Race, Class or Neighborhood Context: Which Matters More in Measuring Satisfaction with Police?

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study is to assess the relative effects of race and class, at both individual and neighborhood levels, on public satisfaction with police. Using hierarchical linear modeling on 1,963 individuals nested within 66 neighborhoods, this study analyzes how individual-level variables, including race, class, age, gender, victimization and contact with police, and neighborhood-level factors, including racial composition, concentrated disadvantage, residential mobility and violent crime rate, influence residents' satisfaction with police. The results from the individual-level analysis indicate that both race and class are equally important predictors. African Americans and lower-class people tend to be less satisfied with police. The significant effects of race and class, however, disappear when neighborhood-level characteristics are considered simultaneously. Neighborhood racial composition affects satisfaction with police, with residents in predominately White and racially mixed neighborhoods having more favorable attitudes than those in predominately African American communities. Further analyses reveal that African Americans in economically advantaged neighborhoods are less likely than Whites in the same kind of neighborhoods to be satisfied with police, whereas African Americans and Whites in disadvantaged communities hold similar levels of satisfaction with police. Implications for future research and policy are discussed.

Attitudes Toward the Police: The Significance of Race and Other Factors Among College Students

“…But according to Dowler and Sparks (2008), the impact of race diminishes when perceptions of quality of life are considered. This finding is not quite congruous with that of Wu et al (2009), who assert that even a change in the social economic status does not produce any change in the trend. Wu et al argue that African Americans in higher socioeconomic communities continue to show lower satisfaction with the police than the White residents of the same communities.…”

“…demonstrated that different population groups express different levels of satisfaction with the police, with the more satisfied groups tending to show more positive attitudes toward the agents of law enforcement (Huebner, Schafer, & Bynum, 2004;Wu, Sun, & Triplett, 2009). Satisfaction is often based on preconceptions of the community members toward policing and preconceptions are influenced by the type of information the subject has been exposed to (Peirce, 1994).…”

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.…”

“…Furthermore, given that victims of crime often come in contact with law enforcement, unfavorable perceptions may be the result of negative experiences with the police (Cheurprakobkit, 2000;Rosenbaum et al, 2005) and/or poor police performance. Regarding fear of crime, there is also a general consensus that confidence in the police mitigates citizens' fear of crime (Reisig & Parks, 2004;Renauer, 2007) and that there is a positive relationship between fear of crime and negative perceptions of the police (Brown & Benedict, 2002;Cao et al, 1996;Carter, 1985;Dowler & Sparks, 2008;Wu et al, 2009). Therefore, it is hypothesized that Hispanics who have experienced victimization and those who fear crime will have less favorable perceptions of police than those who have not been victimized and do not fear crime in their communities (Hypotheses 6 and 7).…”