Annotation:
The article is devoted to the problem of public trust in the police. The author examines the conditions for the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies, provides data on the level of public confidence in the police in different countries of the world, and tries to answer the question of why in some countries, citizens respect law enforcement officers, trust the police, and in others, don’t? In the course of the research, the channels through which society can influence the activities of the police are identified. It is noted that the presumption of trust in the police, in modern conditions, is considered in two main aspects: as an institution of power and as an individual employee of a police body, compliance with ethical standards of which is a key factor in strengthening the trust and authority of the police and achieving a positive the social result in the law enforcement sphere.
Introduction
The police, as the main law enforcement agency in any civilized and democratic state, have a special purpose – it protects the life, health, and freedoms of citizens, and ensures their safety. In other words, it counteracts crime, protects public order and property, and provides public safety. It follows from this that, fulfilling their mission, police officers should be focused on the needs of the individual, society, and the state. It does not require additional justification that the personal safety of a person is his basic need, which the state satisfies with the help of law enforcement agencies, primarily the police, who are granted a monopoly right to use violence. Namely, police officers are closest to citizens, since in their daily official activities they are next to them. Therefore citizens judge the effectiveness of state power, including based on their experience of interacting with the police at their place of residence, on the streets, on the roads, as well as being in a state of danger.
If the activities of the police are not effective, and citizens do not trust the police, this determines the possibility of spreading an atmosphere of fear, and a feeling of insecurity in society, and also carries other negative consequences, such as a decrease in economic activity; unwillingness to pay taxes and many others.
Inspiring police confidence
If the police inspire confidence among citizens, we can talk about social well-being in the state. Many authoritative scientists say this, noting that “Public opinion with the police is a barometer of progress and an indicator of how the state serves the interests and needs of the population”[1].
Every year, within the framework of the World Economic Forum, a voluminous report “The Global Competitiveness Report” is published, which contains a separate study on the effectiveness of police services in different countries[2]. Reliability, efficiency, and openness are assessed. At the same time, in addition to the assessment of experts, a survey of the population is also taken into account, during which citizens are asked the question “To what extent can you rely on police services to ensure order in your country?” These indicators are referred to as the Global Law and Order Index. Let’s present a sample of these data graphically in Fig. 1.
Fig. 1 → Law and Order Index (2022)
The highest level of trust in the police is in Singapore, and the lowest is in Afghanistan.
In total, 122 countries are represented in the report, there is no data on the PRC in it, but according to the results of the previous report, China had the third best result (94 out of 100).
Let us note that public opinion, in our case the level of trust in the police, has a significant impact on its activities. It is the trust of citizens that is a key factor in increasing the effectiveness of law enforcement, since with a high level of confidence in the police, citizens actively cooperate with police services, and report offenses, which in turn helps to more quickly solve crimes and resolve issues of their prevention and prophylaxis, and also helps to improve the crime situation.
The high level of citizens’ confidence in the activities of the police directly affects the social status of the policeman, increasing his significance and motivating him to work more efficiently.
We also note such a significant factor that significantly affects mutual understanding between society and the club is the transparency of the latter. Since openness and transparency of the activities of the police services contribute to a higher level of trust in them on the part of citizens.
Let us identify the main channels through which society can influence police activities:
- Public opinion provides feedback, informing law enforcement agencies how citizens assess their activities, thereby giving a signal about the need for changes, including systemic ones;
- Formed through public opinion, a positive image of a police officer attracts worthy people to the service and vice versa, weeds out unworthy applicants;
- The facts of violation of the law by the police, and violation of moral norms, which have become public knowledge and are circulated in the media, negatively affect the legal consciousness of society, and pose a threat to public safety and law and order[3].
In connection with the above and the analysis of the law and order index, a natural question arises – why in some countries, do citizens respect law enforcement officers, and trust the police, and in others, do not?
Researchers in many countries are dealing with this problem and trying to establish factors that affect the level of trust of the police population, operating at the national level, and which can be influenced in the context of public policy. To identify such factors, it is necessary to find out what is more important in shaping the attitude of citizens toward law enforcement officers:
- Efficiency and professionalism of police officers in the performance of their official duties;
- Image of the police officer, including his moral qualities;
- Personal experience of interaction with police officers;
- The level of legal awareness of citizens;
- Dominant culture and values;
- Trust in the state as a whole.
Of course, many factors affect the level of public confidence in police officers. Modern researchers distinguish three main groups from them, which are the most significant.
The first group is individual characteristics (both objective and subjective). Thus, it has been empirically proven that women and older citizens, persons with families and children, representatives of the wealthy segments of the population, and religious people, as a rule, have a more positive attitude toward the police. The same group of factors includes the political component – the attitude to the current political and legal system in the state.
The second group of factors is a direct characteristic of the activities of the police: crime rate; openness, availability of information; accountability to society; the state of safety in society; degree of centralization; internal organization; degree of repression, etc. Almost all researchers are unanimous that distrust of the police is a consequence of specific practices in its activities; indifference to official duties; incompetence; low moral level of employees; unreasonable and excessive use of special means and force; unequal treatment of citizens depending on their status, etc. The presence of these factors as typical for police officers indicates systemic problems in the activities of law enforcement agencies.
