Purpose: This study examines how human resource capacity influences service quality and institutional trust in the police. It aims to move beyond citizen satisfaction approaches by identifying the organizational mechanisms through which service quality is produced and perceived by citizens.

Methodology: A quantitative explanatory design was employed to analyze the relationships among human resource capacity, employee competence, public service motivation, organizational commitment, procedural fairness, citizen experience, service quality and institutional trust. Data were collected from citizens who interacted with police service institutions and were analyzed using a systemic causal framework.

Results: The findings indicate that low service quality is primarily caused by a mismatch between service design and human resource capacity rather than weak formal procedures alone. Human resource capacity, service competence, public service motivation, organizational commitment, and procedural fairness significantly shape citizen experience and influence institutional trust.

Conclusions: Service quality should be understood as an institutional process generated through organizational capacity and employee behavior. Institutional trust emerges from citizens’ service experiences rather than procedural compliance alone.

Limitations: This study focused on police services within a specific institutional context, limiting the generalizability of the findings to other public service sectors.

Contributions: This study develops a Human Resource Capacity and Service Quality Model that systematically links human resource capacity, employee competence, public service motivation, procedural fairness, citizen experience, and institutional trust, reframing service failure as a challenge of institutional legitimacy rather than merely citizen satisfaction.