Determinants of Ethnic Minority Confidence in the Police

Abstract

In this article I test the contribution which (aspects of) social capital theory, performance theory and the procedural justice-based model can make towards explaining ethnic minorities' confidence in the police. To answer my central question-What determining factors account for minorities' level of confidence in the police?-I conducted regression analysis of quantitative data collected from minority-group members in Belgium via 456 face-to-face interviews. The results suggest that feelings of insecurity and perceptions of discrimination play a large part in accounting for ethnic minorities' confidence (or lack of) in the police.