Influencing on police-community relations: an empirical study based on the OIC three-dimensional model

AbstractThe establishment of harmonious police-community relations is a important factor in advancing the modernization of public security endeavors, linked to the exercise of authority, value orientations, and the core mission of law enforcement agencies. The OIC model considers police professional prestige, image, and credibility. Utilizing the OIC three-dimensional model as a foundation, this study examines the intricate mechanisms and explanatory frameworks underlying the relationship between police professional prestige, police image, police law enforcement credibility, and police-community relations. This study surveyed police officers and citizens in X city. Through a comprehensive questionnaire survey and rigorous data analysis, the study reveals several noteworthy findings: (1) police professional prestige has a significant positive predictive effect on police-community relations; (2) police image plays a partially mediating role between police professional prestige and police-community relations; (3) police law enforcement credibility plays a partially mediating role between police professional prestige and police-community relations; (4) police image and police law enforcement credibility can play a chain mediating role between police professional prestige and police-community relations; (5)police image and police law enforcement credibility jointly play a sequential mediating role, bridging the gap between police professional prestige and police-community relations. Based on the OIC three-dimensional model, the study proposes feasible countermeasures and theoretical references for closer police-community relations from the aspects of comprehensive cognition, objective reality and mediated communication.