Perceived Police Corruption and Fear of Crime in Mexico

Mexican Studies/Estudios Mexicanos: https://doi.org/10.1525/msem.2020.36.3.425

Previous research in Mexico has argued that perceived corruption and perceived efficacy predict dissatisfaction and lack of confidence in the police. This article extends previous research by examining whether perceived police corruption impacts fear of crime among the adult population. We argue that—beyond traditional correlates of fear of crime and controlling for the intensity of the war on organized crime—evaluations of police reputation impact social quality of life as indicated by fear of crime. Results from multilevel models, based on data from the Mexican National Survey on Victimization and Perception of Public Security (ENVIPE, 2012–2017), confirm our argument. We also find that the experience of victimization and neighborhood incivilities were the main predictors of fear of crime, while the war on organized crime showed no consistent effect.