VARSTVOSLOVJE,
Journal of Criminal
Justice and Security
year 11
no. 4
pp. 520-535
Democratic Policing:
a Comparison of Police
Officers’ Perceptions of
their Role and Functions in
Transitional Societies1
Mahesh K. Nalla
Purpose:
In this exploratory paper we examine the extent to which police officers
consider their role and function as “democratic policing.” More specifically, we
examined officers’ perceptions on various elements that constitute democratic
policing in three transitional countries, Slovenia, El Salvador, and Guatemala.
Design/Methodology/Approach:
Democratization is measured by the extent to which police officers’ views
differ on various dimensions of police functions and organizational philosophy.
Data for this study was gathered in 2006 from 1,340 respondents in three countries
in order to assess police officers’ perception which includes who they serve, police
accountability to law and citizens, and community policing.
Findings:
Findings indicate that an overwhelming percentage of police officers in El
Salvador and Guatemala, compared to Slovenian officers, view their primary
goal as serving people; feel very positive and optimistic about the citizen’s role in
working with the police; consider themselves accountable to citizens; believe in the
rule of law; and, are supportive and positive of community policing activities.
Research limitations/implications:
This preliminary and exploratory study offers a glimpse of police cultures
in various transitional countries. This research offers impetus to develop better
measures of various elements that constitute democratic policing. Additionally,
this research contributes to police organizations to develop policy and training
programs to bring a shift in police culture by developing training programs.
Originality/Value:
Transitional countries such as Slovenia in Eastern Europe and El Salvador
and Guatemala in Central America have made significant strides in shifting from
their past legacy of state centred/military nature of policing to more democratic
1
An earlier version of the paper was presented at the annual Midwest Criminal Justice Association
meetings, Chicago, Sept. 24-26, 2009
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policing. This transition offers an opportunity to examine to what extent police
officers’ views on what notions of rule of law and civil society appear congruent
with the notions of democratic policing as seen in developed market economies.
UDC: 351.74
Keywords: democratic policing, Slovenia Police, El Salvador Police, Guatemala
Police, comparative policing, police accountability, rule of law, civil society
1
INTRODUCTION
The concepts, functions, roles, and processes of police and policing evoke different
images depending on where one lives. For those living in western developed
democracies such as the United States and Great Britain the image of the police
represents an agent of the community who is empowered by the state to maintain
law and order and serve as protector and first responder. Even in these societies, the
concept has transformed over the past five decades. The term democratic policing
has meant different things to the U.S. Police in recent decades (Goldstein, 1977;
Bayley, 2006; Sklansky, 2008). The notion of policing in the early 1950s was one
of a beat patrol cop who worked with the community and had a wider mandate
of service. During the 1960s and 70s, the emphasis was placed more on crime
control and enforcement of laws, whilst between the 1980s and the present day,
a shift has occurred to what we now commonly refer to as community policing
(Sklansky, 2008; Weisburd and Braga, 2006) and community empowerment that
emphasizes transparency (Sklansky, 2008). These changes did not occur by sheer
accident. Democratic societies such as the U.S. have adopted many police reforms
over the last forty years since the first riots broke out in the early 1960s (Goldstein,
1977; Weisburd and Braga, 2006). One must keep in mind that even the notion of
what constitutes democracy, and thus what policing means in a democracy, has
also changed over recent decades. The underlying premise is that a police officer
serves as an agent of the community and his/her responsibility is to serve and
protect community members.
In contrast, the perception of police in authoritarian societies and countries
saddled with colonial history is one of a repressive and brutal state mechanism
designed to primarily protect state interests. More specifically, police are primarily
responsible for protecting the interests of the state and not those of the people; to
control populations instead of keeping them safe (e.g., Kadár, 2001; Kőszeg, 2001).
Additionally, police forces in these countries were more interested in eliminating
resistance to the government than in crime control and citizen services (Mawby,
2001). The images of policing in Eastern Europe are dominated by the imagery
of state police created by the Soviet Union that was exported to all its allies in the
region until the fall of the Berlin wall, which symbolized the end of centralized
economies and the emergence of new democracies. These transitional economies
in Central and Eastern Europe and in the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS) of the former Soviet Union have adopted an aggressive market economy
orientation. These economic shifts were accompanied by larger political and
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cultural transformations in these countries and this affected various governmental
functions including policing. Some countries (e.g., Slovenia), that became
independent from the former Republic of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s began the
transformation to building a democratic nation. This meant a rise in civil society
and rule of law, which are key ingredients for effective government regulation and
had a direct bearing on how police organizations began to transform themselves
(Gorenak, 1996) to act and look similar to their counterparts in other developed
democratic societies in the region.
