What Have You Done for Me Lately? Policing and Public Trust in Postwar Colombia

• In Event: Trust the Police? How Attitudes about the Police and Their Violence Are Made

Abstract

As one of the most frequent points of contact with citizens, police play a central role in shaping public perception of the state, especially among communities that experienced recent armed conflict. Evidence from North America suggests that improving the quality of individual interactions between police and citizens can enhance public trust. Yet research in conflict- affected societies has found that community policing and outreach programs have yielded mixed effects on public trust, and points to other factors like wartime experience and legacies of conflict. In Colombia, police expanded their presence in conflict-affected communities following the peace agreement with the FARC, but public attitudes toward the police have declined despite increased opportunities for interaction.

This paper examines the determinants of public trust in the aftermath of civil war through an
original survey and qualitative research conducted in Colombia in areas affected by prior or
ongoing armed conflict. I posit that public attitudes toward police in postwar communities
reflects police responsiveness to evolving security threats. In Colombia and other societies
affected by civil war, security threats evolve and change as new sources of insecurity emerge. In areas where the FARC has demobilized, new forms of violence among existing and emerging armed groups have arisen to threaten communities. Survey results suggest that public trust in police is more closely related to perceptions of police effectiveness and responsiveness to ongoing security concerns than to how the police communicate or interact with the public or to prior experiences during the armed conflict. Evidence from focus groups emphasizes public frustration with the police’s limited responsiveness to growing insecurity despite a more visible presence.

The findings help to clarify how public trust in police evolves in countries affected by armed conflict and large-scale violence. They contribute to research on policing and public safety in areas affected by violent conflict, with implications for postwar peacebuilding and democratization. The results suggest that the determinants of public trust in institutions vary significantly across societies and communities and highlight the effects of evolving security threats in influencing public attitudes toward the police and the state. They point to the need for further research on the role of police in societies affected by violent armed conflict.

Author

• Louis-Alexandre Berg, Georgia State University