Does Protest Against Police Violence Matter? Evidence from U.S. Cities, 1990 through 2019

Abstract

An underlying premise of democratic politics is that protest can be an effective form of civic engagement that shapes policy changes desired by marginalized groups. But it is not certain that this premise holds up under scrutiny. This article presents a three-part argument that protest (1) signals the salience of a movement’s focal issue and expands awareness that an issue is a social problem requiring a solution, (2) empowers residents in disadvantaged communities and raises a sense of community cohesion, which together (3) raise costs and exert pressure on elites to make concessions. The empirical analysis examines the likelihood that a city will establish a civilian review board (CRB). It then compares the effects of protest and CRB presence on counts of officer-involved fatalities by race and ethnicity. Two main hypotheses about the effect of protest are supported: cities with more protest against police brutality are significantly more likely to establish a CRB, and protest against police brutality reduces officer-involved fatalities for African American and Latino (but not for White) individuals. However, the establishment of CRBs does not reduce fatalities, as some have hoped. Nonetheless, mobilizing against police brutality matters, even in the absence of civilian review boards.

Contested Killings: The Mobilizing Effects of Community Contact with Police Violence

“…BLM protests in the summer of 2020 have been linked to higher support for Democratic candidates that fall (Klein Teeselink and Melios 2021), and BLM activists encourage supporters to engage in electoral politics in addition to other political activities (Tillery 2019). And, while 2020 saw widespread actions all across the United States, there is evidence of localized effects: police killings are linked to greater protest formation (Williamson, Trump, and Einstein 2018), and protests focused on police brutality play a role in the implementation of reforms such as citizen review boards (Olzak 2021). Of course, given the explicitly racial dimension of BLM, these frames are likely to be particularly resonant when the violence is directed against Black Americans.…”

Police legitimacy regimes and the suppression of citizen oversight in response to police violence

“…Despite being a long‐standing centerpiece of police reform, citizen oversight agencies remain significantly underexamined in the social scientific literature (with the exception of Decker, 1981; Hudson, 1971; Olzak, 2021). This omission is serious considering a CRB's explicit charge to represent the voice of the public and its ongoing salience for those looking to strengthen police accountability nationwide.…”

“…Boards typically use one of three oversight models to engage citizen complaints about police behaviors: 1) an Investigation Model that receives and investigates citizen complaints against police; 2) a Review Model that examines the police department's disciplinary decisions and makes recommendations to the police department about those decisions; and 3) an Audit Model that blends the two and focuses on whether citizen complaints reveal patterns of police misconduct (Finn, 2001;Goldsmith, 1991;Walker, 2005). 3 Despite being a long-standing centerpiece of police reform, citizen oversight agencies remain significantly underexamined in the social scientific literature (with the exception of Decker, 1981;Hudson, 1971;Olzak, 2021). This omission is serious considering a CRB's explicit charge to represent the voice of the public and its ongoing salience for those looking to strengthen police accountability nationwide.…”

Cross-national research. A new frontier for police studies

“…However, the way such organizations seem to promote police trust or legitimacy has been addressed, but only in a few single-country surveys (de Angelis and Wolf, 2016). One US study suggests that outrage prompts the creation of civilian review boards, but it finds little effect over policing practices (Olzak. 2021).…”