Predictors of Citizens' Satisfaction and Trust in Police as a Function of Good Governance and Cooperative Culture

Abstract

The role of police institutions in developing law-and-order situations and protecting citizens’ lives and valuables is of immense importance worldwide. Based on the social learning theory, the current study examines the extent to which police performance, accountability, and moral alignment with the community develop and enhance the trust among the citizens via an underlying mechanism of their satisfaction level with police institutions based on their services’ delivery. Data were collected from the citizens of various administrative units in Jakarta, Indonesia. Structural equation modeling using SmartPLS 3.3.3 software was applied to assess the variables' psychometric properties and verify the study's hypothesized links. The results revealed the significant and positive impact of police performance, accountability, and alignment with moral values on citizens' trust directly and via an underlying mechanism of citizens' satisfaction. However, the intensity of the results varied, and the accountability of the police was the strongest predictor of citizens' trust. In addition, the current study brings valuable insights for academicians and practitioners to focus more on training police officials to make them responsible for fulfilling their obligations towards the citizens based on their higher level of recognition of accountability towards the nation.