Property Victimization, Perception of Neighborhood Safety, and Perceived Fairness of the Criminal Justice System Within the Chinese Context

Abstract

Although prior research has widely tested the public’s perceived fairness of the criminal justice system, such as the police, the court, and the prosecutor’s offices, such research is mainly conducted within Western contexts. Empirical research conducted in the Chinese context remains relatively limited. Based on survey data randomly collected from Guangzhou, China, this study rigorously examines the linkage between victimization, including physical victimization and property victimization, and the perceived fairness of the criminal justice system. It also examines the mediating effect of the perception of neighborhood safety on this linkage. The study finds that people’s property victimization experience, rather than the physical victimization experience, would negatively and significantly influence their trust in the fairness of the criminal justice system. Such a negative effect was partially mediated by people’s perception of neighborhood safety, and the direct effect was found to be stronger than the indirect effect. Based on these findings, policy implications are explored in this study.