CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM

Background of the study

Police officers have only a set of narrowly defined objectives- and a body of law that is
continually subjected to revision and interpretation - to guide them. Given the urgency of the
plight in which police usually find themselves, it is a wonder that the police are able to perform
their duties with as little controversy as they do. There is no question that many times police are
forced to act intuitively. Yet, this is not the characterization of police that is rendered to the
public. Police work is rarely presented to the public in a positive light. The thousands of acts
each day that police officers perform are rarely recognized. Groups that profit from police
controversies begin campaigns demonizing police. Their propaganda campaign is used to
discredit the police and simple errors bring them to the front pages of newspapers. Public
perception of the police becomes disfigured. Experts define public perception as the difference
between an absolute truth based on facts and a virtual truth shaped by popular opinion, media
coverage and/or reputation. Celebrities, politicians and even police organizations faced the same
scrutiny by the public they serve, and it can be very difficult to overcome a negative public
perception (PRC Manual, 2012).

Public perception is not necessarily inaccurate or based on something other than the truth.
The public at large can often receive enough factual information in order to form a general
opinion about a public figure, celebrity or industry without relying on innuendo or unfounded
rumors. There can be instances, however, when public perception of a situation is affected by
other issues, such as cultural bias or prejudice. A defendant accused of a heinous criminal act
may or may not be guilty of the actual crime, but public perception of that type of crime can be
difficult for a jury to ignore while deliberating. (August 24, 2012).

There is a prevailing perception that police officers are antagonistic to any civilian review
process. This perception also includes the assumption that all police officers are one in
denouncing any civilian review. Indiana University, South Bend, Indiana, USA)

1.1 Public Perception of Police Work in USA

The positive shift towards the public perception based police work in USA has found
from last hundred years .The complex racism view is minor at USA now because the principles
of USA police service are maintaining effectively through equality, justice, fairness and minimal
government intrusion (Renauer and Covelli, 2011). The level of satisfaction of people about
police function has increased a lot in recent fifty years (Hawdon, 2008). Public experiences
different supports from police to ensure social justice in USA (Maguire and Johnson, 2010).
African Americans particularly less extent, Hispanic and Asian Americans has found to have less
favorable views of police than whites. The police atrocity, misconduct and other types of
haziness also found in America but the cases of injustice become low (Nix et al., 2015).
1.2 Public Perception of Police Work in India

India is the largest country of South Asian sub-continent with a population of twelve
hundred million where two types of police found (Nickels and Verma, 2008). One is the police of
the individual state and other is the national police which work under the command of central
authority (Madan and Nalla, 2015). There have high level of corruption in the police officials in
India but the national police officers have shown their dedication to work (Kumar, 2014).
Research findings represent the failure of police force at many cases to detect the crime and
failed at crime prevention strategy (Madan and Nalla, 2015). Crime prevention is getting top
priority rather than crime detection in India (Kumar, 2014) where the position of the Police Act
(1861) was conceded for ordering the police force in Bangladesh (Uddin, 2009; Khondaker et al.,
2013). Bangladesh police branch has range police, special service, crime investigation, railway
police, armed police battalion, metropolitan police, highway police and rapid action battalion
(RAB) services (Lambert et al., 2010). Bangladesh police acts as friends or partners of
community people at all the districts of the nation (Safer World, 2012). The Lawlessness is a
common problem for Bangladesh where many cases are assumed to be ineffective to deal with
social crimes and chaos (Islam and Mahmud, 2015). Police has complicit ruling efforts in the
society for crime prevention activities.

People have perception that police force is using by ruling party’s efforts to suppress
political oppositions by the study of Lambert et al., (2010). Few research finding represents the
police personnel are being corrupt and they do not support people to get justice (Uddin, 2009;
Maguire and Johnson, 2010; Barton and Beynon, 2011; Safer World, 2012; Madan and Nalla,
2015; Aviv and Weisburd, 2016). The study of Khondaker et al., (2013) represents 5,000
Bangladeshi households survey where 97 percent of the households have contact with law
enforcement and they are experiencing corruption at police department. People and media are
highlighting the weak points of police force but they less highlight the success of police at crime
prevention (Islam and Ali, 2008). Police force is responsible for crime control and mass media
plays vital role to control police activities for ensuring social justice (Islam and Mahmud, 2015).
The public perception about police remains silent and people think Police are accused to use
excessive force of ruling party (Safer World, 2012). The RAB is formed in 2003 to deal with
serious crime and terrorism but has accused to being engagement with over 600 extra-judicial
killing (Lambert et al., 2010). The study of Uddin (2009) represents RAB is accused to
widespread human rights violations and torture. Therefore, the public perception about police
work in Bangladesh is not good where ethical justice requires developing within police activities.

