Examining cooperation with the police in a national security environment

ABSTRACT

Threats of terrorism on a national and global level have catalysed the introduction of a series of national security measures within Australia. The nature of these measures has put pressure on the role of police and the willingness of citizens to cooperate with police in their regular duties. This study uses the National Security and Preparedness Survey to examine the extent to which the perceived effectiveness of such measures influences individual perceptions of procedural justice of the police and people’s willingness to cooperate with law enforcement. Particular attention is paid to the role of procedural justice in influencing perceptions of police in the national security context. The findings highlight the factors that are important for enhancing positive attitudes towards law enforcement agencies in a post 9/11 environment driven by national security threats.

KEYWORDS:

• Policing
• national security
• procedural justice
• cooperation

Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security (CEPS) and the Queensland Government for their support in the collection of this data, and also to Dr Suzanna Fay-Ramirez, for her counsel.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security (CEPS) [SP07000002], The University of Queensland, and the Queensland Government. In kind support was provided by The University of Queensland, the Queensland Government, and the Australian Institute of Criminology.