Determinants of public satisfaction with police: a balance theory analysis

Baran, Charles Stanley (1977) Determinants of public satisfaction with police: a balance theory analysis. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

A questionnaire survey was conducted of 170 citizens and 31 police officers to investigate the determinants of public satisfaction with the police. Within the framework of Newcomb's (1953) balance model, various components of the public's phenomenology were examined and then compared with the responses of the police. Results show that comparisons of what the public think the police do with (a) what the public would do if they were police officers, and (b) what the public would like to see the police do are both good predictors of public satisfaction in that agreement between the components of each comparison resulted in greater satisfaction than did disagreement. Of the three comparisons relating the phenomenology of the public to actual police responses, only the one comparing what the members of the public think the police do predicted public satisfaction. Explanations to account for these results and the applicability of Newcomb's model for the study of the police-community relationship are discussed, as are implications of the findings.

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