While Eastern European countries were busy adopting democratic principles
of policing, other regions in Africa (e.g., Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of
the Congo) and Central America (e.g., El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua)
were busy in transitioning from war-to-peace or military to civilian rule. These
transformations have had a significant impact on the reorganization of their
police forces. The impact of these efforts on policing systems in these countries
was unique given the continuous presence of the military’s role in internal
security functions. The United Nations and the United States, among others, have
contributed in many ways to transform some of these nations into civil societies
that are guided by rule of law. This was accomplished by the transfer of internal
security functions to civilian police forces, training in human rights, exchange of
personnel and miscellaneous other means by which police organizational change is
accomplished with the central focus being the infusion of the notion of democratic
policing (a term that refers to police organizations whose primary goal is to protect
the fundamental rights of citizens) (Marenin, 1996).
These societal changes have brought about many changes in police
organizations around the world in terms of their objectives, goals, functions, and
styles of policing. The fundamental premise on which police organizations have
embarked on transforming themselves from an uncomplimentary and negative
imagery was to give first priority to the needs of the citizens. More importantly,
the goals that guide changes in police organizational philosophy in many of these
transitional democracies are: protection of human rights, transparency in police
activities, and being accountable to the law rather than to the government.
Despite these initiatives, very little research exists that examines the
democratization of police that has occurred in these transitional democracies. In
this paper we examine the extent to which police organizations have achieved
democratization in three countries, one from Eastern Europe (Slovenia) and two
from Central America (El Salvador and Guatemala). Democratization is measured
by the extent to which police officers’ views differ on various dimensions of police
functions and organizational philosophy. These include officers’ perceptions of who
they serve, police accountability, and community policing. We begin by describing
the contexts for the three countries, the nature of policing, the methodology for
data collection, and the findings.
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2
POLICING DEMOCRACTIC SOCIETIES
AND DEMOCRACTIC POLICING
Police in civil societies are distinct in that they represent a state governed by rule of
law but one that protects human rights and freedoms. The primary role of police in
democratic societies is to protect the fundamental rights of citizens and the primary
criteria for police governance includes equity, delivery of service, responsiveness,
distribution of power, redress, and participation (Jones, Newburn, Smith, 1998).
The idea is that although the police themselves cannot bring about political
democracy they can contribute to democratic political development (Bayley,
2006). Despite these grandiose goals, the notion of policing in a free (democratic)
society is an “anomaly” given the competing demands of allowing the exercise of
authority on the one hand and then limiting that authority (Goldstein, 1977). The
strength of democracies is directly related to the extent to which its citizens enjoy
liberty and freedom due to the ability with which police “discharge their duties”
(Goldstein, 1977). Police in democratic societies play a fine balancing act: they
not only cautiously exercise their limited authority granted by the Constitution
and legislative mandates but also make certain others do not violate citizens’
constitutionally guaranteed rights (Goldstein, 1977).
The primary focus on democratic policing is the citizen. Protecting citizen
rights is elevated to the protection of basic human rights with the police mediating
tension between “freedom-limiting searches” and aggressive enforcement (Pino
and Waitrowski, 2006). Essentially, police conduct is subject to rule of law that
values and respects human dignity; intervenes in citizen’s life under “limited and
controlled circumstances”; and is accountable to the public it serves (Marx, 2001).
Implicit in the role of police in democratic societies are the following elements
(Goldstein, 1977; Bayley, 2001; Marx, 2001):
−− The basic function is to serve the public by preventing crime and maintaining
order
−− Police service is directly dependent on the public approval of police existence
−− Police seek public approval but maintain impartiality in offering services to
all groups
−− Police intervene in the lives of citizens, albeit with strict limitations as provided
by the constitution and other legal provisions
−− Police use force to the extent that law is observed and order is restored
−− Police tend to mirror the socioeconomic, cultural, and other characteristics of
the community in which they serve
−− Police are part of, and not separate from, the community they serve
−− Finally, police are accountable to the public.
