The Factors Influencing Students’ Perceptions of the Bangladesh Police
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69728/jst.v12.91Keywords:
Bangladesh Police, University students’ perceptions, Public trust in police, Police–community relations, Attitudes toward law enforcement, Police corruptionAbstract
Effective policing relies on public cooperation and attitudes towards the police. University students, who frequently engage with the police and discuss social justice issues, play a role in shaping community-police relations. This study examines university students’ perceptions of the police and the factors influencing these views. A quantitative survey was conducted in February 2023, collecting 200 responses from public university students in Bangladesh through purposive sampling. The analysis focused on three independent variables—fear of crime, experiences of police corruption, and demographic characteristics and three dependent variables- procedural fairness, police effectiveness, and trust in the police. Findings indicate that students exhibit low trust in the Bangladesh police, critically evaluate procedural fairness, and rate police effectiveness poorly. Multivariate linear regression results show that personal and vicarious experiences of police corruption are the strongest predictors, while age, education level, and religious affiliation significantly shape students’ perceptions of police trust, fairness, and effectiveness. The study suggests practical implications for enhancing trust in the Bangladesh Police and promoting positive attitudes among university students.
References
killed in “crossfire” or police custody in 6 months | The Daily Star. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17, 2023, from https://www.thedailystar.net/country/79-killed-“crossfire”-or-police-custody-6-months-1248178
Ackerman, G., Anderson, B., Jensen, S., Ludwig, R., Montero, D., Plante, N., & Yanez, V. (2001). Crime rates and confidence in the police: America’s changing attitudes toward crime and police, 1972–1999. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, XXVIII(1), 43–55.
Adil, M. S. R. (2020). Policing Ethics: Context Bangladesh. Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics, 11(1), 19 - 30. https://doi.org/10.62865/bjbio.v11i1.185
Ahsan, A. H. M., Hasan, M. K., & Rumi, M. H. (2024). Citizens’ trust in Bangladesh Police: A cross-sectional survey on urban population. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 18, paae064. https://doi.org/10.1093/police/paae064
Avdija, A. S. (2010). The role of police behavior in predicting citizens attitudes toward the police. Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice, 6(2), 76–89.
Bangladesh: End Disappearances and Secret Detentions | Human Rights Watch. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17, 2023, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/07/06/bangladesh-end-disappearances-and-secret-detentions
Barrie, D. G. (2008). Police in the age of improvement: Police development and the civic tradition in Scotland, 1775-1865. Willan Publishing.
Boateng, F. D. (2012). Public Trust in the Police: Identifying factors that shape trust in the Ghanaian Police (Doctoral dissertation, Washington State University).
Boateng, F. D. (2016). Students and the police in Ghana: mixed feelings. Police Practice and Research, 17(6), 555–569. https://doi.org/10.1080/15614263.2015.1086877
Brown, B., & Benedict, W. R. (2002). Perceptions of the police: Past findings, methodological issues, conceptual issues and policy implications. In Policing (Vol. 25, Issue 3). https://doi.org/10.1108/13639510210437032
Callanan, V. J., & Rosenberger, J. S. (2011). Media and public perceptions of the police: Examining the impact of race and personal experience. Policing and Society, 21(2), 167–189. https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2010.540655
Cao, L., & Dai, M. (2006). Confidence in the Police: Where does Taiwan rank in the world? Asian Journal of Criminology, 1(1), 71–84. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11417-006-9001-0
Cao, L., Stack, S., & Sun, Y. (1998). Public attitudes toward the police: A comparative study between japan and america. Journal of Criminal Justice, 26(4), 279–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0047-2352(98)00015-4
Gaćinović, R. (2015). “Origins of police in modern state.” NBP - Journal of Criminalistics and Law, (1), 67-81. Institute for Political Studies, Belgrade.
