Luis Reyes

Working Title of PhD: Collective Efficacy and Crime in Nuevo Leon, Mexico: the role of Public Confidence in the Police at the neighbourhood level

Year commenced PhD study: January 2018 Institution/Organisation: The University of
Edinburgh, School of Law

Funding Source: National Council on Science and Technology (CONACYT), from the Mexican Government
Full or part-time: Full time

PhD Supervisors: Dr. Susan McVie (School of Law) and Dr. Paul Norris (School of Social and Political Sciences)

Synopsis of PhD

The evidence in developed countries on Collective Efficacy (CE) suggests that low levels of this result in higher neighborhood crime rates, but it is not clear how consistent the CE-Crime relation is in more challenging contexts, such as Mexico. In addition, the role that Public Confidence of the Police (PCP) have on CE has not been researched sufficiently. The evidence available indicates strong positive associations between PCP and CE, but it is unknown if this is the case in Mexico. The importance of this research is that PCP could propitiate –or hinder– the motivations of residents in a neighbourhood to engage in acts of informal social control. The aim of this research is to examine the relationship between CE and crime as neighbourhood properties in Monterrey, Mexico, and the role that PCP plays in this relationship. This study adopts a quantitative approach. Surveys will be conducted in selected urban neighbourhoods of the Monterrey Metropolitan Area, in Mexico, to conduct a multilevel analysis, through an estimation of a structural equation model.

Keywords: Collective Efficacy, Confidence in the Police, Trust in the Police