In sum, there is an assumption that police in democratic societies work for
the community in which they serve and that the citizens support the police to
effectively discharge their duties of crime prevention and order maintenance.
With democratic reconstruction occurring in many Eastern European countries
in recent decades, law enforcement agencies in these countries have begun the
transition to fit within the larger mission and scope of politically, economically,
and socially restructured societies. Since 1991 Slovenia, as one of the independent
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republics of the former Yugoslavia, has transitioned into a market economy,
adopting democratic principles which have signaled major shifts in institutional
cultures - including police organizations (Meško and Klemenčič, 2008). This shift
in organizational goals and values carries implications for job outcomes, potentially
including officer’s views about their primary work responsibility. Similar shifts
have occurred in some Central American states such as El Salvador and Guatemala
with the “civilianization” of police forces (Stanley, 1996).
However, organizations are often reluctant and resistant to change,
particularly law enforcement agencies. With democratic reconstruction occurring
in many Eastern European countries and civil war torn Central American states
in recent decades, law enforcement agencies in these countries have undergone
transformation to fit within the larger mission and scope of the politically,
economically, and socially restructured societies.
One of the concerns raised to determine if democratization of the political
system translates to democratic policing is how long one has to wait before
changes can be witnessed. That is, what is the exact date that the police switched
from one form of policing orientation to another (for example, from state centred
to democratic). Rzeplinski (2001) amusingly questions when it is exactly that
police officers’ perception of who they are occurs in transitional economies:
whether it should occur soon after the first free democratic elections; soon after the
appointment of a civilian police force placed under a civilian Ministry of Interior;
or, soon after the police organizations’ name change from “security” or “militia”
to police. While Rzeplinski acknowledges that the exact date of the turning point,
with respect to the social perception of the police, would be difficult to identify we
can assume that about a decade of change with states’ aggressively implementing
reforms provides a frame work to examine the extent to which the officers perceive
a change in their operational philosophy.
The second concern relates to what exactly does democratic policing mean
to the officers in these transitional economies and how do we compare how
democratic one police force is when compared to another. Babović (2000) argues
that what is commonly referred to as democratic police is unclear. He notes that
“[I]f democratization is understood to be a process which leads to the adaptation
of the relationship between two or more subjects towards certain democratic rules,
the problem of the democratization of the police highlights the prevalence of two
main aspects: attitude towards the law and attitude towards citizens”(Babović,
2000: 258).
He further notes that a police force can be considered democratic if it “respects
the law and human rights, and if it is under constant external control and oversight,
if in its mandate and in its practice equal attention is paid to the protection of
citizens on the one side, and to the protection of the state and its institutions on the
other, without any political, racial, ethnic or religious bias” (Babović, 2000:258).
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3
PRESENT STUDY
Context: Slovenia
Slovenia is located in Central Europe with Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia
bordering it. Slightly smaller than New Jersey, it has a land mass of 20,000 square
kilometres and a population of two million people. Slovenia was part of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire until it joined the Serbs and Croats to form Yugoslavia
in 1929. Due to dissatisfaction with the dominance of the Soviet Union in the
region, as well as a majority of Serbs, Slovenia became a republic of the renewed
socialist Yugoslavia after World War II. Slovenes succeeded in establishing their
independence in 1991 after a short ten-day war. Historical ties to Western Europe, a
strong economy, and a stable democracy have assisted in Slovenia’s transformation
to its current modern state. Slovenia acceded to both NATO and the EU in the
spring of 2004.
Prior to 1945, the Slovenian police organization looked no different to any
other socialist police department and was guided primarily by socialist ideology
and a centralized bureaucratic apparatus. During the period between 1945 and
1966, Slovenia, as part of the former Republic of Yugoslavia, had its own police
force consisting of police officers who were primarily Slovene. From 1967 onwards,
the police bureaucracy began to decentralize and in 1990, in preparation for its
independence from the Republic of Yugoslavia, had a three-tier organization at
the state, regional, and local levels. The primary goal was to secure public safety,
followed by state security and administrative internal affairs. After independence
in 1991, with the departure of Yugoslavian forces, the police organization had to
work on developing separate directorates for crime prevention, investigations, and
border security, among others.