It is the proximity of the police to the population that is the main factor affecting the assessment of police activities by citizens of the state. The closer a police officer is to an ordinary citizen, the higher the police score. This means having partnerships with the local community, which are only possible if the police officer who directly works in the territory with the population is a professional and bearer of high moral qualities and can be a role model. Only in this case can we say that the interaction of the police and the population is based on common values. This is possible only if the police work closely with local authorities, local public organizations, and the population itself.
If a policeman directly working with the population is accessible, professional, and demonstrates human qualities, then society perceives him as a partner and defender of the interests and safety of ordinary citizens in everyday life.
European scientists note that a police officer working directly with the population (“on the ground”) knows well the conditions of the territory in which he works, is familiar with the majority of residents, and enjoys their respect, then the criminal situation in such areas is mostly prosperous, and vice versa, if such an employee is appointed to a position without taking into account local society, then the responsibility before him of such a policeman is blurred, including due to the lack of appropriate connections. In this case, relationships that are not based on trust become dominant, but only within the framework of official activities, which are not always productive[4].
Some studies on the relationship between the trust of the police population and the corresponding factors note the influence of the historical heritage that the modern police are forced to carry. For example, in countries where the police often acted as a predominantly repressive body that used their resources, including force against citizens (dictatorial regimes, military coups), citizens’ confidence in police officers is significantly lower than in countries with a long democratic history.
We believe that the presumption of confidence in the police in modern conditions should be considered in two main aspects:
─ As to the police – the institution of power;
─ As an individual police officer. At the same time, the latter ensures the level of public confidence in the police as a whole. It follows from this that the formation of a high level of citizens’ trust in the police involves a combination of public trust, a positive image, social relations, and effective interaction with the public.
It does not require additional justification that the degree of public confidence in the police is closely related to the behavior of each police officer with citizens, in compliance with ethical standards and not only in the line of duty but also in private life and everyday life. In establishing trusting relationships, many points are important: appearance, uniform, communication style, respectful attitude of a police officer to the dignity of citizens, his indifference to their problems, including elementary attention and sympathy.
The importance of ethical standards in police activities is recognized by most civilized countries, which have adopted and operate appropriate ethical codes of police conduct. So, in the European Code of Police Ethics, one of the goals of the police is to assist the population. This is a consequence of the introduction of a new concept “based on the idea of a transition from the traditional ideology of” fighting crime, “which presupposes the admissibility of all possible means of achieving goals, including violent, repressive means, to the ideology of” serving society “in the framework of police reform in foreign countries”[5].
According to this concept, in modern European criminology, the idea that police ethics is the basis for ensuring the moral qualities of police officers has become widespread. This activity is carried out by a special Expert Committee on Police Ethics, formed within the framework of the Council of Europe Committee on Crime. The expert committee developed recommendations for EU countries regarding the consideration of the moral qualities of candidates when recruiting for the police. At the same time, the application of these recommendations in practice faces certain difficulties, since there are no clear criteria for determining the moral qualities necessary for a modern policeman. Attempts by individual states to introduce testing to identify the professional integrity of candidates when recruiting for the police were mostly unsuccessful for many reasons, for example, due to the individualization of the moral and spiritual qualities of a person, their varying degree of manifestation, and the ability to apply moral imperatives in practical activities.
It should not be forgotten that the powers of a police officer are very voluminous and complex. As already noted, citizens want to be protected from various kinds of criminal encroachments, and the policeman already on the spot, based on the situation, decides how to fulfill the task of protection. At the same time, to serve and protect a policeman, he may face a difficult choice – to act according to the law or to act outside the rules, faced with those who, in their opinion, “are not law-abiding citizens or do not deserve constitutional protection”[6].
It does not follow from this that every policeman intends to act outside the law, most often they cannot adequately determine the border between good and evil in the process of law enforcement.
It has been established a priori that training is the best path to professionalism. In almost all educational institutions of the countries of the world in which personnel are trained for work in the police, the obligatory subject is “Ethics of professional activities” (moral education), the purpose of which is to instill knowledge of morality and morally values, to develop skills in using ethical norms and principles in the process of official activities, primarily in law enforcement and work with the population. At the same time, students themselves in police educational institutions consider this subject not the most important part of the educational process. In this aspect, it is appropriate to cite the opinion of researchers that “ethical practice is not just a matter of knowledge and compliance with a set of rules. It also requires the use of discretion and split-second judgments. A long list of rules will not help a police officer show common sense. A logical algorithm is needed to make the right ethical decision. It can only be learned, and then applied even though it is considered impossible to learn moral and ethical standards”.
Professionalism and training are closely intertwined, and most of the signs of high professionalism, which are determined by the police themselves, are the expected behavior of a police officer in the performance of his official powers. This is, first of all, conscientious and high-quality work. Among the most successful and trusted citizens are those police officers who can resolve the conflict without resorting to physical violence. This implies the urgent need to integrate ethics into all aspects of training, and above all in teaching skills on how and when to act. In other words, ethics training in the police profession is training to make the right decisions.
