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Trust in the Belgian police: The importance of responsiveness

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European Journal of Criminology

Published online on

Abstract

The international literature contains very few empirical tests of Tyler’s (2011) claim that in Europe, as in the United States, procedural justice plays a larger part than police performance in accounting for citizens’ trust in the police. With regard to procedural justice, there has also been little research on the distinct effects of responsiveness and fair treatment. This study is a step towards filling in these gaps. We used quantitative data collected in Belgium to examine to what extent citizens’ trust in the police is determined by being a victim of crime, perceptions of disorder, feelings of insecurity, perceptions of the way the police treat people and perceptions of police responsiveness. The results indicate the relevance of procedural justice for explaining police trustworthiness in European countries. In Belgium, perceived responsiveness seems to be the cornerstone of a strong trust relationship.