In 1998, the Police Act was enacted which made formal the organizational
philosophy. Part of the philosophy focuses on developing a ‘Public Safety Project’
and also numerous cooperative programs with regard to its citizens. Out of
these efforts community oriented policing emerged. Unlike in the U.S., where
community policing means different things to different law enforcement agencies,
in Slovenia community policing efforts were uniform and involved numerous
players including the Mayor, representatives from schools, private security
companies, local businesses, and non-governmental organizations. On May 1,
2004, Slovenia became a member of the European Union and the Slovenian police
became responsible for the implementation of the Schengen regime. Because of
these huge social and political changes in the last twenty years, the Slovenian
police went through changes in terms of both work philosophy and organization.
In 2008 there were 9,300 police officers in Slovenia (http://www.policija.si/portal_
en/statistika/index.php).
El Salvador
El Salvador is located in Central America and is bordered by Guatemala, Honduras
and the Northern Pacific Ocean. It is a tiny nation, smaller than Massachusetts,
and has a land mass of 21,000 square kilometres and a population of a little over
seven million people. El Salvador achieved independence from Spain in 1821
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and from the Central American Federation in 1839. In 1992, following a 12-year
civil war, the government and leftist rebels signed a treaty that paved the way
for military and political reforms. The civil war resulted in over 75,000 casualties
due to fighting between the military and rebel guerillas. It was believed that the
military-led security forces tortured and murdered tens of thousands of farmers,
teachers, priests, students, trade unionists and human rights activists. As part of
the reforms, and as a response to the increasing crime, the Policía Nacional Civil
(National Civil Police or PNC) force was created after the National and Treasury
Police as part of the United Nations-brokered peace and U.S.-assisted support
for training and equipment for the civilian police force. This was a major shift in
policing philosophy that was dominant during the civil war when the National
Guard, the National Police, the Treasury Police, and other military forces operated
under the umbrella of the Ministry of War of the Military Government.
The shift in policy and orientation of civilian police2 could be attributed to
three major factors. The first is the governmental initiative to transform the civilian
police force with the enactment of a new constitution and criminal procedure code.
Second, civilian police forces have reached out to the neighbouring countries to
learn best practices in various aspects of police work. From 1999 to 2002, civil
police got a boost from cooperative programs from the United States’ Justice
Department’s International Criminal Investigation Training Assistance Program
(Amaya, 2006). Thirdly, citizen participation and media scrutiny of the police role
in crime prevention and human rights played a critical role in shaping the police
culture. Many local police headquarters initiated community-security plans where
citizen participation was invited and strongly encouraged. Today, there are over
16,000 NPC officers.
Guatemala
Like El Salvador, Guatemala, which is situated in Central America and shares
borders with Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, and Belize, went through a phase
of civil war between the years 1960 and 1966. Guatemala shares a similar history
with El Salvador. It was a Spanish colony until 1821, and during the second half of
the 20th century it was ruled by a range of military and civilian governments. After
a 36-year guerrilla war which left over 150,000 dead, 50,000 disappeared, and tens
of thousands fled abroad. In 1996 a peace treaty was signed by warring factions
which put an end to the conflict.
During the civil war, the security forces, primarily dominated by the military,
subjected the Guatemalan citizens to intense violence. The National Police (PN)
were understaffed, undertrained, corrupt, inefficient, and under-equipped. After
the peace accord major efforts were made to reorganize and reform the civilian
police. During the 1980s and 90s, with U.S. technical assistance, Guatemala adopted
a reformed Código Procesal Penal or Criminal Procedure Code. In 1994, with the
assistance of the United Nations, new reforms were introduced which include the
replacement of the civilian force with a new National Civil Police (PNC) located
within the Ministry of Interior. By late 1999, over 20,000 new police personnel
2
For a detailed description of civilianization of police in El Salvador see Stanley (1996).
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Mahesh K. Nalla
were hired and trained with support from the United States’ Justice Department’s
International Criminal Investigation Training Assistance Program.
