Resident perceptions of police mistreatment and use of force in a troubled Trinidadian neighborhood

Abstract

This study examines public perceptions of police mistreatment and use of force in a disadvantaged neighborhood in a developing Caribbean nation. This research describes residents’ perceptions of, and experiences with, police misbehavior before and after the implementation of a community-oriented policing initiative. Multivariate analyses examine whether the factors influencing perceptions of police use of excessive force varied across time. The initial results suggest that the introduction of community policing did not positively influence citizens’ views of, or experiences with, police mistreatment in this neighborhood. Results from the multivariate analyses suggest that the factors predicting public views about the frequency of excessive use of force by police did change over time. We offer several explanations for why change in residents’ views of police misbehavior did and did not occur.