Perceived Security, Confidence in the Police and Subjective Well‐Being in Hong Kong: Evidence from the World Values Survey

The legitimacy of the Hong Kong police has somewhat plummeted amid the Umbrella Movement in 2014 and the Pro‐Democracy Movement in 2019. This study aims to explore the dynamics among Hong Kongers' perception of security, confidence in the police, and their subjective well‐being using the Wave 7 (2017–2022) of the World Values Survey (WVS‐7). Analysing the Hong Kong data that sampled 2075 participants (18 years and above; 952 males and 1123 females, Mage = 47.2 years), feelings of security and neighbourhood deviant behaviours (i.e., perceived security), and life satisfaction and happiness (i.e., subjective well‐being) are used to explore their effects on the participants' confidence in the police. The findings indicate that the participants' feelings of security are positively correlated with their well‐being and confidence in the police, respectively. Despite its nonsignificant moderation effect, this study found a significant mediation effect of the participants' confidence in the police in the relationship between their perception of security and well‐being. Significant sociodemographic differences (i.e., gender, age, social class) in the participants' life satisfaction and happiness are also observed. These findings have important practical implications in areas such as public education and policy development/refinement, with the aim to foster Hong Kongers' confidence in the police and well‐being.