European Journal of Criminology 2015, Vol. 12(2) 129–150 © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1477370814543156 euc.sagepub.com Trust in the Belgian police: The importance of responsiveness Maarten Van Craen KU Leuven, Belgium Wesley G. Skogan Northwestern University, USA Abstract The international literature contains very few empirical tests of Tyler’s (2011) claim that in Europe, as in the United States, procedural justice plays a larger part than police performance in accounting for citizens’ trust in the police. With regard to procedural justice, there has also been little research on the distinct effects of responsiveness and fair treatment. This study is a step towards filling in these gaps. We used quantitative data collected in Belgium to examine to what extent citizens’ trust in the police is determined by being a victim of crime, perceptions of disorder, feelings of insecurity, perceptions of the way the police treat people and perceptions of police responsiveness. The results indicate the relevance of procedural justice for explaining police trustworthiness in European countries. In Belgium, perceived responsiveness seems to be the cornerstone of a strong trust relationship. Keywords Performance, police, procedural justice, responsiveness, trust Introduction In two seminal articles, Tyler (2001, 2005) argued that people’s judgement of the fairness of police behaviour plays a larger part than do perceptions of police performance in accounting for citizens’ trust in the police. His research suggests that, in the United States, this is indeed the case; research based on multiple datasets suggests that Corresponding author: Maarten Van Craen, KU Leuven, Leuven Institute of Criminology (LINC), Hooverplein 10, Leuven 3000, Belgium. Email: maarten.vancraen@law.kuleuven.be 543156EUC 0010.1177/1477370814543156European Journal of CriminologyVan Craen and Skogan research-article 2014 Article at NORTHWESTERN UNIV LIBRARY on March 20, 2015 euc.sagepub.com Downloaded from