1.4 Public Perception of Police Work in Japan

Japan is a peace loving country and is one of the most developed countries in the world
(Nickels and Verma, 2008). Japan is considered as the paradise of peace (Norton, 2007). The
connection between the public and police is high where police get best support from public to
maintain law and order justice. The morality of police officers is high in Japan where many
western countries fail to ensure police officers moral activities (Nickels and Verma, 2008). The
Japanese police maintain non-authoritarian manner and highly responsive to public opinion.
Japanese police is friendly with public and they restrain constitutional rights and become highly
accountable to local communities. The Japanese younger are less religious and conservative and
less happy those have low confidence on police (Norton, 2007). However, married, more
religious, more conservative and happier people have high confidence on Japanese police.

1.5 Public Perception of Police Work in UK

The British police force is popularly known as imperial police because of long tradition
of policing in United Kingdom (UK). The colonial time based police force has momentum to
carry legacy at Indian sub-continent (Houdmont, 2012). Therefore, British police has undergone
a revolutionary change after the decentralization process at UK society (Merry et al., 2012).
Most important finding of British Crime Survey (BCS) in 2009-10 represents the public
confidence on police work has increased a lot (Barton and Beynon, 2011). BCS shows the
growing tendency of community to work and co-operate with police to reduce crime from
society. The community people inform police about community issues to detect crimes and to
protect the crime to ensure social justice (Houdmont, 2012). British police works with local
council that matters for crime reducing operation (Barton and Beynon, 2011). British people
have high level of positive perception about police works and elder persons more than 35 years
old have strong confidence on police works (Merry et al., 2012).

How does an officer’s physical appearance influence public opinion? Recent events
involving police use of force have compelled law enforcement to spend more time considering
their relationship with the communities they serve and how to improve the public’s perception of
officers and their role in the community. In addition to public outreach programs designed to
bring citizens in contact with officers in constructive, positive ways, recent research suggests that
an officer’s appearance can influence public opinion. “It is possible that even mere presence
factors (i.e., absent contact), such as the appearance of police officers in different attire and
patrol capacities, may be enough to impact their perceived approachability, accountability,
respectability, and so on,” posits Rylan Simpson, a doctoral candidate in the Department of
Criminology, Law and Society at the University of California, Irvine, in his recent research
paper, “The Police Officer Perception Project (POPP): An experimental evaluation of factors
that impact perceptions of the police,” published in the Journal of Experimental Criminology.

Simpson strives to extend previous research by identifying how police attire and patrol
strategies influence public opinion. “My interest in mere presence and the effects of such
presence on perceptions of the police motivated my current research,” Simpson said of his work.
“Although few people engage with the police under formal conditions, most people observe the
police at least on a semi frequent basis: at traffic lights, civic centers and community events. I
was curious how these informal, and often unceremonious, observations of the police impact the
ways in which citizens perceive officers.” (Rebecca Waters, May 14, 2018)

Even without scandals such as the recent ones in Missouri and New York City, the public
is frustrated with police when they generally seem more interested in generating revenue and
meeting quotas instead of protecting society. For instance, do you ever notice that there are more
speed traps around the end of each month than at any other time? There is a minimum
performance standard that can vary amongst departments. Al O’leary, a spokesman for the
Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association in Brooklyn, New York says “Such quotas put the cops
under pressure to write summonses when the violations don’t exist … It takes discretion away
from the police officer”. However, representatives from several police departments argue that
while ticket revenue may fund police departments to a certain extent, a police officer’s purpose is
not to generate revenue. Speeding tickets simply just coincide with the enforcing of laws,
according to police departments. The public however, may see things differently.

There has also been a negative outlook on police officers from the younger generation.
Kids today, because the mass media, see police officers as “mean and kinda strict”. Recently, a
police officer in Kansas City stopped to talk to two kids who were walking with their parents.
Nothing special, just a simple conversation; asking their names, how old they were, how they
were doing –showing the family that police officers do care about the citizens they vow to
protect. After the conversation, the ten-year-old girl stated that she felt like “Officer Orth was
one of those police officers that actually cared about people”. The Officer, when later
interviewed, told a reporter that he believes that those types of random and kind conversations
with strangers is what will change people’s perspective on the law enforcement. But why is there
already such a negative stigma surrounding today’s law enforcement? Why do young children
believe that the protectors in our country are actually the “bad guys”?

