Public perceptions of police misconduct and discrimination: Examining the impact of media consumption

The media portrayal of policing is juxtaposed with both positive and negative representations. As a result, a complex relationship exists between media consumption and public attitudes towards the police. The purpose of this study was to test the impact that media consumption had on attitudes toward police misconduct and discrimination. The findings revealed that heavy consumers of network news were more likely to believe that police misconduct was a frequent event. This was especially true for minority respondents. Similarly, minority respondents that frequently viewed network news were more likely to believe that Whites received better treatment by the police. Finally, the findings revealed that frequent viewers of police dramas believed that the wealthy received preferential treatment from the police. Conversely, frequent viewers of crime solving shows believed that the wealthy did not receive preferential treatment.     

Experience,quality of life,and neighborhood context: A hierarchical analysis of satisfaction with police

We test three different conceptual models—“experience with police,” “quality of life,” and “neighborhood context”—for directional accuracy and ability to explain satisfaction with the police. We also investigate whether these models help to explain the common finding that African-Americans are more dissatisfied with the police than are Caucasians. To do so, we use hierarchical linear modeling to simultaneously regress our outcome measure on clusters of citizen- and neighborhood-level variables. The analysis was conducted using recently collected information from the Project on Policing Neighborhoods (POPN). The data file consisted of survey responses from 5,361 citizens residing in 58 neighborhoods located in Indianapolis, Indiana and St. Petersburg, Florida. At the citizen level, the psychologically based “quality of life” model accounts for the greatest proportion of explained variance and provides the greatest directional accuracy. Also, residents of neighborhoods characterized by concentrated disadvantage express significantly less satisfaction with the police. In addition, neighborhood context reduces the negative effect of African-American status on satisfaction with police when a sparse citizen-level specification is used; racial variation in satisfaction with police persists, however, when citizen-level hierarchical models are specified more fully.     

Race and the apprehension of inmate misconduct

Race differences in the apprehension of inmate misconduct were examined within a medium security Federal Correctional Institution. Significant race differences were found such that disproportionately more conduct reports (shots) were written on black than white inmates. Explanations of these differences are given. Considering three sets of findings, it was concluded that the probability of racial bias affecting criminal justice decision making will vary according to the status of that decision point on two dimensions: (1) the amount of discretion afforded the decision maker, and (2) the extent to which the decision maker is held accountable for this decision. Therefore, racial bias would be expected to exert its greatest impact upon decision points which allow considerable discretion and which prossess minimal accountability.     

Individual neighborhood attachment and perceptions of neighborhood safety

Macrostructural research in the social disorganization tradition assumes neighborhood structure dictates individual behavior. The current research explores the opposite perspective to determine whether individual attachment to the neighborhood influences perceptions of neighborhood safety. Using the Chicago Metropolitan Area Survey, the results show that loners, persons wishing to move, and renters perceive their neighborhoods as being less safe than attached residents. Implications for future research are offered. Data for this study were made available by the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research.     

The impact of race/ethnicity, neighborhood context, and police/citizen interaction on residents' attitudes toward the police

The purpose of this study was to extend the current knowledge of public attitudes toward the police. Independent variables derived from three models, the demographic, the neighborhood context, and the police/citizen interaction models, were used to explain public perceptions of the police. More specifically, public attitudes toward the police was measured in two dimensions— General Attitudes toward the police and Specific Trust in the police. The data was obtained by a telephone survey of 756 respondents in Houston, TX in 2008. The primary findings suggested that race, gender, age, victimization, and satisfaction with police work were significant predictors. Hispanic respondents reported lower levels of General Attitudes toward the police than their White counterparts. In addition, there was no significant difference between Whites and Hispanics in terms of Specific Trust in police such as the use of Taser guns. These results and their practical implications for police agencies were addressed in discussion.     

