Graduation Year
2023
Document Type
Senior Thesis
Degree
Bachelor of Arts
Primary Major
Social Justice
Thesis Advisor
Jennifer Lucko, PhD
Abstract
The study has quantitative and qualitative aspects. The quantitative aspect measures how attitudes toward law enforcement and fear are related and how attitudes toward law enforcement and willingness to seek help from law enforcement are related. The qualitative aspect explores how trust plays a role in the relationship between the Latinx community and law enforcement. The qualitative aspect of the study also seeks to address how the overall relationship between the Latinx community and law enforcement can be improves. Participants completed a quantitative survey that measured their attitudes towards law enforcement, fear towards law enforcement, and willingness to accept help from law enforcement. Separate participants completed a qualitative interview that looked into the factors that influence the level of trust that Latinx Canal residents have in the San Rafael Police Department as well as how those levels of trust shape the interactions between residents of the Canal community and the San Rafael Police Department. The interviews were conducted over zoom and lasted twenty to thirty minutes. No significant correlation was found between attitudes regarding law enforcement in the Latinx community and fear levels. A significant correlation was found between attitudes regarding law enforcement in the Latinx community and willingness to seek help from law enforcement. The qualitative findings demonstrated that trust levels between police and the Latinx community residents can be increased through the humanization of both parties. The Latinx community residents expressed that the humanization process consists of police involvement in the community beyond security, frequent interactions between the police and residents over time, and through transparency. As trust levels increase, fear levels towards law enforcement decrease in the community.