Goldsmith, A. (2005). Police reform and the problem of trust. Theoretical Criminology, 9(4), 443–470. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362480605057727
Hinds, L. (2009). Public Satisfaction with Police: The Influence of General Attitudes and Police-Citizen Encounters. International Journal of Police Science and Management, 11(1), 54–66. https://doi.org/10.1350/ijps.2009.11.1.109
Jabber, M. A., Sakib, M. N., & Rahman, M. M. (2023). Exploring the roles and challenges of the servant leadership: A critical examination of the Bangladesh police. Heliyon, 9(1), e12782. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e12782
Kabir, Md. Rezwanul, Ara Taznin Bithi, M. T., Aktar Jyoti, T., & Rahman, T. (2021). A Unique Study of Corruption in Bangladesh. Saudi Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 6(1), 18–25. https://doi.org/10.36348/sjhss.2021.v06i01.004
Khondaker, M. I., Lambert, E. G., & Wu, Y. (2013). Perceptions of the Police in Two Nations : An Exploratory Study of Policing Views among Bangladeshi and U . S . College Students. Asian Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 1(2), 33–58. http://psm.sagepub.com/content/16/1/36.full.pdf
Lambert, E. G., Jiang, S., Khondaker, M. I., Elechi, O. O., Baker, D. N., & Tucker, K. A. (2010). Policing views from around the globe: An exploratory study of the views of college students from Bangladesh, Canada, Nigeria, and the United States. International Criminal Justice Review, 20(3), 229–247. https://doi.org/10.1177/1057567710375984
Lambert, E. G., Khondaker, M. I., Elechi, O. O., Jiang, S., & Baker, D. N. (2012). Formal and Informal Crime Control Views in Bangladesh and the United States. Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, 10(3), 199–222. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377938.2012.700829
Md. Abdul Kader Miah, Mahmuda Akter, Md. Kamruzzaman. (2017). The Effectiveness of Restorative Justice Practice in Bangladesh: An Analysis. Humanities and Social Sciences, 5(5), 176-183. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20170505.13
Merry, S., Power, N., McManus, M., & Alison, L. (2012). Drivers of Public Trust and Confidence in Police in the UK. International Journal of Police Science and Management, 14(2), 118–135. https://doi.org/10.1350/ijps.2012.14.2.268
Miah, A. K. (n.d.). Leadership Skill of Bangladesh Police Personnel : A Case Study of Tangail District. September 2017, 58–71.
Mulone, M. (2019). Law Enforcement and Policing Part IV. History of Policing, 207–220. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119372394.ch15
O’Connor, C. D. (2008). Citizen attitudes toward the police in Canada. Policing, 31(4), 578–595. https://doi.org/10.1108/13639510810910571
Okereke, G. O. (1993). Public Attitudes toward the Police Force in Nigeria. Police Studies: The International Review of Police Development, 16. https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/polic16&id=123&div=&collection=P s c journal (Vol. 8, Issue 1). (2021).
Police Harassment in Bangladesh | Seeking police services: 38% faced harassment, 31% paid bribes. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2025, from https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/crime-justice/news/seeking-police-services-38-faced-harassment-31-paid-bribes-3798026?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Rahman, K. (2019). Overview of corruption and anti- corruption in Bangladesh. Transparency International (The Global Coalition Against Corruption), 2018, 1–18. https://www.u4.no/publications/overview-of-corruption-and-anti-corruption-in-ghana-2018-update.pdf
Rahman, M., & Hossain, A. (2017). Exploring the Factors that Affect Citizens’ Trust in Bangladesh Police Bangladesh View project Case Study Series on the Civil Services of South Asia View project. December. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322677197
Rashid, M., & Johara, F. (2020). CORRUPTION AND INSTITUTIONAL INTEGRITY: THE CASE OF BANGLADESH. International Journal of Engineering Technologies and Management Research, 5(2), 133–142. https://doi.org/10.29121/IJETMR.V5.I2.2018.156
Science, M. B., & Rahman, A. (2019). A Study on Fear of Crime in Tangail Municipality iflF : FE : FJT. August 2009.
Shafiqul Islam, A., Islam, N., & Ehsan, S. M. A. (2021). Public Perception Regarding the Efficiency of Bangladesh Police: Quest for a New Paradigm. August. https://doi.org/10.5958/2321-2136.2020.00012.0
Sunshine, J., & Tyler, T. R. (2003). The Role of Procedural Justice and Legitimacy in Shaping Public Support for Policing. Law & Society Review, 37(3), 513–548. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1555077
Tang, Y., & Khan, M. B. U. (2018). Internal Law Enforcement Challenges in Bangladesh: An Analysis. Humanities and Social Sciences Letters, 6(3), 106–120. https://doi.org/10.18488/journal.73.2018.63.106.120
Tankebe, J. (2008). Police effectiveness and police trustworthiness in Ghana: An empirical appraisal. Criminology and Criminal Justice, 8(2), 185–202. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748895808088994
Tankebe, J. (2010). Public confidence in the police: Testing the effects of public experiences of police corruption in Ghana. British Journal of Criminology, 50(2), 296–319. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azq001
Tyler, T. R. (2005). Policing in Black and White: Ethnic Group Differences in Trust and Confidence in the Police. Police Quarterly, 8(3), 322–342. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611104271105
Uchida, C. D. (1993). The development of the American police: An historical overview. Critical issues in policing: Contemporary readings, 3, 19-35.
Whitehouse, D. (2012). Origins of the police. Works in Theory, 7.
Wu, Y., & Sun, I. Y. (2009). Citizen trust in police: The case of China. Police Quarterly, 12(2), 170–191. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611108330228
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Nusrat Binte Nasir, Md. Ishtiaq Ahmed Talukder (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.