A brief overview of all three countries suggests that, over the last few decades,
their police organizations have undergone dramatic changes in terms of their
structure, mission, and goals. The circumstances under which El Salvador and
Guatemala have emerged from civil wars and the manner in which civilianization
of the police has occurred suggests that these two countries are in some ways more
similar to each other than they are to Slovenia. Such developments give us an
opportunity to examine the extent to which reforms have been internalized by
police personnel and the variation in which they perceive the role and functions of
police work. More specifically, in this paper, we examine if police officers differ in
their views about the following issues that tap into the large guiding philosophies
relating to democratic policing. These include:
I. Their operational philosophy, that is, is their primary duty to serve the community
or the state? Specific issues include the following:
1. Officers in my unit know their primary duty is to serve the people of the
community.
2. Officers in my unit think of the citizens when they do their work.
3. Police officers have to be sensitive to the needs of the community in which
they work.
4. A police officer’s primary duty is to serve the government.
II. The extent to which they are accountable to the law and not the law onto itself.
Specific issues include the following:
5. Enforcing the law is by far a police officer’s most important responsibility.
III. Are police officers accountable to the democratic structures of the community?
Specific issues include the following:
6. Police officers have to be accountable to citizens for their acts.
IV. The extent to which the community is perceived to be supportive of the police
in crime prevention and order maintenance functions and community policing
programs. Specific issues include the following:
7. Citizens often call the police if they see something suspicious.
8. Citizens often provide information about a crime if they know something and
are asked about it by the police.
9. Citizens are willing to work with the police in trying to solve neighborhood
problems.
10. Programs such as Neighbourhood Crime Prevention (CoP) are a waste of time
and are useless.
3.1 Data
Data for this paper’s analysis is drawn from more comprehensive studies
conducted in 2006 in Slovenia, El Salvador, and Guatemala. A survey questionnaire
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on various issues relating to police organizational culture were framed which
included questions relating to the concept of democratic policing, as outlined
above. Questions were originally drafted in English, and were translated into
Slovene (for Slovenia) and Spanish (El Salvador and Guatemala) by professional
translators. These questions were then reverse-translated into English for validity
and reliability. Questions were framed by taking into account the local culture and
practices. Questions were framed to elicit responses on a Likert Scale of 1 through
5 where 1=strongly disagree and 5= strongly agree. Data for Slovenia came from
eleven police directorates in nine large, medium, and small cities. A total 1,100
surveys were distributed and the response rate was 90 %. Data for El Salvador
came from a random sample of 250 police officers in San Salvador, out of which 179
useable surveys were received, representing a 72 % response rate. Similarly, for
Guatemala, data came from a random sample of 250 police officers in Guatemala
City, out of which 166 usable responses were received, representing a response rate
of 66 %. Data for all three countries were collected in 2006.
3.2 Findings
I. Comparison of Officers’ Operational Philosophy in Guatemala, El Salvador,
and Slovenia
Police officers from the three countries were asked three questions on their
operational philosophy. Findings are presented in Tables 1 through 4. Three
questions relating to whether their primary duty is to serve the citizens and how
sensitive they should be about citizens’ needs were asked, along with a question
about whether their primary duty is to serve the government. Table 1 displays
the comparison of officers who agree/strongly agree; are neutral, and, disagree/
strongly disagree on the question of whether their primary duty as police officers
is to serve the people of their community.
Table 1:
Officers in my
unit know their
primary duty
is to serve the
people of the
community.
SA/A
(N/%)
155/87
143/86
327/33
Neutral
(N/%)
11 /6
10 /6
411/41
SD/D
(N/%)
13 /7
13 /8
257/26
Guatemala (N=179)
El Salvador (N=166)
Slovenia (N=995)
F-value
Responses rated 1=Strongly disagree through 5=Strongly Agree
* p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.000
Mean/SD
4.18/0.90
4.31/0.96
3.08/1.01
177.91***
Well over eighty Guatemalan (87 %) and El Salvadoran (86 %) police officers
strongly agree/agree that officers in their unit know their primary duty is to serve
the people of the community. Only a third of the Slovenian officers (33 %) felt the
same way. Interestingly, however, was that Slovenian officers appeared unsure
about their primary goal. Forty one percent of the Slovenian respondents were
neutral or unsure that their primary duty was to serve the public. Table 1 also
shows the mean score differences between the three countries.
