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1 – 10 of 600While the significance of public cooperation for police effectiveness is widely acknowledged, less is known about factors associated with cooperation in hate crime cases. The…
Abstract
Purpose
While the significance of public cooperation for police effectiveness is widely acknowledged, less is known about factors associated with cooperation in hate crime cases. The current study aims to explore how individuals’ perspectives on police legitimacy, contact experience with police and race/ethnicity shape their willingness to cooperate with police in hate crime incidents.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a sample of 693 college students and was conducted at a public university in the south-central region of the southern United States of America. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models were used to examine factors related to willingness to cooperate with police.
Findings
Findings show that those who have a high level of positive perceptions of police legitimacy and those who have a low level of negative personal experience with police reported more willingness to cooperate. Asian respondents were less likely to report that they would cooperate with police compared to white respondents.
Originality/value
This study, emphasizing the relationships between perceived police legitimacy and positive personal experiences with a willingness to cooperate in hate crime cases, has practical implications. The identification of racial/ethnic differences in cooperation attitudes, particularly the lower likelihood of cooperation among Asian respondents, contributed to the current literature and underscores the importance of considering diverse perspectives and outreach efforts.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine Asian Americans' perceptions of the police, specifically how they construct support. Although such literature has been growing in recent…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine Asian Americans' perceptions of the police, specifically how they construct support. Although such literature has been growing in recent years, research on Asian American interactions with the police remains limited. Additionally, this paper is situated within the theoretical framework of system justification theory to account for Asian Americans' views of the police.
Design/methodology/approach
This study relies on interview data collected from 20 Asian Americans residing in mid-Atlantic states. Participants were either recruited directly by the researchers or through the snowball-sampling method.
Findings
Police support is influenced by perception of neighborhood safety, personal police contact and empathetic feelings toward the police. Specifically, regarding the latter component, humanizing or empathizing with police officers is a form of rationalizing individual police misconduct that reinforced police legitimacy. Most participants had similar characteristics and displayed police justification. Additional research is needed regarding what characteristics or patterns are likely to lead to lower levels of police justification.
Originality/value
This article's findings improve our understanding of system justification among Asian Americans, particularly as it relates to policing.
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Yung-Lien Lai, Fei Luo, Chia-Cheng Kang and Tzu-Ying Lo
While a substantial amount of research has been conducted in western societies exploring public attitudes toward police (ATP) among immigrants in recent decades, the question of…
Abstract
Purpose
While a substantial amount of research has been conducted in western societies exploring public attitudes toward police (ATP) among immigrants in recent decades, the question of how recently arrived immigrants view the police in Asian societies has been largely overlooked. This study aims to explore Southeast Asian immigrants' ATP in Taiwan and how assimilation, discrimination, affirmation, procedural justice, bifocal lenses and contact experiences – viewed simultaneously – impact their perceptions.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a combination of convenience and snowball sampling methods, a total of 579 completed survey responses were collected in Taiwan with a response rate of 89%. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to examine key factors that impact immigrants' attitudes toward the Taiwanese police.
Findings
The findings suggest that procedural justice and assimilation are two robust and direct predictors of immigrants' attitudes toward Taiwanese police. Immigrants from Southeast Asian countries who perceive that they have been treated fairly by Taiwan police tended to report more positive ATP. Likewise, higher levels of assimilation boosted confidence in the police. In addition, both nationality and marital status had a significant impact on perceptions of the police.
Originality/value
This pioneering study examines immigrants' ATP among four groups of Southeast Asians in Taiwan —namely, immigrants from Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines. The use of SEM strengthens the robustness of the findings derived from this study.
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Hyeyoung Lim, Brian Lawton and John J. Sloan
This article aims to synthesize published research on the policing of Asian communities in the United States.
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to synthesize published research on the policing of Asian communities in the United States.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a systematic literature review using PRISMA 2020 guidelines.
