The relationship between social capital and trust in the police

Abstract

Using data from Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey in the Netherlands, this study aims to test the contribution of intergroup contact theory and social capital theory on explaining the relationship between social capital and trust in the police. The central question was: How does social capital influence trust in the police among young people with and without a migration background in the Netherlands? To measure social capital respondents indicated the amount of friends from both majority and minority groups. Results from the regression analysis show that more interracial social capital has a positive effect on trust in the police for the minority group. In contrast interracial contact shows a negative effect on trust in the police among the majority group. Implications for theorization and research are discussed.