A Game Theory Analysis Of The Police-Citizen Relationship

This study is a game theory analysis of the relationship between the police and the citizen, from the perspective of politics. Its target is to explore the political character and essential connotation of its content in and behind the Police-Citizen relationship, and to find a road towards the harmonious relationship between the police and the citizen.The traditional research on the relationship between the police and the citizen is unilateral, static and ex parte. The subject focuses on the police, instead of the citizen, with the view of police and the researching method of social science, management and public relations, rather than its political connotation and character. The citizen is regarded as a target to be hooked in, and only expected to accept and give feedback. At the same time, the traditional research only considers things from the view that both the police and the citizen group stand on the established track, lacking of the analytical hierarchy and the deep observation of the interactive game. The goal of the research is to reduce the conflicts and to enhance the cooperation, instead of to pursue the political value of the police-citizen relationship.In my view, the police-citizen relationship is not only a normal social relationship, but a typical political relationship with two equal main bodies, which can be explained by game relationship.Game theory is not only suitable for the economic field, but also for the political field. The introduction of game theory and its model puts a new view on the research of political relationship between the police and the citizen. Starting from the implementation of "the Nine Principles’of London metropolis police", the relationship between the police and the citizen has changed from a confrontation into a simple interaction, then finally into a game. The game between the police and the citizen is a process from non-cooperation to cooperation, which is played on three perspectives such as private interests vs. public interests, citizen right vs. government power, liberty vs. order, with different characteristics and different models. In my opinion, the model of private-public interests which described as the prisoner’s dilemma, according to the relationship between the police and the citizen, can not be changed only by the efforts from the Police. The model of right-power relationship between the police and the citizen, which is described as the boxed pig game, needs the police’s effort to push forward the legal process, in order to restrict its power and to protect the citizen’s right. The model of liberty-order relationship between the police and the citizen, which is described as the chicken game, is unavoidable, and generally the victory belongs to the brave. However, the final solution of the conflict lies in the road toward the harmonious relationship between the police and the citizen.The harmonious police-citizen relationship means the police and the citizen, in the process of promoting the political civilization, stands as an equal political subject, through the benign interactive game to achieve their respective and the common value, to form a relationship of close communication, mutual respect, trust, cooperation, and getting along with each other, etc, and to pursue a common development. The harmonious police-citizen relationship also refers to form a good relationship of interest cooperation, rights and obligations, partnerships and interpersonal relationship between the police and the citizen.The main factors to interfere the harmonious relationship between the police and the citizen include mature degree of the national regime, growing degree of the civil society, policing policy, cleanness and performance of the police, the diathesis of the Police. Keeping the game between the police and the citizen out of trouble depends on the rediscovery of the political character of the police-citizen relationship, the reconsideration of political development of the police-citizen relationship, re-exploration of the corn value of the police-citizen relationship. Police socialization is one of the trends of the modern police development. The introduction of good governance theory can provide important inspiration and reference for the building of the harmonious police-citizen relationship. The police-citizen relationship is not only a kind of control relationship, but more service and cooperation with the connotation. During exploring the harmonious road towards Chinese police-citizen relationship, we should bring the enthusiasm of both the police and the citizen into full play, and treat each as a political category of stakeholders, as well as a participant, partner, propellant of the political development. In particular, fix position of the police-citizen relationship accurately, strengthen the legal construction of police-citizen relationship, design the policing strategy with public opinion oriented, promote the socialization process of policing, build a efficient and clean police team, maintain and protect the citizens’ rights, enhance the citizens’master consciousness and the sense of responsibility, construct a civil society with self-government and autonomy.In conclusion, the theory of policing socialization and good governance could give good lessons and suggestions to the construction of the harmonious relationship between the police and the citizen.