Findings
Sixteen studies were reviewed. Five examined violence by police against Asian community members and reported rates for Asians closer to those against Whites than against members of other groups. One study found no relationship between violence against police and increased minority representation on the force. Four studies reported conflicting results regarding traffic stops of Asian motorists and in general perceptions of police anti-Asian bias. One study illustrated how racialization processes reproduce inequality both between racial-ethnic categories and within them. Five studies examined Asian community members’ general attitudes toward/satisfaction with police and reported—with qualifications—generally favorable attitudes and satisfaction with them.
Originality/value
This is the first systematic literature review of policing Asian communities in the United States.
Mario A. Davila, Deborah J. Hartley and Ben Brown
The purpose of this study is to gain a broad understanding of public perceptions of the police and violence.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to gain a broad understanding of public perceptions of the police and violence.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses survey data collected from a nationally representative sample (N = 1,223) by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Chicago. Descriptive, bivariate correlational and multivariate regression analyses of the data were conducted.
Findings
Descriptive analyses show the populace is equally concerned about the police use of violence and violence against the police, but bivariate analyses indicate the two types of concern are unrelated, and multivariate regression analyses show that few variables impact both types of concern. Consistent with prior research, young people and racial/ethnic minorities reported greater concerns about police violence than did older adults and Whites, yet neither age nor race/ethnicity impacted concerns about violence against the police. Perceived mistreatment by the police was the only variable which impacted perceptions of police violence and violence against the police in a consistent and cogent manner.
Originality/value
This study is the first to examine public perceptions of the police as both the agents and victims of violence. The results indicate public perceptions of the police are more complex than was previously believed.
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Robert J. Kane, Jordan M. Hyatt and Matthew J. Teti
The paper examines the historical shifts in policing strategies towards individuals with SMI and vulnerable populations, highlighting the development of co-response models…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper examines the historical shifts in policing strategies towards individuals with SMI and vulnerable populations, highlighting the development of co-response models, introducing the concept of “untethered” co-response.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper conducts a review of literature to trace the evolution of police responses to individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) and vulnerable populations. It categorizes four generations of police approaches—zero-policing, over-policing, crisis intervention and co-response—and introduces a fifth generation, the “untethered” co-response model exemplified by Project SCOPE in Philadelphia.
Findings
The review identifies historical patterns of police response to SMI individuals, emphasizing the challenges and consequences associated with over-policing. It outlines the evolution from crisis intervention teams to co-response models and introduces Project SCOPE as an innovative “untethered” co-response approach.
Research limitations/implications
The research acknowledges the challenges in evaluating the effectiveness of crisis intervention teams and co-response models due to variations in implementation and limited standardized models. It emphasizes the need for more rigorous research, including randomized controlled trials, to substantiate claims about the effectiveness of these models.
Practical implications
The paper suggests that the “untethered” co-response model, exemplified by Project SCOPE, has the potential to positively impact criminal justice and social service outcomes for vulnerable populations. It encourages ongoing policy and evaluative research to inform evidence-based practice and mitigate collateral harms associated with policing responses.
Social implications
Given the rising interactions between police and individuals with mental health issues, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the paper highlights the urgency for innovative, non-policing-driven responses to vulnerable persons.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the literature by proposing a fifth generation of police response to vulnerable persons, the “untethered” co-response model and presenting Project SCOPE as a practical example.
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Dae-Young Kim and Scott W. Phillips
The present study examines the risk of citizens encountering police use of intermediate and deadly force, as opposed to using physical force, given a set of individual…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study examines the risk of citizens encountering police use of intermediate and deadly force, as opposed to using physical force, given a set of individual, situational and neighborhood variables.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses data from 2003 to 2016 in the Dallas Open Data Portal. Two-level multinomial logistic regression is used to analyze the data.
Findings
The effects of citizen race differ across the types of police force. Overall, citizen race plays no significant role in the officer's decision to shoot firearms at citizens. However, there is evidence of intra-racial disparity in officer-involved shootings (OISs) between Hispanic citizens and officers. African American citizens are disproportionately exposed to display-but-don't shoot incidents, while Hispanic citizens have a lower risk of encountering police use of intermediate weapons.
