Gender, Victimisation, Perceived Risk and Perceptions of Police Performance in Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods

Abstract

Although research on the public's attitudes towards the police has a long history, and gender has long been considered a potential correlate, theoretical and empirical development concerning the role of gender in forming positive or negative attitudes towards the police is limited. In this paper we approach this issue in three ways to understand better how gender may or may not affect attitudes towards the police among a sample of residents in disadvantaged neighbourhoods in two south-eastern cities. We find that the total bivariate effect of gender in the sample is small and not statistically significant. However, there is some evidence that gender plays a distal causal role because women feel less safe or at greater risk of victimisation, but are less likely to be victimised or confronted with a drug dealer. Theoretical and policy implications are provided.