Community Discernment Towards the Effectiveness of Police Visibility and Crime Deterrence

ABSTRACT : This study focuses on the community’s perception of how effective police visibility is and how it contributes to crime prevention. Based on Hirschi’s Social Control Theory, the study aims to ascertain how satisfied community members, particularly University of Mindanao criminology students, are with police visibility and its effects on safety, public trust, and crime reduction. Data were gathered from 300 selected respondents using a customized survey instrument and a descriptive quantitative research approach. The findings showed high satisfaction levels in important areas like perceived safety, police presence in high-crime areas, and community cooperation. Perceived police performance is greatly influenced by community perception, as seen by the strong links discovered between community discernment, trust, fairness, and collaboration. Additionally, through crime deterrence, community discernment influences perceptions of police visibility directly and indirectly, according to regression and mediation analyses. The results indicate that to increase public safety and institutional confidence, community-based policing initiatives must be strengthened, public participation must be increased, and transparent policing methods must be promoted.

Keywords: Community policing, public trust, police visibility, crime deterrence, perception of fairness, community engagement