Community policing in Danish “ghetto” areas: Trust and distrust between the police and ethnic minority youth

TY - JOUR

T1 - Community policing in Danish “ghetto” areas

T2 - Trust and distrust between the police and ethnic minority youth

AU - Kammersgaard, Tobias

AU - Søgaard, Thomas Friis

AU - Haller, Mie Birk

AU - Kolind, Torsten

AU - Hunt, Geoffrey

PY - 2023/2

Y1 - 2023/2

N2 - Recent years have seen trends within police to use different forms of “community policing” strategies that aim to foster closer relationships and trust with citizens, as well as an orientation toward “procedural justice” in law enforcement practices. Based on 25 interviews with police officers in two different police precincts in Denmark, this article explores the policing of ethnic minority youth in so-called “ghetto” areas from the perspectives of police officers. In doing this, we describe the specific challenges and strategies in implementing such policing methods in neighborhoods where some residents display low trust or even hostility toward the police. The article sheds light on the emotional, organizational, and practical challenges involved in doing community policing in marginalized neighborhoods and the way in which this shapes how community policing is being organized in practice.

AB - Recent years have seen trends within police to use different forms of “community policing” strategies that aim to foster closer relationships and trust with citizens, as well as an orientation toward “procedural justice” in law enforcement practices. Based on 25 interviews with police officers in two different police precincts in Denmark, this article explores the policing of ethnic minority youth in so-called “ghetto” areas from the perspectives of police officers. In doing this, we describe the specific challenges and strategies in implementing such policing methods in neighborhoods where some residents display low trust or even hostility toward the police. The article sheds light on the emotional, organizational, and practical challenges involved in doing community policing in marginalized neighborhoods and the way in which this shapes how community policing is being organized in practice.

KW - Community policing

KW - deprived neighborhoods

KW - ethnic minorities

KW - procedural justice

KW - trust

U2 - 10.1177/17488958211017390

DO - 10.1177/17488958211017390

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1748-8958

VL - 23

SP - 98

EP - 116

JO - Criminology & Criminal Justice

JF - Criminology & Criminal Justice

IS - 1

ER -