Why White Americans More Frequently Fail to View the Police Critically

Abstract

It matters how people view the police—and that there is a substantial racial gap in these views. Research has primarily focused on police experiences to explain generally less-positive views among Black Americans. We recommend a subtle but vital shift in focus, seeking instead to explain the remarkably more favorable average views about the police among White Americans. Utilizing comparable data from two 2016 American National Election Studies surveys, we explore the role of contact with the police, politics, and three different dimensions of racial attitudes and views, finding views about the police among White Americans to be shaped in primary ways by concerns about Black Americans. These factors, and racial resentment in particular, explain a significant portion of the average difference in views of the police between Black and White Americans. We discuss the implications of this subtle shift in focus, particularly for work which sets positive views about the police as the goal.

Homicide Manner-of-Death Classification in Arrest-Related Death

“…30,31 There is a significant body of literature demonstrating a link between political views and the perception of excessive force. [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] The regional difference we found might be explained by political differences in the regions. The NAME position paper on in-custody deaths, which does discuss manner classification, does not appear influential in this analysis-the increased classification of ARDs as homicide began before that publication in 2017.…”

“…It is also emotionally difficult for anyone to separate the legal concept of excessive force (based on Graham v Connor ) from the intuitive idea of such force contributing to a death 30,31 . There is a significant body of literature demonstrating a link between political views and the perception of excessive force 32–40 . The regional difference we found might be explained by political differences in the regions.…”

The role of anger in mediating the effects of procedural justice and injustice

“…Given the fraught historical and contemporary relationship between police and communities of color, it is possible that the relationship between procedural justice and anger is influenced by both the race of the driver and the race of the respondent (and even the race of the officer). For example, unfair treatment toward an African American driver may be more likely to elicit anger among Black observers than among White observers, given that African Americans’ evaluations of the police are shaped by the shared and cumulative trauma of disproportionate police contact, coercive policing experiences, and police violence; in contrast, large percentages of White people deny the existence of racially discriminatory policing practices and may not have a similar emotional response (Cobbina, 2019; Drakulich et al, 2022; Ekins, 2017; Montanaro, 2021; Pryce et al, 2021; Warren, 2011). Conversely, observing an officer treat a White driver unfairly may produce more angry feelings among White respondents than Black respondents, given that White people are generally less likely to experience police disrespect and misconduct, and may expect more deferential treatment from law enforcement (Epp et al, 2014).…”

Another Civil War in America? Comparing the Social Psychology of the United States of the 1850s to Today

“…This has received increasing critical attention of late by public administration theorists (e.g., Bauer & Becker, 2020;Bauer et al, 2021;McCandless & Blessett, 2022). Some of the public administrators that are especially affected in this regard are law enforcement (Drakulich et al, 2023), teachers and professors (Blessett & Gaynor, 2021), librarians (Jaeger et al, 2023), medical and social workers (Garand et al, 2017;Goode et al, 2021), environmental protection personnel (Dunlap & Brulle, 2020;Jylhä & Hellmer, 2020), and election workers (Butter, 2022;Wynn, 2023). Table 1 provides examples with salient issues across these domains.…”