Public Confidence in Policing Services in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi - Case Study Example

Public Confidence in Policing Services in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi Student’s name Code & Course Professor’s name University City Date An investigation of public confidence in policing services in the emirate of Abu Dhabi Keywords: public confidence in policing, Abu Dhabi police, police performance Abstract The aim of this study is to offer an in-depth understanding and analysis on the issues affecting public confidence in policing services in the emirates of Abu Dhabi. It also aims to come up with ways that can be implemented in order to enhance public confidence with regards to policing services in the Emirates, Abu Dhabi. It will also explore and compare public confidence in Western countries and to what extent their concepts can be applicable to Abu Dhabi. Introduction In Western countries such as the UK, public confidence in the police is relatively low (Brown & Coutler, 1983). In the performance of duties, police are found to be less effective without assistance from the public in matters such as handling problems and crime controls (FitzGerald, 2010). According to (BradFord, Stanko et al 2009), being in personal contact and visibility of police are crucial factors that have a major impact on public confidence and the legitimacy of the police. In 1968, The Kerner Commission conducted a survey and found out that the worst experiences in the policing services was encountered by African Americans and they had the least confidence (Sullivan & Dunham et al, 1987; Schafer & Huebner et al, 2003). Public confidence in the police is quite a vast area as it involves the government too (Hahn, 1971). This is because of the police being part of the government as a body. The two are inseparable. The police acts as a representative of the state. Once the public loses confidence in the police, the government is also bound to fall (Benson, 1981). Taxpayers fund police activities hence it is their duty to be accountable to the taxpayer and build their confidence levels by proving their capabilities to deliver services of high quality as expected by the taxpayer (Hough &, Roberts, 2004). Hence, whatever the actions of the police, the taxpayer needs to be put into consideration always and how these same actions will affect the taxpayer. Abu Dhabi is the largest city and the capital city of UAE and has a population of 2.453,096. The Abu Dhabi Police is charged with the task of maintaining peace and security in the city. In 2014, a survey was carried out by the ADP Planning and Studies branch and found out that the public sense of safety and security stood at 93.3% in terms of confidence levels in the Abu Dhabi Police (Abu Dhabi Police, 2014#847). Statement of Problem These constitute factors affecting the level of public confidence towards the police. Social Demographics People’s characteristics and their individual differences have an impact on the public confidence towards the police. Factors such as age, sex, marital status and socio-economic statuses were found to be the most prevalent characteristics, Minority ethnic communities generally have little confidence in the police as they are more susceptible to mistreatment by the police (Peck & Fridell 2015) (Weitzer, 2002; Weitzer, 2015) Crime Perceptions A state where the public is more concerned with crime was found to be having low levels of confidence in the police seeing as it is the responsibility of the police to prevent crimes and securing safety (Myhill & Quinton, 2010; Gundelach & Freitag, 2013) Close Proximity Conditions Any likelihood or signs of crime, physical or social disorders, perceptions of community breakdowns and lack of proper social controls is accountable to the public by the police. Police are held responsible and these factors affect the level of confidence in the police (Bradford, Jackson et al., 2009; Bradford & Jackson, 2010; Stanko, Jackson et al., 2012). Media Influence The media as a source of information plays a major part in influencing public confidence in the police (Copitch & Fox, 2010; Stefanovska, 2015). Majority of the public largely depend on the media as they have no close contact or any experience with the police. The public therefore builds perceptions around the information fed by the media. Measuring Public Confidence The general public has varied attitudes towards the police as it depends on the country in question, geographical location as well as the local standards of quality in terms of policing services (Al Shaali & Kibble, 2000). Criticism has been accorded to policing services due to the rampant cases of abuse of power by the police service such as police brutality, corruption and embezzlement of funds among others. Such cases tend to create a negative reaction from the public against the police service (Al Shaali & Kibble, 2000). Measuring police performance in relation to the level of confidence of the public can be done by using surveys and allowing citizens to put across their views as well as highlighting their grievances. This information is instrumental to the police as it helps them rectify any discrepancies and respond to complaints. Traditionally, police performance was assessed by using simple parameters such as the crime rates and level of community satisfaction. Whereas the aspects indicate what the police mostly spend their time on, they do not account for what the police actually do. With the dynamic society, the public is more interested in how the police work and want to understand how they ensure the services offered are of high quality. To determine the confidence level in a given country, it is recommended to make a comparison between various groups using a variety of parameters such as age or ethnicity across different geographical areas. In a given country, there will be inequality in areas due to marginalization and isolation. It is therefore important that more attention be directed to these areas so as to regain public confidence in the police. In Abu Dhabi, there is a community policing approach aimed at improving cooperation between the two parties; police and the public. This leads to enhanced sharing of information between the police and community leading to improved and better attitudes towards police and consequently a decline in the