This research seeks to explore the factors that affect community support of the police as perceived by constables in three developing Caribbean nations: Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago. Constables in these nations were surveyed on a variety of law enforcement issues including their judgments about citizen support and cooperation for the activities necessary to produce effective community policing. It is hypothesized that constables’ perceptions of public support are determined by individual, situational, organizational, and national factors. A multivariate conceptual model is constructed based on U.S. research and analyzed using regression analysis. Overall, the findings indicate that organizational and especially national factors influence such perceptions. Within-nation analyses reveal interesting differences in the factors that influence whether a community is seen by officers as supportive of their work.
Alpert, G. P., & Moore, M. H. (2001). Measuring police performance in the new paradigm of policing. In R. Dunham & G. Alpert (Eds.), Critical issues in policing: Contemporary issues (pp. 238-254). Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.
2.
Barker, J. C. (1999). Danger, duty and disillusion: The worldview of Los Angeles police officers. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.
3.
Bayley, D. H. (1985). Patterns of policing: A comparative international analysis. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
4.
Bayley, D. H. (2002). Democratizing the police abroad: What to do and how to do it. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.
5.
Bayley, D. H., & Bittner, E. (2001). Learning the skills of policing. In R. Dunham & G. Alpert (Eds.), Critical issues in policing: Contemporary issues (pp. 82-106). Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.
6.
Bennett, R. R. (1984). Becoming blue: A longitudinal study of police recruit socialization. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 12, 47-58.
7.
Bennett, R. R. (1991). Development and crime: A cross-national, time-series analysis of competing models. Sociological Quarterly, 32(3), 342-363.
8.
Bennett, R. R. (1997a). The determinants of job satisfaction among constables: A comparative study of three developing nations. Justice Quarterly, 14, 295-323.
9.
Bennett, R. R. (1997b). Excessive force: A comparative study of police in the Caribbean. Justice Quarterly, 14(4), 651-686.
10.
Bennett, R. R. (2004). Calling for service: Mobilization of the police across socio-cultural environments. International Journal of Police Research and Practice, 5, 27-44.
11.
Bennett, R. R., & Flavin, J. M. (1994). Determinants of fear of crime: The effect of cultural setting. Justice Quarterly, 11, 357-381.
12.
Bennett, R. R., & Schmitt, E. (2002). The effect of work environment on levels of police cynicism: A comparative study. Police Quarterly, 5, 493-522.
13.
Bennett, R. R., Shield, W., & Daniels, B. (1997). Crime and development in the Caribbean: An investigation of traditional explanatory models. Caribbean Journal of Criminology and Social Psychology, 2(2), 1-35.
14.
Bennett, R. R., & Wiegand, B. (1994). Observations on crime reporting in a developing nation. Criminology, 32, 135-148.
15.
Britz, M. (1997). The police subculture and occupational socialization: Exploring individual and demographic characteristics. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 21(2), 127-146.
16.
Brooks, L. W. (2001). Police discretionary behavior: A study of style. In R. Dunham & G. Alpert (Eds.), Critical issues in policing: Contemporary issues (pp. 117-131). Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.
17.
Bureau of Justice Statistics. (1995). Law enforcement management and administrative statistics, 1993: Data for individual state and local agencies with 100 or more officers. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
18.
Cordner, G. W. (2001). Community policing: Elements and effects. In R. Dunham & G. Alpert (Eds.), Critical issues in policing: Contemporary issues (pp. 493-510). Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.
19.
Crank, J. P. (1998). Understanding police culture. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing.
20.
Danns, G. K. (1982). Domination and power in Guyana. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books.
21.
Deosaran, R. (1993). A society under siege: A study of political confusion and legal mysticism. Trinidad, WI: The McAl Psychological Research Institute.
22.
Duncan, N. (1994). Barbados: Democracy at the crossroads. In C. J. Edie (Ed.), Democracy in the Caribbean (pp. 75-91). Westport, CT: Praeger.
23.
Eck, J., & Spelman, W. (1987). Problem solving: Problem-oriented policing in Newport News. Washington, DC: Police Executive Forum.
24.
Edie, C. J. (1994). Democracy in the Caribbean. Westport, CT: Praeger.
25.
Flavin, J., & Bennett, R. R. (2001). Police work in the Caribbean: The influence of gender and nation. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, 24(1), 56-87.
26.
Goldstein, H. (1990). Problem oriented policing. New York: McGraw-Hill.
27.
Greene, J., & Decker, S. (1989). Police and community perceptions of the community role in policing: The Philadelphia experiment. Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 28(2), 105-123.
28.
Greene, J., & Mastrofski, S. (1988). Community policing: Rhetoric or reality. New York: Praeger.
29.
Gunst, L. (1995). Born fi’dead. New York: Henry Holt.
30.
Harriott, A. (2000). Police and crime control in Jamaica: Problems of reforming ex-colonial constabularies. Jamaica: University of West Indies Press.
31.
Headley, B. (1994). The Jamaican crime scene: A perspective. Mandeville, Jamaica: Eureka Press.
32.
Heidensohn, F. (1992). Women in control? The role of women in law enforcement. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
33.
Hintzen, P. C. (1994). Trinidad and Tobago: Democracy, nationalism, and the construction of racial identity. In C. J. Edie (Ed.), Democracy in the Caribbean (pp. 59-74). Westport, CT: Praeger.
34.
