NCJ Number
224909
Journal
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 45 Issue: 4 Dated: November 2008 Pages: 398-428
Date Published
November 2008
Length
31 pages
Annotation
Contributing to the existing literature, this study examined police misconduct in a majority Black city, and looked at the extent to which members of the public view selected types of misconduct as problems in their residential neighborhoods, as well as factors shaping such perceptions.
Abstract
Findings document the continued division among Blacks and Whites over policing. Net of other factors, Blacks were more likely than Whites to perceive police misconduct in Washington, DC. Class was found to shape the views of police misconduct among Whites and Blacks. The study corroborates the results for the city as a whole. In Washington DC, the lower one’s social class position, the greater the perception that police wrongdoing is a problem in one’s neighborhood, and this applies to Blacks and Whites alike. The results of this study shed light on police-citizen relations in a type of urban context that has rarely been examined, a minority White city, a context that is becoming increasingly common throughout the United States. Minority racial and ethnic groups often view themselves as targets of abusive treatment at the hands of the police. This study examined the role of each factor in shaping citizens’ perception of police misconduct, racial differences in these perceptions, and the reasons underlying them. Data for the study were drawn from residents of a majority-Black city with a majority Black police department--Washington, DC. Table, notes, references and appendix