Police empowerment hypothesis: A rare glimpse into attitudes toward the police in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This study contributes to the literature by being the first to examine the relative impacts of normative (procedural justice and obligation to obey) and instrumental (police effectiveness and risk) factors of policing on police empowerment in Saudi Arabia. Conducting this study in the Middle East also broadens our understanding of attitudes toward the police beyond Western societies, as the Middle East has rarely been studied by researchers. Using cross-sectional data from a sample of 235 Saudi citizens, procedural justice, obligation to obey, and effectiveness, but not risk, predicted Saudi citizens’ willingness to empower their country’s police. In addition, age predicted Saudi citizens’ willingness to empower the Saudi police. The implications of our findings for policing, policy, and future research are discussed.