Citizens' satisfaction with police in Guangzhou, China

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine citizens' satisfaction with police in Guangzhou, China and is aimed at answering two research questions: what is the general pattern of Guangzhou citizens' satisfaction with police; and what variables are salient in predicting satisfaction with police? Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected from a random sample of approximately 1,200 residents nested in 30 neighborhoods in Guangzhou, China. Hierarchical linear modeling was used for the data analysis. Findings - First, the majority of residents in Guangzhou held generally positive attitudes toward the police. Second, demographic characteristics were weakly related to satisfaction with police. Third, perception of police legitimacy was associated with evaluations of police performance. Finally, perceived neighborhood crime problems led to lower levels of satisfaction with police. Research limitations/implications - This research used cross-sectional data. Thus, the relationships between independent and dependent variables examined in this study are functional but not necessarily causal. Practical implications - Police in Guangzhou should seek ways to improve their relationship with never married residents and mitigate citizens' negative perceptions of neighborhood crime problem through various community policing programs, such as holding routine meetings with residents to discuss crime and disorder situations in the neighborhoods. Police in Guangzhou should also continue to inform local residents about the legal right of police to issue commands and increase levels of perceptions of police legitimacy and willingness to follow police instructions. Originality/value - This is the first paper to examine the correlates of satisfaction with Chinese police at the individual and neighborhood levels simultaneously. Using a random survey of citizens, along with methodological improvement in measurement and modeling, this paper provides readers with more accurate and representative information about public evaluations of Chinese police than previous studies.