The effects of criminal victimization and judicial or police contacts on public attitudes toward local police

The effects both of victimization and of police or judicial contacts on attitudes toward the police are studied by means of survey data collected in British Columbia (Canada). Such attitudes toward the police are generally favorable across all subpopulations but tend to be lower than average among: people who have experienced a household criminal victimization during the preceding year, those who have experienced an adverse contact with the police, and especially among those who have experienced or observed what they perceive to be improper police field practices. Police perceptions of widespread hostility appear unwarranted, even in the case of traffic violators and of those who have been arrested or convicted. Such findings are compared with data from other parts of Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.