Enduring issues of police culture and demographics

Skolnick, Jerome H.

doi:10.1080/10439460701718542

Cited by 81 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…This means that officers tend to react similarly to given situations because of organizational operating procedures, incentives, and top-down managerial and bottom-up behavioral models (Sherman 1980;Wilson 1968, Tankebe 2016). An ethos and mutual conceptualization of reality thus develops in any police department that may include the tacit approval of certain actions that are otherwise inappropriate (Brown 1998;Skolnick 2008).…”

Section: Moderating Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paradoxical effects of self-awareness of being observed: testing the effect of police body-worn cameras on assaults and aggression against officers

et al. 2017

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Objectives Recently, scholars have applied self-awareness theory to explain why bodyworn cameras (BWCs) affect encounters between the public and police, with its most immediate manifestation being a reduction in the use of force by and complaints against police. In this study, we report on the paradoxical effects of BWCs in the context of assaults on officers. Methods A multisite randomized controlled trial in ten departments, with officers wearing (or not wearing) BWCs based on random assignment of shifts. Odds ratios are used to estimate the treatment effect on assaults, along with Bone study removedŝ ensitivity analyses. Further subgroup analyses are performed in terms of varying degrees of officers' discretion, to enhance the practical applications of this multisite experiment. Finally, before-analyses are applied as well, control shifts (M = 28.38; SD = 15.99), which translate into 37% higher odds of assault in treatment shifts than in control conditions. The perverse direction and relative magnitude in each experimental site in eight out of ten sites were consistent. The backfiring treatment effect was substantially more pronounced in low discretion sites, i.e., where officers strongly followed the experimental protocol (OR = 2.565; 95% CI 1.792, 3.672). At the same time, before-after analyses show that assaults were overall reduced by 61% in the participating police departments, thus suggesting paradoxical effects.Conclusions We explain these findings using self-awareness theory. Once self-aware that their performance is being observed by BWCs, officers become at risk of being assaulted. Results suggest that under some circumstances, self-awareness can lead to excessive self-inspection that strips power-holders of their ability to function under extreme situations. This mechanism is potentially a function of Bover-deterrence^. The study further demonstrates the benefits of applying psychosocial theories to the study of social control and deterrence theories more broadly, with a robust and falsifiable mechanism that explains the conditions under which being observed stimulates either appropriate or perverse consequences.

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Section: Moderating Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paradoxical effects of self-awareness of being observed: testing the effect of police body-worn cameras on assaults and aggression against officers

et al. 2017

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“…The "racist police officer" stereotype is one of the most enduring stereotypes of law enforcement in America, irrespective of officer race (Cochran & Warren, 2012;Skolnick, 2008;Tyler & Wakslak, 2004). A simple Internet search reveals millions of hits highlighting racism in law enforcement.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The force of fear: Police stereotype threat, self-legitimacy, and support for excessive force.

Trinkner

Kerrison

Goff

2019

Law and Human Behavior

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Researchers have linked police officers' concerns with appearing racist-a kind of stereotype threat-to racial disparities in the use of force. This study presents the first empirical test of the hypothesized psychological mechanism linking stereotype threat to police support for violence. We hypothesized that stereotype threat undermines officers' self-legitimacy, or the confidence they have in their inherent authority, encouraging overreliance on coercive policing to maintain control. Officers (n ϭ 784) from the patrol division of a large urban police force completed a survey in order to test this hypothesis. Respondents completed measures of stereotype threat, self-legitimacy, resistance to use of force policy, approval of unreasonable force, and endorsement of procedurally fair policing. Structural equation models showed that elevated stereotype threat was associated with lower self-legitimacy (␤ ϭ Ϫ.15), which in turn was associated with more resistance to restrictions on force (␤ ϭ Ϫ.17), greater approval of unreasonable force (␤ ϭ Ϫ.31), and lower endorsement of fair policing (␤ ϭ .57). These results reveal that concerns about appearing racist are actually associated with increased support for coercive policing-potentially further eroding public trust. Public Significance StatementThis study links police officers' concerns with appearing racist when interacting with community members to diminished confidence in their legitimate authority and greater support for coercive policing. In this respect, negative stereotypes of police officers can potentially undermine officer morale and public safety.

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“…The correlation results indicate that a 'code of silence' exists within police recruits when they enter the academy. The code of silence is a means of protecting police officers when they make good-faith mistakes (Crank, 1998;Skolnick, 2008). Rosenbaum et al (2011) reported 'officers' evaluation of the seriousness of minor ethnical violations decreased after attending the training academy' (p. 11), possibly because the recruits learned the 'need to hang together and protect one another' (p. 11).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Police recruit attitudes toward the use of unnecessary force

Phillips

2013

Police Practice and Research

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This study examined the attitudes of police recruits toward the use of unnecessary force. Police recruits from a single regional police academy served as the population for this study. They were provided a survey on the first day of academy training; a vignettes research design was used to measure their view of the use of unnecessary force by another officer and their likelihood of reporting such behavior. The type of unnecessary force plays a role in how the recruits view its use. The use of unnecessary physical force was unacceptable, but verbal force was acceptable. If the suspect flees from the officer, or if the suspect is an auto thief, unnecessary force is acceptable. Similarly, the type of unnecessary force that is used, and the circumstances of its use, influences if the respondents are likely to report the unnecessary force to a supervisor. Older recruits and those with higher levels of education were negatively related to slapping a suspect. Conversely, recruits seem to carry into the academy a 'code of secrecy' that developed naturally prior to any policing experiences. Methods for strengthening the recruit's disinclination to accept the use of force are discussed, as are the difficulties in changing a code of secrecy that already exists.

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Enduring issues of police culture and demographics

Cited by 81 publications

References 9 publications

Paradoxical effects of self-awareness of being observed: testing the effect of police body-worn cameras on assaults and aggression against officers

Paradoxical effects of self-awareness of being observed: testing the effect of police body-worn cameras on assaults and aggression against officers

The force of fear: Police stereotype threat, self-legitimacy, and support for excessive force.

Police recruit attitudes toward the use of unnecessary force

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