Faculty Publications

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-26-2019

Publication Title

Journal of Crime and Justice

Volume

43

Issue Number

1

First Page

78

Last Page

92

DOI

10.1080/0735648X.2019.1582350

Keywords

Trinidad and Tobago, police legitimacy, crime, corruption

Disciplines

Criminology | Criminology and Criminal Justice | Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance

Abstract

Violent crime in Trinidad and Tobago has increased over the last two decades, yet the police have been largely unsuccessful in reducing violence. Between 1999 and 2016, the murder rate increased by 475%. Despite the fact that the murder rate has increased, approximately 76 homicides are cleared each year, resulting in a low-homicide clearance rate. Using 40 semi-structured interviews with community members from a high-crime, low-income community in Trinidad and Tobago, this study examines residents’ experiences with police officers, and respondents’ willingness to work with the police to clear criminal cases. The results indicate that due to a lack of institutional trust, citizens are unwilling to trust and work collaboratively with most police officers. Policy implications from this research will be discussed.

Comments

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in the Journal of Crime and Justice on February 26, 2019 available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/0735648X.2019.1582350.

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