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The scale is constructed with strongly disagree=1 to strongly agree=5 and the
mean comparisons for the three countries are all statistically significant. Compared
to the two Central American States, Slovenia’s mean score was 3.1 and hovers
around the neutral or unsure level.
Similar to these findings, overwhelmingly Guatemalan (79 %) and El
Salvadoran (81 %) officers think of citizens when they do their work (Table 2).
Only a third of the Slovenian officers strongly agree/agree that officers in their
unit think similarly. Among the officers who were neutral or unsure, once again,
Slovenian officers (42 %) remain unsure of whether or not they think of citizens
when they do their work.
SA/A
(N/%)
141/79
135/81
338/34
Neutral
(N/%)
23 /13
17 /10
415/42
SD/D
(N/%)
15 /8
14 /8
242/24
Guatemala (N=179)
El Salvador (N=166)
Slovenia (N=995)
F-value
Responses rated 1=Strongly disagree through 5=Strongly Agree
* p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.000
Mean*/SD
4.01/0.95
4.16/0.98
3.11/0.99
125.51***
Table 2:
Officers in my
unit think of
the citizens
when they do
their work.
The mean differences between the three countries suggest that both of the
Central American States are more closely oriented to their work affecting citizens
compared to the Slovenian officers. The mean differences between the three
counties suggest statistically significant findings with El Salvador having the
highest mean score (Mean=4.16) followed by Guatemala (Mean=4.01), and Slovenia
(Mean=3.11).
We asked the respondents in the three countries if police officers have to be
sensitive to the community’s needs in which they work (Table 3). Over eighty
percent of the Guatemalan (87 %) and El Salvadoran (86 %) officers strongly agree/
agree compared to only half of the Slovenian officers (53 %). Once again, relative to
the Central American States, more Slovenian officers (34 %) were unsure about this
issue. The mean score for the Central American States were similar to the above
reported questions with mean scores well over 4.0 and the Slovenian officers’ mean
score was 3.57. The mean differences between the three countries were statistically
significant.
SA/A
(N/%)
155/87
143/86
527/53
Neutral
(N/%)
11/6
5/3
342/34
SD/D
(N/%)
13 /7
18 /11
126/13
Guatemala (N=179)
El Salvador (N=166)
Slovenia (N=995)
F-value
Responses rated 1=Strongly disagree through 5=Strongly Agree
* p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.000
Mean*/SD
4.14/0.89
4.16/1.03
3.57/0.98
44.63***
Table 3:
Police officers
have to be
sensitive to the
community
needs in which
they work.
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In addition to the questions relating to their duty to citizens, officers were
also asked if their primary duty was to serve the government. The findings
reveal interesting differences (Table 4). Thirty nine percent of the Guatemalan
officers strongly agree/agree that their primary duty is to serve the government
while 25 % of the El Salvadoran officers think similarly. However, in the case of
Slovenian officers, only 10 % strongly agree/agree that their primary duty is to
serve the government. If we examine the distribution of their responses across
the board, findings suggest that a similar percentage of respondents were unsure
or ambiguous about whether their primary duty is to serve the government. The
mean differences were statistically significant.
Table 4:
Police officers’
primary duty
is to serve the
government.
SA/A
(N/%)
70 /39
41 /25
96 /10
Neutral
(N/%)
34 /19
29 /17
194/19
SD/D
(N/%)
75 /42
96 /58
705/71
Guatemala (N=179)
El Salvador (N=166)
Slovenia (N=995)
F-value
Responses rated 1=Strongly disagree through 5=Strongly Agree
* p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.000
Mean*/SD
3.06/1.29
2.51/1.30
1.96/1.09
77.03***
Though there is an overwhelming perception that an officer’s primary goal is to
serve the citizens, when asked whether or not their role is to serve the government,
Guatemalan and El Salvadoran officers appeared uncertain about their operational
philosophy, which is slightly different from Slovenian officers. Clearly, Slovenian
officers did not believe their primary goal is to serve the government, at the same
time, only a third of the officers believe their primary goal is to serve citizens.
II. Comparison of Officers’ Perceptions of Accountability to the Law in
Guatemala, El Salvador, and Slovenia
Table 5:
Enforcing the
law is by far a
police officers’
most important
responsibility.
