engleski

Public Perception of Police in the Capital City of Croatia in the Context of Crime Prevention

For more than ten years crime prevention has been a key issue in organizational and functional terms in the Croatian police. As a new EU member state, Croatia has become an active and rightful member of the European Crime Prevention Network (EUCPN). The changing role of police in society is based on more qualitative cooperation with citizens and creating better conditions for life without fear for personal security. Public Attitudes towards the police and its activities contribute to the development and implementation of crime prevention in the community. The research that will be presented was conducted on 796 residents of Zagreb. 48% male and 53% female respondents aged 18-95 years. 60% of respondents had a high school education and 50% of them were middle socio-economic status. This research was done as part of a national survey of police crime prevention. The sample was stratified according to neighbourhood size, sex and age. The aim of the research was to determine the elements of public perception of the police and to what extent these contribute to the explanation of this construct. It was assumed that a greater impact on public perceptions of the police have estimates of subjects related to the activities of the police, then the socio-demographic characteristics, characteristics of urban neighborhoods in which the respondent resides, or previous victimization. The regression analysis was conducted in order to determine which set of predictors gives the biggest relative contribution to social perception of police activity. The analysis showed that senior respondents as well as those with lower level of education have a more positive perception of the police. In the same way, perception of less frequent instances of social disorganization and less fear of crime indicate a more positive perception of police activity. Respondents who estimated the police as being successful in detecting and preventing crime and those who had positive experiences with the police have a more positive perception of police activity. Public attitude towards the police and police activities helps create and carry out measures for crime prevention which, as result, reduce crime rate and contribute to the sense of personal security of each and every citizen.

public perception, police, Zagreb, crime prevention

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