Originality/value
The study helps to understand how citizen and officer race influence and interact across various types of police force. Implications of the results are offered in relation to relevant literature.
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Michael K. Dzordzormenyoh, Claudia Dzordzormenyoh and Jerry Dogbey-Gakpetor
The COVID-19 pandemic provides researchers and practitioners with an opportunity to examine the effect of emergency policing on public trust in the police and augment our…
Abstract
Purpose
The COVID-19 pandemic provides researchers and practitioners with an opportunity to examine the effect of emergency policing on public trust in the police and augment our understanding. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to examine the effect of police enforcement of COVID-19 health measures on public trust in the police in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
A multivariate binary logistic regression was utilized to assess the effect of police enforcement of COVID-19 health measures on public trust in the police in Ghana using national representative data.
Findings
Our analysis suggests that emergency policing positively influences public trust in the police in Ghana. Additionally, we observed that police-related issues such as corruption and professionalism, as well as demographic factors of the public, influence trust in the police. These observations are helpful for emergency policing and policy development in Ghana.
Originality/value
This study is unique because it uses national representative data to assess the effect of police enforcement of COVID-19 health measures on public trust in the police in Ghana. Furthermore, this study is among the first or among the few from Ghana and the sub-region to examine the nexus between health emergencies and policing.
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The police require the cooperation of the public to ensure security in society. People cooperate with the police because they share norms and values reflected in the law and…
Abstract
Purpose
The police require the cooperation of the public to ensure security in society. People cooperate with the police because they share norms and values reflected in the law and police action. Police face challenges in obtaining the cooperation of the public. There are studies examining the relationship between the legitimacy of the police and cooperation with the police. Using Tankebe's (2013) model of legitimacy as a multidimensional concept, this study examines the relationship between legitimacy and cooperation with the police in India.
Design/methodology/approach
For examining the relationship, the study uses data collected from a survey of 705 victims of crime in India who had interacted with the police. The research questions were examined using structural equation modeling (SEM).
Findings
On the basis of the analyses, the study concludes that legitimacy is a multidimensional concept encompassing police lawfulness, procedural justice, distributive justice and effectiveness. The legitimacy of the police has both a direct impact on cooperation with the police and the obligation to obey as a mediating variable. The study indicates that legitimacy is an important antecedent to cooperation with the police, which has significant policy implications.
Originality/value
The study is significant as there are no studies examining the relationship between the legitimacy of police and cooperation with the police in India, which is a non-Western developing country and the largest democracy in the world. The present research is the first study of this nature.
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Jessica L. Collett and Kayla D. R. Pierce
We show political divisions in perceptions of police officers even before the divisive political and social events of 2016. We do so using respondents' interpretations of…
Abstract
Purpose
We show political divisions in perceptions of police officers even before the divisive political and social events of 2016. We do so using respondents' interpretations of surprising and ambiguous headlines involving police officers (e.g., assumptions about what happened or who was involved).
Methodology/Approach
We use affect control theory's ABO event structure and derivations of this structure to construct a set of headlines that describe ostensibly good people (A) doing bad things (B) to other good people (O) or are ambiguous on one or more of these components. We present 517 MTurk respondents with a set of seven headlines and collect quantitative and qualitative data on their reactions to, and interpretations of, these headline events.
Findings
Police headlines generate interest among readers. When interpreting events, respondents are less likely to modify or redefine police officers compared to other actors. However, assumptions related to ambiguous events involving police differ by political orientation. Liberals view police more negatively than conservatives, in part because they imagine them doing worse things to slightly better people. Qualitative analyses support and shed light on the mechanisms underlying this and other partisan effects.
Research Limitations
The research was designed to examine interest in headline structure, not specific actors. Thus, the patterns unique to police and political differences were not an original focus. We believe these inductive results are informative, but a study expressly designed to test hypotheses regarding perceptions of events with police officers is recommended for future work.
Practical and Social Implications
Understanding the political divide in perceptions of police and the potential of media coverage for exacerbating these effects is essential and related to ACTs growing interest in meaning divergence.
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