Police Endorse Color-Blind Racial Beliefs More Than Laypersons

Abstract

Racial disparities in the US criminal justice system (CJS) have been extensively documented in scholarly work. Critical race scholars have suggested that color-blind racial attitudes inform the set of beliefs that CJS practitioners use in decision making. If this is the case, factors that are related to color-blind racial attitude trends in CJS practitioners must be better understood. We focus on a single CJS practitioner-the police-to assess their color-blind racial beliefs and compare these to the broader US public. Using the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale (CoBRAS), we identified sociodemographic variables associated with high CoBRAS scores in a multiracial lay sample (N = 1401; males and females, mean age = 33.4 years). Police (N = 112) and police recruits (N = 52) CoBRAS scores were compared to CoBRAS scores of lay participants with similar sociodemographics as the police and recruit samples, (respectively, N = 451; N = 291). Police scored significantly higher on the CoBRAS than laypersons even when controlling for sociodemographic variables. Police recruits also have higher CoBRAS scores than laypersons, again controlling for sociodemographic variables. These findings suggest that police work attracts people who endorse colorblind racial beliefs. These findings make understanding the relationship between color-blind racial beliefs and discriminatory behavior of CJS practitioners imperative.

The Factors that Motivate Law Enforcement's Use of Force: A Systematic Review

“…Research has shown that attitudes supportive of police violence are associated with negative cultural images of Black people (Hadden, Tolliver, Snowden, & Brown‐Manning, 2016a; Hadden, Tolliver, Snowden, & Brown‐Manning, 2016b). The demographics of the U.S. police force is 75% White and male (Hughes, Hunter, Vargas, Schlosser, & Malhi, 2016). Hughes et al (2016) found that police are already more likely to endorse color‐blind racial beliefs, meaning that they agree with the ethos of “not seeing color.” While researchers have found that the more “stereotypically Black” an individual phenotypically appears, the more likely disproportionate violence is to occur (Kahn & Davies, 2017).…”

Police endorsement of color‐blind racial beliefs and propensity to interact with youth of color

“…Police, as a group, tend to more strongly endorse color-blind racial beliefs than do laypeople, and police recruits and experienced officers do not differ in their levels of endorsement (Hughes et al, 2016). Strong endorsement of color-blind attitudes may not necessarily be a function of the police environment, but those with higher endorsement of color-blind beliefs may be drawn to police work (Bornstein, Charles, Domingo, & Solis, 2012;Schlosser, 2013).…”

“…Strong endorsement of color‐blind attitudes may not necessarily be a function of the police environment, but those with higher endorsement of color‐blind beliefs may be drawn to police work (Bornstein, Charles, Domingo, & Solis, ; Schlosser, ). Within this context, Hughes et al () underscored prior findings that motivations for pursuing a career in law enforcement often involve themes of “belief in a just world,” or the idea that the world is “fair” and, thus, just actions are rewarded and unjust actions are punished. Color‐blind racial beliefs correlate with belief in a just world (Neville, Lilly, Duran, Lee, & Browne, ); priming officers to think about “justice” can elevate belief in a just world and result in increased callousness toward others and harsher social attitudes (Lucas, Rudolph, Zhdanova, Barkho, & Weidner, ).…”

“…The link between color‐blind ideologies and prejudice is important, especially in the context of juvenile justice, because critical race scholars suggest that color‐blind racial attitudes inform the set of beliefs that justice system practitioners (e.g., judges, lawyers, police) use when making decisions and may lead to unintentional, discriminatory behavior (Hughes, Hunter, Vargas, Schlosser, & Malhi, ). Yet little empirical attention has been paid to whether implicit bias, in the form of endorsement of color‐blind racial attitudes, is related to police officers' propensities to interact differently with people of color and White individuals, in ways that may contribute to DMC.…”

“…Color‐blind racial beliefs may be an important, yet unexplored, contributor to DMC because those that hold these seemingly progressive, egalitarian beliefs may believe themselves less susceptible to the negative effects of bias. Because police officers, as a group, more strongly endorse color‐blind racial ideologies than do laypeople (Hughes et al, ), examining the role of color‐blind beliefs in officers' decision‐making processes may help to identify a new area for police trainings and intervention aimed at reducing DMC.…”