Direct and indirect effects of crime-related media consumption on public confidence in the police
| DOI | 10.1177/1461355719880572 |
| Author | Jaeyong Choi,Randolph D. Hicks,Haneul Yim |
| Published date | 01 March 2020 |
| Date | 01 March 2020 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Direct and indirect effects of
crime-related media consumption
on public confidence in the police
Jaeyong Choi
Department of Security Studies and Criminal Justice, Angelo State University, USA
Haneul Yim
Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Texas at Dallas, USA
Randolph D. Hicks
Department of Security Studies and Criminal Justice, Angelo State University, USA
Abstract
This study explores the potential links between crime-related media consumption and confidence in the police based on
instrumental and expressive models. Drawing on data from a large sample of South Koreans, direct and indirect effects of
crime-related media consumption on perceptions of the police are examined using regression-based multiple mediation
analysis. Results showed that although there is no direct effect of media consumption on confidence in the police, crime-
related media consumption is significantly and negatively associated with public confidence in the police via perceived
incivilities and fear of crime. This study suggests that the police should make a constant effort to develop strategies to
enhance communication with the public.
Keywords
Media effects, confidence in the police, cultivation theory, expressive model, multiple mediation model
Submitted 03 Feb 2019, Revise received 17 Jun 2019, accepted 16 Sep 2019
Criminologists have paid much attention to the extent to
which objective information about neighborhoods and
police performance influences perceptions of the police
(Cao et al., 1996; Jackson et al., 2009; Tyler and Huo,
2002; Wu, 2014). Much of the previous literature assumed
that the public’s understanding of the world is based on
real-world experiences. However, sources of information
that the public rely upon to assess police work may not
originate from their observations of the real world (Gerbner
and Gross, 1976; Hohl et al., 2010; Surette, 2015). Accord-
ing to national studies from the Bureau of Justice Statistics,
among U.S. residents aged 16 years and older, only about
20%had personal contact with police officers in the previ-
ous year (Eith and Durose, 2011). Simultaneously, most of
these interactions were tr affic-related. Despite a lack of
first-hand interaction with police officers, citizens tend to
have their own opinions regarding the police (Brown and
Benedict, 2002; Decker, 1981; Reis ig and Parks, 2000).
This suggests that citizens may form their perceptions of
the police independent of real-world experiences.
One particular source that may offer a unique under-
standing of how individuals access information is the
media. Some researchers hav e called for more attention
to be paid to the potential role of the media as a learning
agent that can influence our perceptions (Callanan and
Rosenberger, 2011; Choi, 2018; Graziano, 2018; Intravia
et al., 2018; Surette, 2015). If individuals foster views
Corresponding author:
Jaeyong Choi, Department of Security Studies and Criminal Justice, Angelo
State University, 2601 W. Avenue N, San Angelo, TX 76909, USA.
Email: jaeyong.choi@angelo.edu
International Journalof
Police Science & Management
2020, Vol. 22(1) 38–49
ªThe Author(s) 2019
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/1461355719880572
journals.sagepub.com/home/psm
To continue reading
Request your trial