Police Visibility as an Influencing Factor on Citizens' Perception of Safety

Purpose: The objective of this research was to determine to what extent tactics based on police visibility can influence one of the important segments of safety, i.e. citizens' subjective feeling of safety. The research was conducted in order to determine the connection among various aspects of police visibility, being predictor variables, with sense of safety. Design/Methods/Approach: The data for this research were collected on a sample containing 1,096 respondents, which can be considered representative of the Republic of Croatia based on socio-demographic characteristics. Beside seven socio-demgraphic variables, the questionnaire used in the research contained 34 variables found in following sub-scales for: perception of crime victimization risk and frequency; perception of feeling of safety and assessment of self-protection ability; perception of incivilities that disrupt the public order; perception of the presence of problematic categories of persons; perception of police visibility. The data were processed by using multivariate regression and multivariate quasi-canonical analyses. Findings: The research results point to a statistically significant, yet relatively weak connection between the components of police visibility and the sense of safety. On the one hand, police foot patrols and dealings towards persons disrupting public order in the neighbourhood have a positive effect on citizens' feeling of safety; on the other hand, police car patrols have an opposite effect. Practical Implications: This research is important not only due to providing scientific evidence for the connection between police visibility and citizens' sense of safety, but also due to significant practical implications on police dealings. When planning police fieldwork, negative aspects of car patrols on the perception of safety have to be taken into account. What should be considered are new, alternative forms of fieldwork, which enable the intervention ability of police, as well as which allow for foot patrols and contacts between citizens and the police in non-incident situations. Originality/Value: This research is the first research focusing on the influence of police visibility on the feeling of safety of citizens in Croatia. Considering the used metodology the research is an original scientifical contribution to the understanding of the impact of police field work to citizens' safety.