brunton-Smith

doi:10.1177/14773708211035306

Julia Yesberg, Ben Bradford + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.1177/14773708211035306

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Abstract

Areas high in collective efficacy – where residents know and trust one another and are willing to intervene to solve neighbourhood problems – tend to experience less crime. Policing is thought to be one antecedent to collective efficacy, but little empirical research has explored this question. Using three waves of survey data collected from London residents over three consecutive years, and multilevel Structural Equation Modelling, this study tested the impact of police visibility and police–community engagement on collective efficacy. We explored direct effects as well as indirect effects through trust in police. The findings showed levels of police visibility predicted trust in police. Trust in police fairness, in turn, predicted collective efficacy. There was a small indirect relationship between police visibility and collective efficacy, through trust in police fairness. In other words, police presence in neighbourhoods was associated with more positive views about officer behaviour, which in turn was associated with collective efficacy. The findings have important implications for policies designed to build stronger, more resilient communities.

Highlights

Areas high in collective efficacy – where residents know and trust one another and are willing to intervene to solve neighbourhood problems – tend to experience less crime
Trust in police fairness has a significant association with collective efficacy, whereas trust in police effectiveness does not
There was a small indirect effect of police visibility on collective efficacy, through trust in police fairness, but this effect was only significant at the p < .10 level (B = .039, SE = .020, p = .055)

Summary

Introduction

Areas high in collective efficacy – where residents know and trust one another and are willing to intervene to solve neighbourhood problems – tend to experience less crime. Decades of research across different contexts has confirmed this finding: when neighbourhoods are higher in collective efficacy – a construct that relates to social ties among neighbours, combined with a willingness to intervene to solve local problems – crime tends to be lower (Armstrong et al, 2015; Burchfield and Silver, 2013; Gerell and Kronkvist, 2017; Mazerolle et al, 2010; Sampson et al, 1997; Sampson and Wikström, 2008; Weisburd et al, 2020). We use multilevel Structural Equation Modelling to explore the relationship between police visibility, police–community engagement and collective efficacy, and potential indirect effects through trust in police. Collective efficacy has been shown to mediate the relationship between concentrated disadvantage and crime (for example, Browning et al, 2004)

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