Citizen Involvement in the Coproduction of Police Outputs

It is often implied that citizens’ attitudes toward the police are a determinant of their willingness to engage in the coproduction of police outputs. This relationship, however, has been subjected to only limited empirical scrutiny. Using data from a three wave panel survey conducted in a large metropolitan area, this study examines the determinants of coproduction with particular emphasis on the causal role of citizens’ attitudes toward the police. The study provides little support for the hypothesis which links citizens’ attitudes to citizen willingness to engage in coproductive behaviors. Instead, a variety of other individual level variables appear to have a much greater effect on citizen willingness to engage in coproductive behaviors.