Dissocial Personality Traits and Past Experiences Matter in How People Perceive the Police

The study investigated the contributions of dissocial traits and experience with the police to police perception. Participants (261: males = 115, females = 146, mean age = 25.87) completed psychometric measures deviant personality traits, police perception, and experience with the police. Regression analysis was used to examine relationship patterns. Results indicated that people detested the police as they got older (β = − 0.19, t = − 2.06, p = 0.04). Also, having an encounter was associated with more negative perception of the (β = − 0.16, t = − 1.97, p = 0.04). Among the dark triad traits, only narcissism predicted police perception such that higher narcissism traits was associated with higher negative perception of the police (β = − 0.46, t = − 2.21, p = 0.03). Findings seem to suggest that the police, especially in Nigeria, needs to do more to improve their connections with citizens; albeit, individual personality disposition matters, and should be a potential issue to consider when the police deals with citizens.