The impact of situational factors, officer characteristics, and neighborhood context on police behavior: A multilevel analysis

While a considerable number of studies had been conducted to examine the effects of various variables on police behavior, very few studies had simultaneously analyzed factors that accounted both for police coercive and noncoercive behaviors. Equally limited is the research on the influences of officer characteristics and neighborhood context on police behavior controlling for all individual situational factors. Using observational and survey data collected by a large-scale project and hierarchical linear modeling techniques, this study assessed the effects of situational, officer, and neighborhood variables on police coercive and noncoercive actions, as well as the cross-level effects between these variables. Findings showed that situational characteristics played a strong role in determining officer coercive behavior, but not noncoercive activities. Similarly, officer-level predictors explained better officers' variation in coercive behavior than noncoercive behavior. Meanwhile, socially disadvantaged neighborhoods were more prone to receive coercive activities than were other neighborhoods. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.     

Race and police officers' perceptions of their job performance: An analysis of the relationship between police officers' race,education level,and job performance

This study examines whether police officers' race is associated with their performance of duties and delivery of services. Using self-report survey methodology, officers of three different races (African-American, White, and Hispanic) evaluated their performance on forty dimensions of their work. The results indicate that race is not a significant factor in officers' self-assessments. However, the results indicated that officers with some college education and college degree (irrespective of the race) report themselves performing better on several dimensions of their work than officers with no college education. Author's Note: Suman Kakar, Ph.D., is Associate Profess or at Florida International University, College of Health and Urban Affairs. University Park Campus, Miami, FL 33199.     

Citizens' perceptions of aggressive traffic enforcement strategies

In this study we examine citizens' support for aggressive traffic enforcement strategies and discuss whether the implementation of two different types of traffic enforcement decreases public support. We also examine whether citizens' perceptions of crime, quality of life, and the police are influenced by an increased police presence in their neighborhood. The public opinion data presented here are taken from two experimental target areas and one comparison area. Overall the findings suggest that citizens strongly support aggressive traffic enforcement practices and that the implementation of such strategies does not reduce their support. Residents of areas where police are using these types of tactics do not think that the police are harassing them. Citizens living in one of the experimental areas are significantly more likely to support the police, and think that the police work well with the neighborhood. Residents of the areas that experienced two types of aggressive enforcement, however, did not think that crime had decreased, nor that quality of life had improved. We discuss implications for the use of these strategies and for community policing in general.     

Race,ethnicity, and prison disciplinary misconduct

It is well known that racial and ethnic minorities (both male and female) have felt the effect of increased incarceration more than Whites, and a large amount of prior research has investigated the factors that influence higher levels of inmate misconduct, including the influence of race/ethnicity. This body of research has produced mixed results. Using recent data from one of the largest state prison systems, this study sought to determine the level of racial and ethnic disparity in the commission of inmate misconduct. Results indicate that Black inmates were significantly more likely than other inmates to commit general rule violations, serious rule violations, and assaultive rule violations. Correlates of inmate misconduct and policy implications stemming from the findings are discussed.     

Citizens' perceptions of data protection and privacy in Europe

Data protection and privacy gain social importance as technology and data flows play an ever greater role in shaping social structure. Despite this, understanding of public opinion on these issues is conspicuously lacking. This article is a meta-analysis of public opinion surveys on data protection and privacy focussed on EU citizens. The article firstly considers the understanding and awareness of the legal framework for protection as a solid manifestation of the complex concepts of data protection and privacy. This is followed by a consideration of perceptions of privacy and data protection in relation to other social goals, focussing on the most visible of these contexts–the debate surrounding privacy, data protection and security. The article then considers how citizens perceive the ‘real world’ environment in which data processing takes place, before finally considering the public's perception and evaluation of the operation of framework against environment.     

Studying the reach of deterrence: Can deterrence theory help explain police misconduct?

This article reports the first perceptual deterrence study of a sample of police officers. The study investigated the influence of traditional deterrence considerations, extralegal sanctions, and impulsivity on the intention to commit several hypothesized acts of police misconduct. The results were largely consistent with perceptual deterrence findings from samples of college students, experienced offenders, and corporate managers. In particular, this study found that both legal and extralegal sanction threats potentially deter police misconduct. Further, it found that impulsivity diminished the deterrent influence of both sanction forms. The study also found that some of the effects of the explanatory variables depended on whether officers had prior punishment experience. The article discusses the implications of its findings for combating police misconduct and for deterrence research generally.     

