Research on policing in East Asia: a review of SSCI policing specialty journals

Abstract

Purpose – Little information on dissemination of publications on policing issues in East Asia in which one-fifth of the world's population lives is available. The research questions for the paper are: how extensive is the coverage of papers focussing on policing in East Asia; on which East Asian countries have the papers covered during the 14-year period from 2000 to 2013; what are the topics/primary issues of policing in East Asia covered across the journals; and what are the affiliations represented of authors who have published papers on policing in East Asia. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This study is a content analysis of major policing specialty journals listed in the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) in terms of the number and focus of studies on East Asian police papers. Data came from 1,123 papers published in three policing journals of Police Quarterly, Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, and Policing and Society: An International Journal of Research and Policy during the period of 2000-2013. Findings – Only 3.4 percent (n=38) of the 1,123 articles published in the three journals were on policing issues in East Asia nations. The vast majority (76.3 percent) were published in Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management. Staff issue was the most frequently researched topic. In total, 42 percent of the papers were on South Korean policing issues, followed by 31 percent on Chinese policing topics. Finally, about 45 percent of the papers were written by only US-affiliated authors, 40 percent by authors affiliated with institutions in East Asia, and only 16 percent were written in collaboration between authors associated with USA and East Asian institutions. Originality/value – The main intent of this study is to provide information seekers with a guide to what research on policing in East Asia is being published.