At the international level, the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials has been adopted.[7]
It applies to officials vested with police powers, primarily to detain offenders. They are ordered to “respect and protect human dignity, support and protect human rights about all persons, refrain from inhuman treatment, ensure the health of detainees, and provide medical care.” In other words, we can talk about some unified requirements for the moral character of a police officer. At the same time, the very component of this concept is still not entirely clear, since researchers dealing with this issue from the point of view of psychological, legal, ethical, and other branches of knowledge did not come to a consensus on the content of the moral character of the police officer, although everyone is unanimous that there is a direct correlation between this appearance and the trust of the population.
Some authors propose to consider this concept as “a steady habit of observing and fulfilling moral norms, as well as the conviction of their truth and expediency of application”[8].
Others suggest considering the moral character of a policeman as a combination of certain qualities that a policeman needs “fearlessness, determination, incorruptibility, the ability to come to the rescue even in case of danger to the life and health of the employee himself “[9].
In some sources, the emphasis is on such personal qualities as “stress resistance, sociability, the ability to use psychological methods of communication, defend one’s point of view and arouse the trust of citizens…,” others call “responsibility, empathy, diplomacy, tolerance, dominance, criticality, enterprise and flexibility in interpersonal contacts, as well as a constructive style of interpersonal interaction”[10].
Without denying the reliability of these positions, we note that in our opinion, the moral character of a policeman is a combination of professional and morally significant qualities that are realized in the course of law enforcement activities, everyday official and off-duty behavior, and communication. This approach is based primarily on the idea of serving the police to society and presupposes a high degree of social responsibility for their activities and behavior not only to the state but also to society, as well as to each of its members. Compliance with ethical standards by each police officer is a key factor in achieving a positive social result in the law enforcement sphere. Based on this, raising the level of professional ethics of each police officer is a mandatory and necessary element for the police to solve their professional tasks. This is due to the following factors:
- countering crime is not only a legal, but also a moral problem, since the fight against criminality and the causes that give rise to crime is impossible without strengthening the moral foundations of society, and vice versa, without countering violations of the law, it is impossible to ensure the development of moral values in their constructive and creative aspect;
- Police officers generally do not deal with the best representatives of society, which negatively affects their moral character, and in certain conditions can contribute to professional deformation, at the same time, the requirements of professional ethical standards impose on each police officer the obligation to be tactful, consistent and exert moral influence on the suspect, arrested, detained, convicted;
- In the context of increasing publicity regarding the activities of the police, the importance of professional morality in their activities increases significantly, since it is primarily negative manifestations that become public and broadcast in the media;
- The high level of ethical culture of the police officer disciplines citizens, has an educational effect on them, and also determines the degree of their confidence in the police as a whole.
Indeed, every policeman is the object of close attention of citizens not only in the service but also in everyday life. One whose purpose is to ensure order in society must meet higher ethical standards than ordinary citizens. And it’s not because police ethics differ from those of other professions, but because behavioral expectations and the consequences of professional failure are more public and problematic for police officers. Thus, we define the professional ethics of a policeman as certain moral requirements for his personality and behavior, which are determined by the specifics of their professional activities.
Morality could not serve as a universal regulator if its norms lost their commonality and universality, and about police officers, the requirements for their professional and ethical culture are higher than for ordinary citizens.
Everyone needs a sense of security, and citizens want to see in every police officer a defender who can protect his life, property, dignity, and interests from criminal encroachments; a role model that commands respect.
The results of numerous opinion polls demonstrate that citizens, evaluating the activities of the police, in the first place put “professionalism, the culture of behavior and general intellectual development of the police officer, effective, competent and confident performance of official duties, the desire for social justice and strict observance of the rule of law, as well as high moral, volitional, ethical qualities, the ability to take responsibility and resist any actions that violate the law, the rights and freedoms of citizens”[11].
Among the equally necessary qualities of a police officer, respondents include “decency, morality, kindness and empathy, generosity and desire to help a person in word and deed,” that is, compliance by police officers with basic ethical standards, citizens consider a key factor in strengthening the authority of the police, and, accordingly, trust in police officers.
In principle, the wishes and demands of citizens are humanly understandable and legitimate, since “law-abiding, tolerance, courage, decisiveness, politeness, accuracy, attentiveness, accuracy, dignity, collectivism and camaraderie, objectivity, fairness of assessment – a set of ethical values, which is minimally necessary for the effective activities of a police officer today.
Conclusion
As a result, we note that the requirements of modern society for the image, activity, and behavior of a police officer are very high. This is understandable since serving in the police is a special trust on the part of society and the state and determines the need for the police to comply with moral and ethical standards. Professional retraining, moral education of employees, discipline, mutual respect, and awareness of the importance of their activities are important in this process. In this regard, we consider it necessary to tighten the professional selection to institutions that train future police officers and attract the scientific community to develop adequate methods that would make it possible to reliably determine the moral and moral qualities of candidates for police service.
Public confidence in the police is closely interrelated with the moral character (image) of the policeman and his observance of ethical standards both in official activities and in private life. Police officers who demonstrate high moral and psychological stability and comply with the norms of professional ethics contribute to strengthening public confidence in the police.
REFERENCES
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