SA/A
Neutral
SD/D
(N/%)
(N/%)
(N/%)
Guatemala (N=179)
138/77
14 /8
27 /15
4.06/1.18
El Salvador (N=166)
135/81
3/2
28 /17
4.20/1.21
Slovenia (N=995)
582/58
297/30
116/12
3.71/1.06
F-value
Mean*/SD
19.69***
Responses rated 1=Strongly disagree through 5=Strongly Agree
* p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.000
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Mahesh K. Nalla
The second dimension relates to officers’ views on accountability by way of
law enforcement, in contrast to being the law onto itself (Table 5). Eighty percent
of the El Salvador officers strongly agree/agree that enforcing the law is by far
his/her most important responsibility, whereas 17 % strongly disagree/disagree.
Seventy-seven percent of the Guatemalan officers and, to a lesser extent, Slovenian
officers (58 %), distinguish law enforcement as the most important responsibility of
a police officer. Nearly a third of the Slovenian officers (30 %) remain unsure about
this issue, a number much greater than the two Central American states. The mean
differences are statistically significant.
III. Comparison of Officers’ Perceptions of Accountability to the Citizens in
Guatemala, El Salvador, and Slovenia
Guatemala (N=179)
SA/A
Neutral
SD/D
(N/%)
(N/%)
(N/%)
129/72
25 /14
25 /14
Mean*/SD
3.93/1.13
El Salvador (N=166)
112/67
23 /14
31 /19
3.83/1.28
Slovenia (N=995)
491/49
311/31
193/19
3.43/1.14
F-value
19.94***
Responses rated 1=Strongly disagree through 5=Strongly Agree
Table 6:
Police officers
have to be
accountable to
the citizens for
their acts.
* p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.000
An organization such as the police typically strives for accountability and
transparency (Table 5). Over two-thirds of Guatemalan (72 %) and El Salvadoran
(67 %) police officers agree that the police have to be accountable to their citizens
for their acts. While slightly less than half of the Slovenian officers think the same,
a third of their colleagues remain neutral about police officers being accountable to
citizens for their acts. The mean scores reflect a general leaning towards agreement
amongst officers in the three countries but the mean differences are statistically
significant.
IV. Comparison of Officers’ Perceptions of Citizen Support and Community
Policing in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Slovenia
In this section the officers were asked about their perceptions regarding
citizen support for police work as well as community policing activities. In Table 7,
findings on officers’ views on whether citizens call the police if they see something
suspicious addresses the domain of police-citizen relationships. Compared to
Slovenian offices (33 %), over two-thirds of Guatemalan (70 %) and El Salvadoran
(78 %) officers strongly agree/agree that citizens in their countries call the police if
they see something suspicious, suggesting a strong faith in citizen support. Also
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noteworthy on this issue is the distribution of the Slovenian officers’ responses on
this question. The officers appeared evenly divided (about a third) on each of the
three categories on which the answers were coded. This suggests that there is some
element of ambiguity or uncertainty of a citizen’s relationship with the police.
Table 7:
Citizens often
call the police
if they see
something
suspicious.
SA/A
(N/%)
125/70
130/78
330/33
Neutral
(N/%)
16 /9
15 /9
379/38
SD/D
(N/%)
38 /21
21 /13
286/29
Guatemala (N=179)
El Salvador (N=166)
Slovenia (N=995)
F-value
Responses rated 1=Strongly disagree through 5=Strongly Agree
* p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.000
Mean*/SD
3.65/1.07
4.02/1.07
3.07/1.03
73.97***
More often than not, citizens witness a crime before anyone else does. They
play an important role in sharing pertinent information with the police and are
the ones who call them when a crime occurs. One of the elements of policing –
reactive policing – is heavily dependent on citizens sharing information with them
and officers hold expectations about this happening. However, a relatively small
percentage apparently provide information about a crime if they know something
and are asked about it by the police (Table 8). For instance, in Guatemala 31 %
of the officers strongly agree/agree that citizens often provide information about
a crime if they know something and are asked about it by the police; 46 % do
not think likewise. Only 22 % of Slovenian officers share this sentiment while
42 % remain unsure. Overall, this table suggests that, with the exception of El
Salvadoran officers, officers were less enthusiastic about the citizens’ trust in the
police.
Table 8:
Citizens
often provide
information
about a crime
if they know
something and
are asked by
police.
