Czech police officers: An exploratory study of police attitudes in an emerging democracy

Following the velvet revolution of 1989 and the adoption of a democratic form of government, Czech policing has experienced a plethora of changes resulting in a new police force that has been understudied to date. This research seeks to address this void using an exploratory approach that utilizes survey research to gauge the attitudes of 70 Czech police officers regarding crime and criminal justice policies; police and government involvement in social and order maintenance problems; and police practices in the Czech Republic (e.g. community-oriented policing). Several factors - historical, ideology and job tenure - are considered as potential explanations for observed trends in officer attitudes. The results indicate that there are no clear patterns to these officers' attitudes.