Six cities in the four countries were involved in the study. Victim samples were drawn from police records, and the subjects were interviewed about crimes and their subsequent experiences with the police. Interviews were also conducted with representatives of the police and victim-support agencies. The study focused on the extent to which countries in Eastern Europe and Western Europe share similar experiences and perceptions. It also examined the extent to which victim assessments of the police are influenced by policing traditions, victim perceptions of crime, and the services actually provided by the police. The findings show that police practices and recent changes in police response to burglary victims vary in a number of ways between the four countries. Victims' perceptions of the police, both in general and regarding particular incidents, also vary. There are as many differences between Poland and Hungary as there are similarities, and some differences are also evident between England and Germany. Although police traditions and current police practices may account for victims' attitudes toward police to some degree, differences in victims' attitudes toward police are more adequately explained by victims' concerns about crime and their willingness to blame police for not protecting them. 7 tables
Comparative Research of Police Practices in England, Germany, Poland, and Hungary (From Policing in Central and Eastern Europe: Comparing Firsthand Knowledge With Experience From the West, P 473-485, 1996, Milan Pagon, ed. -- See NCJ-170291)
NCJ Number
170333
Date Published
1996
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This paper reports on the methodology and findings of a cross-national study (England, Germany, Poland, and Hungary) of burglary for the years 1993-94.
Abstract