fear of crimes. Driving Forces in Public Confidence The main factors that enhance public confidence in Abu Dhabi include; the public’s perception in the effectiveness of service delivery by the police, confidence among members of the police as a whole department and the perception of safety by the public in the neighbourhood (Jang & Hwang, 2014). They are however divided into three: police influenced factors (PIFs), individual level factors (IPFs) and local area level factors (LPFs). Police Influenced Factors Generally concerned with the police and how they can play a part to influence public confidence in various strategies. Such strategies would include, how police engagements with the members of the community are perceived and the interactions with members of the police service are perceived. According to (Wünsch and Hohl, 2009; Hohl, Bradford et al., 2010), these factors are directly affected by police activities and have a direct impact on public confidence. When police generally show great concern or care for the public and an assumption is made of effectively carrying out their duties, listening and proper response to societal needs, then their motives create public trust which tends to be on a rising trend. This kind of trust is seen to generate feelings from the public that the police service is acting on behalf of the community and boosts (Jackson and Bradford, 2010). Individuals Perspective Factors There is a difference between confidence in institutions and confidence in individuals. Age was a critical aspect in association to confidence level in the police services (Weitzer and Tuch, 2005; Wu, Lake et al., 2013). Study results showed that urban dwellers had greater confidence in the police compared to those living in rural areas(Myhill and Beak, 2008). Public cooperation is essential in the helping the police with the crime fighting function. They do so by reporting crimes and enforcing social norms by working together. It is therefore the duty of the police to encourage members of the public in local areas to identify with a social group since a sense of obligation and obedience emerges when strong connections are involved. The end result will lead to compliance of the laws and cooperation with police(Tyler and Blader, 2003). Local Area Level Factors These are factors that represent the perceptions of the public in their local areas. They include local safety issues, fear of particular crimes, local area problems and even social cohesion problems. The police and the local area people establish a relationship to ensure that the quality of life in the local areas is desirable. (Macdonald and Stokes, 2006) have a belief that social impact creates an even bigger impact on the trust the public has on the police force. Riots in Abu Dhabi are seen as a negative response towards the police and tarnishes the public’s perception of the police. The Emirates experienced long periods of civil disorder nationwide and the police were held to be partially responsible. With the rising crime rates, members of the public have moved to support the government’s move to increase police discretionary powers. Improving Public Confidence Demographics Abu Dhabi comprises of a highly diversified ethnic population and background. The demographic variables such as age, gender, nationality, ethnicity and employment status can help in providing in-depth analysis on whether there is existence of differences in views based on these variables. By carrying out such a survey it is able to cover a wide scope and capture issues affecting all aspects nationwide. This will help increase police accountability and enhance the relationship between the police and the community. Lack of proper identification of the possible causes of changes in the confidence levels in the police service at the population level may be hard for the police to improve and increase public ratings of their performance. Thus, it is paramount to carry out an investigation on public confidence in various geographical areas so as to gauge the characteristics of the different areas. Surveys The use of surveys is one major way that can improve the relationship between the police and the community and increase police accountability. Surveys have the ability to gauge the perceptions the public have on the police and use the data in the creation of policies that are designed in such a way that can enhance public support. They can also be instrumental in assessing the performance of police officers, the quality of services offered to the community as well as the relationships between the police and community so as to come up with ways of restructuring their activities and realigning of priorities. Surveys also play a role in alerting the police in cases involving crime or disruption of the peace at the same time evaluating the effectiveness of policing programs and services. A major setback of this method lies in the police administration. Most members of the police force fail to understand and recognize the importance and do not appreciate the value of the information gathered from the survey. The government is however conducting training seminars to counter the ignorance so as to mobilize the police force to discover and appreciate the value and power of surveys. Despite these efforts this remains a major problem which needs to be addressed. In the UK for instance, surveys play key roles in the assessment of the police. The Emirate of Abu Dhabi, given the success rate of the UK ought to consider the use of surveys if it is to achieve the ADP’s vision: To have the U.A.E as one of the most secure and safest countries in the world (Abu Dhabi police, 2014). It will enable a view of the public perception as this would go a long way in improving the quality of services offered in the police force and also help increase trust and public confidence in the policing service. References List Al Shaali, K. R. and Kibble, N. (2000) 'Policing and Police Accountability in the UAE: The Case for Reform', Arab Law Quarterly, 272-303. Benson, P. R. (1981) 'Political alienation and public satisfaction with police services', Pacific Sociological Review, 45-64. Bradford, B., Jackson, J. and Stanko, E. A. (2009) 'Contact and confidence: revisiting the impact of public encounters with the police', Policing and Society, 19(1), 20-46. 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