Hoath, D., Schneider, F., & Starr, M. (1998). Police job satisfaction as a function of career orientation and position tenure: Implications for selection and community policing. Journal of Community Policing, 26(4), 337-347.
35.
Hornstein, H., Callahan, D. M., Fisch, E., & Benedict, A. (1968). Influence and satisfaction in organizations: A replication. Sociology of Education, 41(4), 380-389.
36.
Kessler, D., & Borella, D. (1997). Taking back Druid Hills: An evaluation of a community policing effort in Birmingham, Alabama. Law & Policy, 9(1), 95-113.
37.
Klinger, D. (1997). The negotiated order of patrol work: An ecological theory of police response to deviance. Criminology, 35, 277-306.
38.
LaFree, G. (1998). Losing legitimacy. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
39.
Lasley, J. R. (1994). The impact of the Rodney King incident on citizen attitudes toward police. Policing and Society, 3(4), 245-255.
40.
Lewis, S., Rosenberg, H., & Sigler, R. (1999). Acceptance of community policing among police officers and police administrators. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, 22, 567-588.
41.
Lord, V. (1996). An impact of community policing: Reported stressors, social support, and strain among police officers in a changing police department. Journal of Criminal Justice, 24, 503-522.
42.
Lurigio, A., & Skogan, W. G. (1994). Winning the hearts and minds of police officers: An assessment of staff perceptions of community policing in Chicago. Crime and Delinquency, 40(3), 315-330.
43.
Martin, S. E. (1980). Breaking and entering: Policewomen on patrol. Berkeley: University of California Press.
44.
Martin, S. E. (1989). Women on the move? A report on the status of women in policing. Women and Criminal Justice, 1, 21-40.
45.
Martin, S. E. (1990). On the move: The status of women in policing. Washington, DC: Police Foundation.
46.
Martin, S. E.,& Jurik, N. C. (1996). Doing justice, doing gender. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
47.
Masterson, M., & Stevens, S. (2001). Madison speaks up: Measuring community policing performance. Law and Order, 49, 98-100.
48.
Miller, S. (1999). Gender and community policing: Walking the talk. Boston: Northeastern University Press.
49.
National Center for Women and Policing. (1998). Equality denied: The status of women in policing. Washington, DC: Author.
50.
Newmann, F., Rutter, R., & Smith, M. (1989). Organizational factors that affect school sense of efficacy, community and expectations. Sociology of Education, 62, 221-238.
51.
Niederhoffer, A. (1967). Behind the shield: The police in urban society. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company.
52.
Paoline, E., Myers, S., & Worden, R. (2000). Police culture, individualism, and community policing, evidence from two police departments. Justice Quarterly, 17, 575-605.
53.
Pate, A., & Shtull, P. (1994). Community policing grows in Brooklyn: An inside view of the New York City police department’s model precinct. Crime and Delinquency, 40, 384-410.
54.
Rosenbaum, D. P., & Lurigio, A. (1994). An inside look at community policing reform: Definitions, organizational changes and evaluation findings. Crime and Delinquency, 40(3), 299-314.
55.
Rosenbaum, D., Yeh, S., & Wilkinson, D. (1994). Impact of community policing on police personnel: A quasi-experimental test. Crime and Delinquency, 40(33), 1-35.
56.
Russo, P., Engel, A., & Hatting, S. (1983). Police and occupational stress: An empirical investigation. In R. R. Bennett (Ed.), Police at work (pp. 89-106). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
57.
Schulz, R., Greenley, J., & Brown, R. (1995). Organization, management, and client effects on staff burnout. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 36, 333-345.
58.
Stone, C. (1985). Democracy and clientelism in Jamaica. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books.
59.
Stone, C. (1986). Power in the Caribbean basin. Philadelphia: Institute for the Study of Human Issues.
60.
Trojanowicz, R., & Bucqueroux, B. (1998). Community policing: How to get started. Cincinnati: Anderson Publishing.
61.
Trojanowicz, R., Pollard, B., Colgan, F., & Harden, H. (1986). Community policing programs: A twenty year view. East Lansing: Michigan State University.
62.
Uildriks, N., & van Reenen, P. (2003). Policing post-communist societies: Police-public violence, democratic policing and human rights. Antwerp: Intersentia.
63.
Walker, S. (1977). A critical history of police reform. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
64.
Wilson, D., & Bennett, S. (1994). Officers’ response to community policing: Variation on a theme. Crime and Delinquency, 40, 354-370.
65.
Winfree, T., Jr., Bartku, G., & Seibel, G. (1996). Support for community policing versus traditional policing among nonmetropolitan police officers: A survey of four New Mexico police departments. American Journal of Police, 15, 23-50.
66.
Winfree, T., Jr., & Newbold, G. (1999). Community policing and the New Zealand police: Correlates of attitudes toward the work world in a community oriented national police force. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 22, 589-617.
67.
Wolf, L. (1993). Report of the national task force on crime. Kingston, Jamaica: Government Printing Office.
68.
Worden, R. (1995). The “causes” of police brutality: Theory and evidence on police use of force. In W. A. Geller & H. Toch (Eds.), And justice for all: Understanding and controlling police abuse of force (pp. 31-60). Washington, DC: Police Executive Research Forum.
69.
Wycoff, M. A., & Skogan, W. G. (1994). The effect of community policing management style on officers’ attitudes. Crime and Delinquency, 40, 371-383.
70.
Yates, D., & Pillai, V. (1996). Attitudes toward community policing: A causal analysis. Social Science Journal, 33, 193-209.
