Policy Reference for Improving Community SAFETY: Factors That Determine the Citizen Satisfaction with Police Service in KOREA and the U.S

Abstract

Police service include police protection for all citizens, including law enforcement and crime prevention. This service is distinct from other public services because it enforces governmental rule regardless of citizen agreement, and it is provided exclusively in special fields like crime investigation, construction, protection, etc. As the government came to assume more responsibilities from citizens, assessment of police performance grew in importance. Perhaps the most effective way of evaluating performance is to focus on the degree of citizens' satisfaction. Various preliminary studies have found citizen satisfaction with police service is an important factor to consider for many reasons. First, citizen satisfaction offers information and knowledge required for the police to make decisions. Second, it allows the police to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their own departments. Third, release of citizen evaluation promotes the sense of responsibility and accountability of the police. Fourth, the evaluations make up the limit of objective performance indices like crime rate, arrest rate, etc. This study analyzed the factors that contribute to citizen satisfaction with police service in KOREA and in the U.S. To that end, NDSI model was used instead of SERVQUAL model, which is frequently used in public service fields. NDSI model is different from the existing model in that it stresses the importance of public services delivered, including location, facility, time, and method. This study included 346 Koreans and 282 Americans. In KOREA, survey questionnaires were collected from citizens who have lived in Daejeon (Korea’s fifth largest city, population 1.5 million) from January through June, 2016. In the United States (U.S.), residents of Cincinnati, OH were surveyed from June through October, 2016. The surveys here included online students as well. The survey revealed that the two most important factors in both countries affecting citizen satisfaction with police service involve police facilities and processing capacity. KOREA was lower than the U.S. in the citizen satisfaction with police facility. It was found that high evaluation of police facility and work processing capacity the common actors in KOREA and in the U.S. affected higher satisfaction of citizens. In KOREA police facility was shown to affect citizens satisfaction more than work processing capacity. Meanwhile in the U.S., work processing capacity was more influential. The remaining factors, police service development and services (KOREA) and police policy (U.S.) also displayed positive effects on citizen satisfaction.