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Confidence in the Police Between America and Japan: Results From Two Waves of Surveys

NCJ Number
209793
Journal
Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management Volume: 28 Issue: 1 Dated: 2005 Pages: 139-151
Author(s)
Liqun Cao; Steven Stack
Date Published
2005
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study compared the level of public confidence between the Japanese and American police forces.
Abstract
Utilizing data from the 1991 World Values Surveys, this study retested the hypothesis that the Japanese public has more confidence toward the police than their American counterparts. The data collected was the product of a collaboration of investigators from more than 40 nations, thereby facilitating cross-national comparisons of basic values in a wide range of concerns. A total sample of 2,821 persons was selected in the 1991 analysis, of which 1,824 were Americans and 997 were Japanese. Results indicate that confidence in the police is significantly higher in the United States than in Japan confirming a previous study that the United States public has a significantly higher confidence in the police than the Japanese public. It is concluded that even though Japan may have the lower crime rate and fewer publicized serious scandals than their American counterparts, the public in Japan do not rate their police as high as the American public. Notes, references