Public fear of protesters and support for protest policing: An experimental study

Abstract

As protests erupted across the United States in recent years over politically polarized issues (e.g., Black Lives Matter, COVID-19 restrictions), so too did questions about when and how police should respond. The context of these protests and how police reacted to them varied substantially, with limited understanding of relevant public attitudes. Public opinion is double-edged; it is critical for police legitimacy and influences criminal justice policy, but it also often reflects racial animus. We hypothesized that disruptive, dangerous, or unlawful protest tactics would increase support for police control, by elevating public fear, but also that support for repression would be higher when protest goals conflict with preexisting racial beliefs. To test our hypotheses, we embedded an experiment in a nationwide survey fielded in 2020, after George Floyd’s killing sparked the broadest protests in U.S. history. We randomized protest tactics (e.g., weapon carrying, violence) and goals, as well as other contextual characteristics (e.g., protest size). We found that the public generally opposed repressive protest policing. However, certain protest tactics increased support for repression by increasing public fear. Protest goals (e.g., pro-Black Lives Matter, anti-COVID-19 restrictions, or pro-confederate monuments) also impacted support for repression, but the effect depended on respondents’ racial beliefs.

The long-term effects of policing the COVID-19 pandemic: Public attitudes toward the police in the ‘new normal’

“…Like crime trends in the UK and the USA ( Boman and Gallupe, 2020 ; Langton et al ., 2021 ), crime trends in Israel have also changed, including a significant rise in calls for service during lockdowns ( Bar-Tzvi, 2020 ). Finally, the IP were required to handle pandemic-related protests and demonstrations ( Shany, 2020 ), similar to those witnessed in the USA, UK, and Europe ( Metcalfe and Pickett, 2020 ). In sum, we consider Israel to be a useful setting for demonstrating what may happen to public attitudes towards the police over the COVID-19 period.…”

Public Support for “Get Smart” Criminal Justice Reform Post-2020: Virginia as a Case Study

“…Relatedly, in light of the social unrest of 2020 following the Floyd murder, scholars should develop new indicators of racialized attributions and attitudes (Chudy, 2021)—and test their influence on support for decriminalization policies, preferably using vignettes and experimental designs to manipulate conditions under which support might be tempered or amplified. In a recent experiment conducted a few months after the Floyd murder and subsequent public demonstrations, Metcalfe and Pickett (2021) found that racially resentful respondents were more in favor of repressive policing tactics to control protestors (e.g., shooting rubber bullets) in general, and especially likely to support repressive law enforcement action when the protests advanced the rights of racial and ethnic minorities. Racial resentment is generally associated with support for “get tough” laws, such as capital punishment (Peffley et al, 2017).…”

“…Given this scholarship, the operationalization of “post-2020” racialized attitudes and experiences (e.g., Metcalfe & Pickett, 2021) could include measuring the extent to which one recognizes racial inequities in the justice system, perceptions of the BLM movement and protestors (e.g., support, whether one participated in a protest), and other experiences (e.g., confronting someone using racist language). Such indicators may be associated with public willingness to support reforms aligned with addressing racial bias.…”

Attitudes Toward the Police in Prolonged Emergencies: Findings from the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Israel

“…Finally, I.P. officers were required to handle pandemic-related protests and demonstrations (Shany 2020a), similar to those in the United States, UK and Europe (Metcalfe and Pickett 2021). Thus, we consider the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel a useful setting for examining the questions at the heart of the present study.…”