In response to these types of opinions from people of all ages, some local police
departments are asking for feedback from their citizens. The Walpole Police Department in
Massachusetts sent out a survey to every household asking its citizens what they expect from
their police department. The main principle of this community policing states that “the police and
community create collaborative partnerships with each other; develop mutual trust, and work
together to solve problems, while conjointly enhancing the quality of life for its citizens”. Their
goal is to have a strong mutual bond between the people of Walpole and their law enforcement so
that they can create a healthier and more crime free environment. Over 3,000 citizens responded
to the survey specifying exactly what they want from their police department. Now this
philosophy does not mean that the police officers wont enforce their laws but rather that there is
a more collective stance on what is important in Walpole and what needs improvement. Honestly
I think that this type of collaborative ideas between the law enforcement and its community is
what can really make a positive change within other areas of the United States. (Abigail Louise
Cosgrove, February 27, 2015)

Responses to Public’s Opinion on Today’s Law Enforcement

The rarity of random acts of person ability and kindness from officers, to the point where
it makes local news, seems a bit sad. Following police brutality-based turmoil, the poor
perception of police has been difficult to shake, and it has taken members of the public speaking
on their behalf to really redeem their dignity in some cases. Though we may be looking for
someone to “blame” in our expressions of opinion, the police cannot be universally blamed for
the extent of some of their actions, and the media cannot be completely blamed for the way their
stories are covered. It’s a mixture of many parties and many factors that influence how we look
at their sometimes questionable roles. (March 18, 2015)
 It is interesting how we rarely hear about incidents of kindness by police officers such as
the conversation that Officer Orth had with the two children. In terms of the public’s perception
of police, the media definitely plays the biggest role. Obviously we are more than capable of
forming our own opinions, but it is hard to counteract the way the media creates bias, whether it
is in what they say, how they say it, or what they choose not to say. If the media was to make
stories like these more well-known, the public’s opinion of police officers would definitely
change, although it is hard to erase such high-profile events as Ferguson. (March 1, 2015).

Police executives today broadly agree that public support for the police is important for
successful policing. Not only is public support fundamental to the legitimacy of the police, but it
is also important for enlisting the public in efforts to reduce crime. Moreover, there is growing
evidence that public support depends on the public’s perception that police treat people fairly and
professionally. Against this backdrop, police executives face a range of choices about how to
use their limited time and resources to persuade civilians that they operate professionally and
with integrity. These might include public relations campaigns, retraining patrol officers in
managing encounters with the public, improving supervisors’ capacity to monitor and improve
the behavior of officers in their encounters with the public, and winning over particular segments
of the public through specialized community affairs staff. As police executives choose among
these options, they will benefit from more information about how public attitudes toward the
police are formed. Survey research has shown that most people generally support the police and
are satisfied with the way the police perform their duties. While these findings are encouraging,
the same research consistently demonstrates that not all segments of society hold equally positive
opinions. Studies reaching back to the 1960s consistently find that black citizens evaluate the
police more negatively than white citizens, that young people evaluate the police more
negatively than older Americans, and that males evaluate the police more negatively than
females (Miller, et.al., 2004).

The Philippine National Police (PNP) is pursuing a number of significant initiatives to usher
fundamental and structural reforms. One such initiative is the adoption of the PNP
Transformation Program (PATROL PLAN 2030), aimed towards resolving organizational
dysfunctions, improving the quality of police services, strengthening law enforcement
capabilities and enhancing the welfare and benefits of police personnel and dependents
(Implementing Guidelines).

In the Philippines………………………….

Nueva Vizcaya

Conceptual and Theoretical Framework

One essential method in the measurement of police performance is “perception of the

public”. The police are the most visible part of the government and most actions by the police are
in view of citizens. Today there are currently people who believe that the police officers are too
violent and should be given less control but there are others who believe that the country itself is
increasing in its crime rate and because of this, there needs to be a greater number of police and
law enforcement containing its citizens. There has also been a negative outlook on police
officers from the younger generation. Kids today, because the mass media, see police officers as
“mean and kind of strict”. Recently, a police officer in Kansas City stopped to talk to two kids
who were walking with their parents. Nothing special, just a simple conversation; asking their
names, how old they were, how they were doing –showing the family that police officers do care
about the citizens they vow to protect. After the conversation, the ten-year-old girl stated that she
felt like “Officer Orth was one of those police officers that actually cared about people”. The
Officer, when later interviewed, told a reporter that he believes that those types of random and
kind conversations with strangers is what will change people’s perspective on the law
enforcement.

