Vo 1 Long Vo Professor Gretchen Pratt English 1102 20 March 2014 Police Use of Force: Public Perception Analysis We have

all been in this situation, we're driving down the road and we see a police patrol car come into view. Just the sight of the officer makes us tense up even though we know we haven't committed any serious crime. Why is that we often feel more contempt and anxious rather than safe and secure when a police officer is around? Why does a person who is dedicated to protecting the community, and if necessary sacrifice their own life to save others, make us so apprehensive? Chances are most of the people reading this are not felons or wanted criminals, so why are we so nervous around police officers? Ask yourself this, how many of you have actually interacted directly with an officer before? Do you draw most of your knowledge of police work from movies and TV or from news reports and secondhand accounts? This anomaly is certainly one of the many difficulties law enforcement officials face when interacting with the public; how well they are perceived affects their ability to efficiently carry out their job. I for one do get nervous when Im around an unknown officer in uniform; I find myself acting more proper, speaking more clearly, and standing straighter. I find this particularly odd in my specific situation. I personally hold police officers in high regards. In fact, Im pursuing a career in law enforcement myself; ever since my first ride-along with a CMPD officer I knew that police work was what I wanted to devote myself to. Yet, I still find myself uneasy when around an officer Im unfamiliar with. Its not a feeling I can rightly justify either, Ive never had trouble with the police before or have been mistreated by them. If I feel this way around law

Vo 2 enforcement officers, how would a less interested person feel when around the police? How would a person who feels that they are being profiled and targeted react when they are around an officer? Perception is reality. It doesnt matter if the vast majority police officers conduct themselves professionally and reasonably, if they are perceived as violent and antagonistic, then that is what people will focus on and eventually come to believe. It doesnt help that law enforcement has had a checkered past and continue to face claims and reports of officers using excessive force resulting in the deaths of suspects, especially among minorities. Why exactly does this matter? Why is public perception so crucial to law enforcement? Why should the officers on the street care what people think about them? In order for policing to be most effective, it must occur within the context and limitations of the law, and should be delivered in ways that are not overly reliant on police powers. Effective policing requires the support and cooperation of the public, that voluntary citizen support and cooperation are linked to perceptions of legitimacy, and that public assessments of the legitimacy of police actions depend on the manner and methods in which police exercise their legally based authority. People are more likely to comply with the law, even laws they believe are unfair, when they view the law and legal authorities as legitimate (Johnson and Kuhns). In reality, police use of force is a rather rare occurrence. Despite the news and movies showing what equates to a highlight reel of police work, use of force incidences account for only a quarter of one percent of interaction between the public and police officers (Johnson and Kuhns). How accurate the rates actually are will vary from area to area but the actual percentage is always low. For example, in a study of over 7,500 arrests in several large jurisdictions from around the country, it was found that force was used in only 12-17% of the arrests. In terms of

Vo 3 deadly force, it is estimated that the half a million officers in the U.S. shoot about 3,600 people each year, with around 1,000 of those shootings resulting in actual fatalities (Cullen). Even though police violence is uncommon during police-citizens contacts, their impact is felt greatly by any and all police departments when they occur, even more so when these interactions are result of officers abusing their authority. It only takes one officer crossing the line to ruin the reputation of men and women behind the badge everywhere. That is why the use of illegitimate force is of grave concern for all parties involved. Public opinion of police officers and law enforcement will rise and fall as news of police violence surfaces. The video of members of the Los Angeles Police Department beating Rodney King in 1991, the report of members of the New York Police Department holding down Abner Louima and sodomizing him with a broomstick in 1997, and the incident that resulted in the shooting of unarmed Amadou Diallo 19 times in New York in 1999 are a few instances where public opinion of police and their use of force plummeted. As these stories became headline news, it created waves throughout law enforcement sparking reform due to heavy public backlash. Yet despite these incidences, it is common to find majority approval of police even when the majority believes the police are brutal and racist (Thompson and Lee). The public view these cases as isolated incidences and not a systematic problem. The police department in my own community faces the challenges of negative publicity. This is a not a problem unique to officers in bigger cities like New York or Los Angeles. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is now trying to recover after one of their officers shot and killed Jonathan Ferrell, an unarmed man, last year. Mr. Ferrell was involved in a car accident and while trying to go get help was shot 10 times and killed by Officer Randall Kerrick, who mistook his actions as an attack; Officer Kerrick has since been charged with Ferrells

