The Image of a Police Officer as a Factor in Forming Public Trust in Law Enforcement Agencies
Abstract
Abstract. The article examines the features of the image formation of law enforcement agencies in the context of growing public expectations and challenges accompanying the reform of the law enforcement system. It is emphasized that the image of a modern police officer is determined not only by professional qualities, but also by the ability to effectively communicate with the public, adhering to legal and ethical norms. The purpose of the article is to analyze the features of the image formation of law enforcement officers, identify key factors that influence their professional reputation, and substantiate practical approaches to increasing the level of public trust in law enforcement agencies. The study examines the theoretical and methodological principles of image positioning of Ministry of Internal Affairs employees, as well as the influence of public opinion and communication strategies on the formation of a positive perception of the police in society. Special attention is paid to the influence of the information environment and the activities of the mass media, which, focusing mainly on high-profile events, can form a distorted perception of police activities and undermine their daily work. Attention is focused on the importance of a strategic and continuous approach to communication, which should include institutional support, consistency of the personal and collective image of police representatives, as well as a balance between covering critical situations and systematically presenting objective information about the results of official activities. It is noted that in the absence of sufficient information about the work of law enforcement officers in society, stereotypes and mythologized ideas may form, which complicate the process of trust and interaction. It is substantiated that the formation of a positive image of a police officer is a complex communicative process that requires consistency, openness and sensitivity to changes in public demand.
Keywords: police image; communication; professional reputation; mass media; high-profile event; public trust; public opinion.
Downloads
References
Baiurchak, N. (2022). Theoretical and methodological analysis of the concept of "charisma": an interdisciplinary aspect. Grani, 25(1), 93-98. DOI: 10.15421/172214
Barko, V.I., Barko, V.V., & Yevdokimova, O. (2024). Typical psychological profiles of police officers (based on the results of the mini-cartoon questionnaire). Bulletin of the National Defense University of Ukraine, 2(78), 7-17. DOI: 10.33099/2617-6858-2024-78-2-7-17
Bieliaieva, N., Kalenychenko, R., & Telebenieva, Ye. (2024). Peculiarities of forming and preserving business reputation in the online environment. Bulletin of the National Defense University of Ukraine, 2(78), 24-31. DOI: 10.33099/2617-6858-2024-78-2-24-31
Blair, G., Weinstein, J.M., Christia, F., Arias, E., Badran, E., Blair, R.A., Grossman, G. (2021). Community policing does not build citizen trust in police or reduce crime in the Global South. Science, 374(6571). DOI: 10.1126/science.abd3446
Bondar, V.V. (2024). Cooperation of The National Police of Ukraine with civil society on the basis of partnership under the conditions of the state of martial. Uzhhorod national university herald, 2(81),
-68. DOI: 10.24144/2307-3322.2024.81.2.10
Bondarenko, V.A. (2025). Public communications management of the National Police. Analytical and comparative jurisprudence, 1, 411-417. DOI: 10.24144/2788-6018.2025.01.67
Browning, L.M., Merlino, M., & Sharp, J. (2021). Citizen journalism and public cynicism toward police in the USA. Journal of police and criminal psychology, 36(3), 372-385. DOI: 10.1007/s11896-020-09385-z
Fiske, S.T., & Neuberg, S.L. (1990). A Continuum of Impression Formation, from Category-Based to Individuating Processes: Influences of Information and Motivation on Attention and Interpretation. Advances in experimental social psychology, 23, 1-74. DOI: 10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60317-2
Graziano, L.M. (2019). News media and perceptions of police: a state-of-the-art review. Policing: An International Journal, 42(2), 209-225. DOI: 10.1108/PIJPSM-11-2017-0134