SA/A
(N/%)
56 /31
75 /45
216/22
Neutral
(N/%)
40 /22
33 /20
418/42
SD/D
(N/%)
83 /46
58 /35
361/36
Guatemala (N=179)
El Salvador (N=166)
Slovenia (N=995)
F-value
Responses rated 1=Strongly disagree through 5=Strongly Agree
* p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.000
Mean*/SD
2.87/1.06
3.23/1.26
2.82/0.92
12.84***
Citizens willing to work with the police in trying to solve neighbourhood
problems is an important element within the community policing model. Police
officers’ perceptions of a citizen’s willingness to work with police to solve
neighbourhood problems (e.g., community policing) are presented in Table 9.
Among the three countries, El Salvadoran officers, like in the previous table, were
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Mahesh K. Nalla
positive about a citizen’s willingness to work with the police. Once again, Slovenia
scored low on this item with a high percentage (45 %) of the officers remaining
neutral or ambiguous. The mean differences are statistically significant.
SA/A
(N/%)
66 /37
78 /47
288/29
Neutral
(N/%)
34 /19
31 /19
445/45
SD/D
(N/%)
79 /44
57 /34
262/26
Guatemala (N=179)
El Salvador (N=166)
Slovenia (N=995)
F-value
Responses rated 1=Strongly disagree through 5=Strongly Agree
* p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.00
Mean*/SD
2.94/1.09
3.24/1.24
3.01/0.91
4.71**
Table 9:
Citizens are
willing to work
with the police
and try to solve
neighbourhood
problems.
Finally, the officers were asked directly about the issue of neighbourhood
crime prevention programs (e.g., community policing) and whether they are a
waste of time (Table 10). Eighty eight percent of the police officers in Guatemala
find a neighbourhood crime prevention program a useful tool to ensure the safety
of citizens. Only a minor percentage of officers find the program a waste of time
and useless. Similarly, 80 % of the El Salvadoran officers find the program useful;
however 13 % do not agree. The mean differences are statistically significant.
SA/A
(N/%)
13 /7
22 /13
72 /7
Neutral
(N/%)
9/5
12/7
291/29
SD/D
(N/%)
157/88
132/80
632/64
Guatemala (N=179)
El Salvador (N=166)
Slovenia (N=995)
F-value
Responses rated 1=Strongly disagree through 5=Strongly Agree
* p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.00
4
Mean*/SD
1.95/0.87
2.04/1.19
2.14/0.99
2.95*
Table 10:
Programs
such as
Neighbourhood
Crime
Prevention
(CoP) are a
waste of time
and are useless.
CONCLUSION
With the notion of democratic policing comes certain imagery. This refers to police
operational philosophy and guiding principles about the work and includes their
primary mission, accountability, and the nature of citizen cooperation with the
police. We take for granted that the police operational philosophy in the United
States and other Western developed democracies is that their primary mission is to
serve the public, enforce the law, and be accountable to the public. However, it is
unclear if police officers in other countries think similarly, particularly in transitional
countries that have moved away from socialist and militaristic ideologies to
more democratic principles. We chose three countries, one from Eastern Europe
and two from Central America, which have become new democracies in recent
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decades. In this exploratory study, we find that, to a large extent, El Salvadoran
and Guatemalan police officers’ views appear consistent with assumptions we
hold for the U.S. and other developed democracies in terms of what we consider
democratic policing. That is, an overwhelming percentage of police officers in
these countries consider their primary goal is to serve the public and they feel
very positive and optimistic about the citizen’s role in working with the police
and consider themselves accountable to the citizens and believe in the rule of law.
Finally, the officers in these two countries also are overwhelmingly supportive and
positive of community policing activities compared to Slovenia.
Compared to the Central American states, Slovenian officers were slightly less
supportive of the democratic policing issues and in many instances ambivalent.
These differences could be due to the fact that the Slovenian officers sampled
include all officers, including those who are assigned to border security, a function
that was incorporated as part of the larger civilian police function. The findings
may be masked given the specific role border patrol officers engage in and the
frequency with which their roles bring them into contact with citizens. Future
research could help us to understand the differences among the specific groups to
provide a sense of the extent to which police organizations in different democracies
are democratic.
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About the Author:
Mahesh K. Nalla, Ph.D., Professor, School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State
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