Although research on public confidence in the police is rapidly growing in the United States, progress is comparatively slow in the United Kingdom, leaving researchers and policy makers to rely heavily on the U.S. literature base in devising policy. Yet, despite surface similarities, potentially important differences remain, making direct theory and policy transfer between these and other countries tenuous. The current study aims to assess the generalizability and integrate theoretical perspectives from both countries (e.g., Signal Crimes and Negotiated Order), using British Crime Survey (BCS) data from the 2001/02 through 2007/08 sweeps along with a sophisticated analytical strategy to test the derived expectations. The results reveal an intriguing combination of similarities and differences that seem largely to be explained by national context. The risks of theory, research, and policy transfer from the United States to the United Kingdom are highlighted.
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