The Image of Traffic Police as Perceived by Mueang Songkhla Citizen in Songkhla Province

Abstract

        This research aimed to study the image of traffic police in the Songkhla city public’s view, compare the differences of the Songkhla city public's view on the image of traffic police classified by gender, generation, education, and career, as well as examine the relationship between the policy factors compounding with quality of life, social context, and legal understanding and the Songkhla city public’s view on the image of traffic police. The research methodology consisted of document research to analyze and synthesize secondary data, quantitative research to survey data from a sample group of 400 people in Mueang Songkhla District, Songkhla Province, and qualitative research to conduct in-depth interviews with 10 key informants who were government officials, company employees, and students. The data collected from the questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics and analytical statistics. The in-depth interview data were analyzed descriptively.

          The research results found that the image of traffic police in the Songkhla city public’s view was at a favorable level, especially in terms of dress, which had the highest average value, and in terms of profession and personality, which had the lowest values. The results of the hypothesis testing found that Songkhla city citizens of different generations, educations and careers had different views on the image of traffic police at a significance level 0.05. At the 0.01 and 0.05 levels, policy factors pertaining to quality of life, comprehension of social characteristics, and familiarity with traffic laws significantly influenced Songkhla city citizen’s perceptions of the traffic police. Additionally, individuals believed that reducing the frequency of traffic police checkpoints would improve their perception of the police.