Public trust declined due to excessive force, racial profiling, corruption, discriminatory enforcement, protest suppression, and lack of accountability. Which term describes this phenomenon?

• A. Deterrence
• B. Punishment
• C. Erosion of public trust in police
• D. Legal realism

Answer: (C)

When people repeatedly see excessive force, racial profiling, corruption, discriminatory enforcement, protest suppression, and a lack of accountability, they begin to doubt the police’s fairness and legitimacy. This decline in trust and perceived legitimacy is described as erosion of public trust in the police. Deterrence and punishment focus on crime-control outcomes, not the community’s trust in law enforcement. Legal realism is about how law operates in practice, including its social influences, but it doesn’t specifically name the erosion of trust.