A Comparative Study on the Receptivity of Evidence-Based Policing Between Canada, USA and Taiwan

Authors: Keng-hui Lin

Abstract:

Evidence-based policing (EBP) has seen significant global expansion, marked by the development of professional societies, practitioner-focused training, and research translation tools. These advancements have redefined policing as a profession requiring analytical skills, research-informed decision-making, and a commitment to evidence-based practices. However, widespread acceptance of EBP among police officers remains challenging, with key barriers including disagreements over the definition and quality of research evidence, a scarcity of accessible evidence, and philosophical differences between practitioners and researchers. The most critical obstacle, however, is resistance to integrating research evidence into policing practices. The successful institutionalization of EBP within policing hinges on the receptivity of police officers. While existing literature focuses on Anglo-American contexts, there is a paucity of studies examining how officers in non-Western contexts, such as Taiwan, perceive and utilize science in policing. To address this gap, this study explores officer receptivity to EBP within three police departments in Taiwan: Taichung City Police Department (TCPD), Hsinchu County Police Department (HCPD), and Chiayi County Police Department (CCPD), which serve urban, suburban, and rural areas, respectively. With cooperation from departmental commissioners, 496, 477, and 219 officers from these respective departments participated in the study. Utilizing the survey designed by Telep and Lum, this research compares receptivity to EBP between officers in Taiwan, Canada (across seven departments), and the United States (across three departments). The findings reveal distinctive attitudes towards science in policing among Taiwanese officers compared to their Canadian and American counterparts. For instance, 63.3% of Canadian officers reported reading professional journals or magazines in the past six months, while this figure was approximately 30% for both American and Taiwanese officers. In terms of using materials produced by analysts in their daily work, over 70% of American officers (except those from the Sacramento Police Department) reported frequent usage, compared to around 45% of Taiwanese officers and 60.7% of Canadian officers. When considering the balance between scientific research and personal experience in decision-making, around 60% of Canadian and Taiwanese officers favoured experience, whereas over 70% of American officers held this view. Additionally, while around 80% of Canadian and American officers strongly agreed or agreed on the necessity of collaboration with researchers to enhance crime reduction efforts, only about 60% of Taiwanese officers shared this sentiment. This study represents, to our knowledge, the first examination of officer receptivity to EBP in Asia, offering critical insights into the challenges faced in advancing the professionalization of policing in Taiwan. The findings suggest that Taiwanese officers may hold more resistant attitudes toward EBP, highlighting the need for further exploration of the obstacles to fostering openness to research in policing.

Keywords: evidence-based policing, receptivity, comparative study, democratic policing, Taiwan