In the Philippines………………………………..

The conceptual model that will be used in the study is the independent and dependent
variable. The research paradigm shows the independent variable of the study which is composed
of the indicators on public perception and the second box is the dependent variable which is the
attitudes of Philippine National Police Officers: otivator or discouragement.

Indicators on
The attitudes of Philippine
a. Public Perception National Police Officers:
Motivator & Discouragement

Figure 1: The Paradigm of the Study

Statement of the problem

Generally, this study ought to determine on how public perceptions affects the performance of
Police officers at the Municipality of Bambang, Nueva vizcaya.
Specially, it sought to answer to the following questions:

1. In the perspective of police officers what is the general public perception regarding them?

2. How does, such perception affects their performance on their duty?

3. How do police officers respond with such perception towards them?

Significance of the study

The police role in society has increasingly become a significant issue in contemporary
policing. The police begin to encompass a greater function considering the complexity of the
social problems and enormity of issues confronting peace and security. Public expectations and
organizational concerns demand innovative approaches to policing. Criticisms from various
sectors require police organization to assess current practices and functions and align them with
the needs and values of the community. Global experiences, likewise, assert a shift in policing
philosophy and operating style - from the traditional incident-driven to a problem-focused,
community based approach.

The study will benefit the police officers of Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya. The main goal of
this study is to motivate the officers to maintain or change the good or bad impression of the
public that can affect their performance and duties.

This study also serves as a challenge to the police officers to improve their performance
as well as the insight of the public towards them. The findings of the study will benefit the
officers, community, readers and especially to the future researchers.

Scope and Delimitation

This research study mainly focuses on the Attitudes of Philippine National Police
Officers in Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya, towards Public Perception: Motivator or Discouragement.
Other police stations and police officers in the province are not included in the conduct of the
study.

The study talks about the attitudes of police officers affecting their performance towards
the public perceptions. The study will be having thirty (30) respondents form the Bambang
Police Stations.

The results of this study may have a qualitative data of the indicated research setting.
Despite of these limitations, the researchers are looking forward that the results of the study will
contribute significant data that will make the way towards the improvement on the performance
of police officers towards public perception.

Definition of Terms

Philippine National Police

Police Officers

Public

Perception

Public Perception

Attitude

Motivator

Discouragement

CHAPTER 2

DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

This chapter discusses the different methods use by the resarchers to complete the needed
data. This chapter contains the research design and methodology, population and locale of the
study, data gathering tool, data gathering procedure, and treatment of data.

Research design and methodology

The study used the descriptive survey method to gather desired information or data about
the respondents. Using this method the researchers record, describe, and analyze the data with
the aid of survey questionnaire and interview will be used to gather the recommendation of the
respondents. The descriptive method of research will be used in this study. This method of
research is more appropriate since it sought to determine the effect of public perception on the
performance Police officers in the Municipality of Bambang, Nueva vizcaya.

Furthermore, this study will apply a qualitative research. The qualitative research will
identify on how the police officers in the Municipality of Bambang, Nueva vizcaya accept the
perceptions of the public towards them and how it affects their performance.

Population and locale of the study

This study will be based on the answer of the respondent on how public perception
affects their performance on their duty in the Municipality of Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya. The
respondent will be the Police officers of Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya.

Data gathering procedure

The researcher will formulate a survey questionnaire and an interview guide, and will be
presented to the research adviser for evaluation. After determining the validity of the instrument
from the researcher’s adviser and the experts, the researchers will ask permission from the Chief
of Police of Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya in the conduct of the study. Upon approval the
questionnaires will be administer personally to the respondents. Personal interview is also
conducted utilizing an interview guide.

Data gathering instrument

1. Survey questionnaire. This questionnaire will be used to determine the effect of public
perception on the performance of Police officers on their duty as well as on how police
officers in Bambang give response to the said perceptions and how they accept the
perception of public towards them.

2. Interview guide. This instrument will be used to determine on how the police know the
effect of public perception.

Treatment of data

To have an organized and comprehendible qualitative study, the data collected using the
survey questionnaire and interview guide question will be analyze and interpret by the
researchers logically.