Original scientific paper
National exclusivism and social distance – threats to policing based on the respect of human rights
Iva Balgač
; Police Academy, MoIRC, Zagreb Croatia
Krunoslav Borovec
orcid.org/0000-0003-1236-9182
; Police Academy, Police College, MoIRC, Zagreb Croatia
Abstract
This paper presents the results of the research project “Research on the assessment of attitudes towards gender and minority issues of participants of the Adult Education Program for the Profession of Police Officer”. Key research questions relate to determining the nature of the links between national identity, national exclusivism and social distance and attitudes towards gender equality, violence against women, homosexuality and the LGBT population, national minorities, migrants and asylum seekers, and after exclusion of the impact of participants’ experiences during childhood and growing up.
The study was conducted in November 2019 at the Police Academy in Zagreb on a sample of 524 participants of the Adult Education Program for the Profession of Police Officer, using a survey method.
Based on the results of the partial correlation analysis, the research showed that national identity is not significantly associated with negative or socially unacceptable attitudes towards gender equality, violence against women and minority groups. On the other hand, to a large extent, national exclusivism and social distance determine the attitudes of the participants in the research areas, which may pose a threat to citizens’ trust in the police.
The research also has practical value in terms of understanding the attitude of police officers towards members of minority social groups, and they are also important for attracting and educating future
police personnel. Although the results are relevant to the population of re-trainees educated at the Police Academy, they cannot be considered representative of the total police population.
Keywords
national identity; national exclusivism; social distance; attitudes of police officers; trust in the police
Hrčak ID:
285042
URI
Publication date:
2.11.2022.
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