NCJ Number
226505
Journal
International Journal of Police Science & Management Volume: 10 Issue: 4 Dated: Winter 2008 Pages: 388-401
Date Published
2008
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study measured trust in police among a university sample of ethnic minority and majority youth in Sydney, Australia, with attention to the degree to which respondents perceived police to be biased against their particular and other ethnic groups.
Abstract
The study found that ethnic minority youth perceived police to be biased against their own ethnic group with greater frequency than did members of the majority cultural category (Caucasian youth); however, the majority of Caucasian youth believed police were biased toward ethnic minority groups. A pervasive belief in the general public, regardless of ethnicity, that police are biased against ethnic minorities in their enforcement of the law has serious implications for public trust in police. The current university sample is comparable to that surveyed by Collins et al. (2002) regarding ethnic minority groups respondents believed were targeted by police. In the sample surveyed by Collins et al., the groups most often perceived as subject to police targeting were Asian (30.34 percent), Lebanese (26.07 percent), Islander (6.30 percent), and Middle Eastern (4.94 percent). The study was conducted as a survey that measured demographic characteristics, perceived police bias, and contact with the justice system. Data were collected over 3 years across 3 cohorts of respondents: March 2003 (n=489), March 2004 (n=447), and March 2005 (n=360). 4 tables, 1 figure, and 24 references