Gül, S.K. (2024). Police-Media Relations: The Nature of "Media Communication Training" and its Effects on Public Opinion. Kastamonu Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 26/2, 270-282. DOI: 10.21180/iibfdkastamonu.1464538
Krawczyk, D. (2023). Managing Social Communication. Analysis of Media Relations Activities of Polish Police Press Officers. Management Systems in Production Engineering, 31(3). DOI: 10.2478/mspe-2023-0032
Kurek, D. (2023). The Impact of the War in Ukraine on Police Image and Recruitment - Empirical Findings. International conference Knowledge-based organization, 29(1). DOI: 10.2478/kbo-2023-002
Lerman, K., Yan, X., & Wu, X.-Z. (2016). The Majority Illusion in Social Networks. PLOS ONE, 11(2). DOI; 10.1371/journal.pone.0147617
Li, F., Sun, I.Y., Wu, Y., & Liu, S. (2021). The mediating roles of law legitimacy and police legitimacy in predicting cooperation with police in China. Journal of Criminology, 54(2), 201-219. DOI: 10.1177/0004865820965641
Oharienko, T.A. (2024). Communicative competence as a component of the general culture of a law enforcement officer. Ukrainian police science: theory, legislation, practice, 1, 44-47. DOI: 10.32782/2709-9261-2024-1-9-1
Rudhanto, A.W. (2022). Predictors of Citizens’ Satisfaction and Trust in Police as a Function of Good Governance and Cooperative Culture. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 9(3), 152-167. DOI: 10.29333/ejecs/1279
Shnurko, Ya.V. (2021). Principles of interaction between the national police and the mass media. New Ukrainian Law, 6, 142-147. DOI: 10.51989/nul.2021.6.21
Succar, R., Ramallo, S., Das, R., Ventura, R.B., & Porfiri, M. (2024). Understanding the role of media in the formation of public sentiment towards the police. Communications Psychology, 2(11). DOI: 10.1038/s44271-024-00059-8
Success or not? How Ukrainians assess law enforcement reform and EU support. (2024). Site "Ratinggroup". Retrieved from https://ratinggroup.ua/research/ukraine/uspih-chi-ni-yak-ukrayinci-ocinyuyut-reformuvannya-organiv-pravoporyadku-ta-pidtrimku-yes.html
Suprayitno, D., & Widiastuti, V. (2023). Studi Pemulihan Citra Polri dengan Metode Analisis Isi Media dalam Teks Dialog Kapolri di Televisi Berita. Avant garde, 11(1). DOI: 10.36080/ag.v11i1.2355
Szczygielska, A, & Kurek, D. (2021). Image of uniformed services as an important component of intellectual capital. Scientific Journal of the Military University of Land Forces, 53(3), 519-533. DOI: 10.5604/01.3001.0015.3405
Tymofieiev, V.P. (2023). The Image of a Policeman and the Attitude of Society Towards Policemen of Different Countries. Analytical and Comparative Jurisprudence, 6, 286-290. DOI: 10.24144/2788-6018.2023.06.48.
Yunior, D.S. (2023). Media Ideology and Representation of The National Police Image in The Online Media Frame (Framing Analysis of Teddy Minahasa Drug Case in the October 15, 2022 Edition of Koran Tempo Online). International Journal of Social Service and Research, 3(8). DOI: 10.46799/ijssr.v3i8.474
##article.numberofviews## 24 ##article.numberofdownloads## 11
Copyright (c) 2025 Philosophical and Methodological Problems of Law
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
- Authors reserve the right to authorship of their own work and transfer to the magazine the right of the first publication of this work under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which allows other persons to freely distribute published work with mandatory reference to authors of the original work and the first publication of an article in this magazine.
- Authors have the right to enter into separate additional agreements on non-exclusive dissemination of the work in the form in which it was published in the journal (for example, to post an article in the institution's repository or to publish as part of a monograph), provided that the link to the first publication of the work in this journal is maintained.
- The journal's policy allows and encourages the posting of articles by authors on the Internet (for example, in electronic storehouses of institutions or on personal websites), both before the submission of this manuscript to the editorial office and during its editorial processing, as this contributes to the creation of a productive scientific discussion and positively affects the efficiency and dynamics of citing the published work.
