コミュニティ・ポリーシングが警察への信頼に与える影響

—日本の警察を事例に—

抄録

Public confidence in the police has become an important issue in many countries because high levels of trust and confidence can allow the public to believe the police organisation is accountable and legitimate. Much empirical research on public attitudes towards policing is available in Western countries, and it has been revealed that community policing can affect the levels of trust and confidence in the police both positively and negatively. Using data from an online survey, this article seeks to address the impact of community policing on public trust and confidence in the Japanese police. The results of a series of hierarchical multiple regression models demonstrated that being female, participating in crime prevention and self-defence classes are associated with high levels of trust in the police, while being liberal and experiencing police-initiated contact are associated with low levels of trust in the police. The implications of the findings for theory, research, and policing policy and practice are discussed.