Perceptions of the Police: The Influence of Individual and Contextual Factors in a Racially Diverse Urban Sample

Abstract

People of color commonly hold more negative attitudes toward the police than do Whites. Research in this area, however, generally examines the views of African Americans, Whites, and, more recently, Hispanics. The present study contributes to this literature by exploring perceptions of the police across a sample of African American, Hispanic, Asian, and White respondents. Multivariate analysis is used to test several hypotheses linking perceptions of law enforcement to neighborhood disorder, victimization, contact with the police, and gender. The influence of cultural history on attitudes toward authority and the implications for crime control policies are discussed.

Perceptions of Police Among Hispanic Immigrants of Mexican Origin in the Southeast United States

“…One consistent finding of previous research on perceptions of police is that younger individuals are more likely than their older counterparts to hold negative views of the police (Brown & Benedict, 2002;Correia, Reisig, & Lovrich, 1996;Frank, Brandl, Cullen, & Stichman, 1996;Hurst & Frank, 2000;Reisig & Correia, 1997;Vogel, 2011;Wu, Sun, & Triplett, 2009). In fact, age has been regarded as an important demographic variable in determining perceptions of police (Brown & Benedict, 2002;Cao, Frank, & Cullen, 1996;Webb & Marshall, 1995).…”

“…Prior research has continuously demonstrated that victims of crime are more likely to have less favorable perceptions of police (Brown & Benedict, 2002;Cao et al, 1996;Carter, 1985;Geistman & Smith, 2007;Hurst & Frank, 2000;Vogel, 2011;Wu et al, 2009) and to be more fearful of crime than those who have not been victimized (Yun, Kercher, & Swindell, 2010). These issues are particularly salient considering it has been suggested Hispanics are disproportionally victimized (e.g.…”

Latino Officers and Their Involvement in Police Shootings

“…As previously mentioned, at its worst, when certain segments of the public (i.e., racial minorities) view the police as illegitimate or failing to serve in their best interest, resistance and rioting have occurred. The literature covering the public's perception of the police indicates that minorities and members from the lower classes tend to be the most critical [5,7,8,11,[21][22][23][24].…”

“…Although most citizens have a good outlook and support for the police, negative interactions whether direct or vicarious (i.e., media, friends, and family) can adversely shape their perception [8]. In her study regarding perceptions of the police, Vogel [7] asserts that, despite racial makeup, those who are more prone to possess a negative attitude of the police are younger, male, and economically disadvantaged. Binder and Scharf [24] support this position by contending that youths living in poor communities view police officers as a symbol to be hated and despised.…”

“…The resulting perception is that the police exist for the benefit and interest of those in power. As a result, ethnic minorities tend to possess an adverse opinion about the police [5,7,8]. At its worst, when the underclass (i.e., ethnic minorities and the unconventional or marginalized) believe that the police have gone too far with their abuse of force, typically surrounding a very controversial shooting incident involving a person of color and a White officer, rioting and civil disturbance tend to be the result [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”