Unreported crimes,public dissatisfaction of police,and observed police misconduct in the Volgograd region,Russia: A research note

The paper examines the issue of widespread underreporting of crimes in the Volgograd region of Russia. The factors of public satisfaction with police, prior observed police misconduct, type of crime, and victim’s demographics are used to explain a victim’s decision to report crimes to the police. The research is based on a representative sample of Russian citizens conducted over a 9 year period in the Volgograd region (1998–2007) with a sample size of 1332 cases. The study concludes that prior observed police misconduct, especially the falsification of documents, is the strongest predictor of victims’ decisions to report crimes. The research holds critical implications for the ongoing reform of Russian police.     

Race, gender, and motivation for becoming a police officer: Implications for building a representative police department

Police departments have come under increasing pressure from community groups, professional organizations, and their constituents to hire more female and minority officers. Although prior research suggested that there might be both gender and racial differences in the factors influencing the decision to enter police work, much of the work was dated and findings were mixed. The current research, conducted in spring 2002, examined motivations for entering police work among a sample of 278 academy recruits in the New York City Police Department (NYPD). Findings indicated that motivations for becoming a police officer were similar regardless of race or gender, and the most influential factors were altruistic and practical, specifically the opportunity to help others, job benefits, and security. Minor differences did emerge among male and female recruits, as well as among Whites, Hispanics, and African Americans, but the practical implications of those differences seemed limited. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for recruitment efforts as police departments seek to draw more diverse applicant pools and build more representative law enforcement agencies.     

African American and White perceptions of police services: Within- and between-group variation

Existing research on attitudes toward the police identified demographic variables predicting citizen satisfaction with police services and performance. Common themes in this literature were the disparate rates of satisfaction reported by African American and Caucasian citizens. While it is generally understood that African American citizens express lower levels of satisfaction, the degree to which this reduced satisfaction is consistent among African Americans and the factors causing such variation are unclear. In addition, variation in levels of citizen satisfaction across diverse measures of police services has yet to be considered by race. This study used data from a medium-sized Midwestern community to contrast samples of White and African American citizens to better understand how demographic, experiential, and neighborhood contextual factors shape perceptions of global, traditional, and community police services. Results from this study indicate that there is significant variation in the importance of certain exogenous factors in predicting satisfaction with police services. The differences between perceptions and race are most prominent in the community policing services model.     

A methodology for assessing citizen perceptions of police

This study was initiated to determine perceptions that Wichita community residents hold toward their police. A scale, Citizen's Perception of the Police, was developed. Race and dogmatism were examined as variables influencing perceptions. Non-white residents evaluated police less favorably than did whites. No significant difference was found on level of dogmatism in evaluating the police. The methodology for developing the scale is described. Applications of these methods to other communities was suggested as well as the importance of assessing citizen perceptions of the police to obtain data which will optimize the setting of goals for police-community relations programming.     

Public perceptions of female police officers on patrol

Women in policing have been the subject of considerable study for the past 20 years. While women perform as well as men in various patrol assignments and situations, they still face a significant amount of disapproval from the male police personnel population. Citizens, however, have shown a greater acceptance of women in this male-dominated occupation and a greater confidence in women’s abilities to effectively perform difficult patrol tasks. The purpose of the present research is to determine the perceptions that residents of two Kentucky counties have of female patrol officers and if those perceptions affirm previous findings. The socioeconomic foundations for those residents’ perceptions are also examined. The research instrument consisted of 17 closed-ended and matrix questions. Two hundred responses were obtained. The results of this study will indicate the public’s growing acceptance of women in this non-traditional gender role, which is a requisite development for the overall objective of attaining equality and equity for women in police work. Recommendations are presented for the purposes of explaining the inevitable changes in the gender makeup and purposes of police work and the need for police personnel and the public to accept those changes. Winner of 1995 Outstanding Undergraduate Paper Award, Southern Criminal Justice Association