Vo 4 death. The incident was all over the news in Charlotte and garnered a lot of public attention. Ferrell was at least the sixth person to be shot by Charlotte-Mecklenburg officers since the start of 2012, four of whom have died (Weiss and Collins). This particular shooting not only brought up the issue of excessive force used by officers but it also brought back the issue of racial profiling, both a key component to the public perception of the police. In a press release, the Ferrells family attorney said, The officer is white, Mr. Ferrell is black. This might be more of a reflection of where we are as a country. There are multiple variables that comes into play when considering just how police violence is actually perceived by an individual basis. Race is the most important factor in determining what an individual will think about police violence (Thompson and Lee). Minorities are more likely to disapprove of police using force. There is a clear racial gap in reactions to perceived police brutality. Blacks are also more likely than whites to believe that force is used disproportionately against blacks. In a national survey, 67% of blacks compared to 40% of whites reported that excessive use of force was a problem in their community (Johnson and Kuhns). In a poll of the Rodney King incident, 92% of Blacks versus 62% of Whites stated that they would have voted guilty in the trial of the police officers accused of using excessive force; 82% of Blacks versus 44% of Whites responded that the verdict would have been different if the police and the man they had beaten had all been White (Cullen). Over numerous studies and polls, it is evident that minorities hold negative views about police use of force because of a perceived pattern of brutality directed towards them by police departments. Statistics do support these claims; Blacks are disproportionately represented among criminal offenders, particularly for homicide. Media accounts of crime perpetuate stereotypes of blacks as violent or dangerous by presenting inaccurate depictions of suspected criminals. The

Vo 5 size of the Black population has been shown to affect police spending, police strength, traffic stops resulting in searches, arrests, and the use of deadly force (Johnson and Kuhns). The next big deciding factor is gender. Women are more likely to disapprove of police violence than men. Unlike minorities though, women hold negative views regarding police violence because they are less inclined than men to view overall force as an appropriate means to keeping the peace (Thompson and Lee). Other noticeable factors include education, financial status, and political beliefs. People in lower-income brackets tend to have more negative attitudes toward the police than do those in middle or upper-income. A possible explanation for this is because police can exert more control over less influential people, especially among the poor; putting a strain on relations between police and individuals with lower-income. There is an inverse relation between education and favorable perceptions of police use of force. Lastly, conservatives tend to show more approval of law enforcements actions than do their liberal colleagues. There is no clear correlation between age and support of police violence. It is interesting to note that one study actually found that White youth dislike police more than their Black counterparts (Thompson and Lee). Another key factor that can explain the public perception of law enforcement is the incorrect portrayal of police work in the media. Law enforcement and famous police cases have long been an inspiration for many movies and TV shows. Recent movies like End of Watch or The Departed are Hollywood renditions of police practices. In interviews and trailers, you see and hear actors and directors talking about the authenticity and true to life detail of how law enforcement is portrayed in these movies but most of the time that is simply not true. In fact, most of the time police practices are greatly exaggerated or misunderstood in these types of movies. Viewers should understand that these movies have to be exciting and captivating within

Vo 6 a short time frame, as a result they have to skew information to make things look good on screen. Yet for those who are not aware of actual police policies or have never personally talked to a real officer, it is almost impossible to discern the difference between what is Hollywood and what is actual common practices. When people perceive that police officers behave in a fair and professional manner, they will be more willing to cooperate with law enforcement and obey the law. As it currently stands, building and sustaining community trust is a significant challenge for police officers. Strengthening police-citizen relationships depends on citizens having confidence that officers are using force lawfully and impartially. To establish this trust, the community needs to see an act of good faith by police officers. Officers need to put forth the effort to be more active and social during their patrol; routinely engaging with citizens in a wider variety of settings. Far too often I just see officers sitting in their car waiting for something to happen instead of walking around and talking to people. There needs to be a greater emphasis on proactive enforcement rather than reactive enforcement. Increased interactions between the police and the community increases the opportunities for people to have first-hand experience with police activities and be in a position to accurately judge law enforcement and their use of force. People need to be reminded that public perceptions of what are, or are not, appropriate police actions may differ from the regulations outlined by departments or decisions handed down in the courts. To the best of their abilities, police officers need to work within their community to ensure that citizens perceptions of police use of force are factbased and well informed, and not overly influenced by media accounts. At the same time, police departments need to listen to and recognize the views and needs of the communities they serve. Having a continual dialog between police officers and the community will help build

Vo 7 trust and improve negative public perceptions. Programs like COPPS, which stands for Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving, offers complete changes in philosophy on how police departments operate; officers are now encouraged to establish relationships with the community. Many departments across the U.S. are now adopting this new program because not only does it show to improve public perception but also reduces the amount in crime and police productivity. While law enforcement has made many strides in the last few years to build trust and improve police-citizen relationships, more work can and must be done, especially in minority communities where skepticism runs higher (Johnson and Kuhns).

Vo 8 Works Cited Cullen, Francis T. "Stop or I'll Shoot: Racial Differences in Support for Police Use of Deadly Force." American Behavioral Scientist. 39.4 (1996): 449-60. Web. 20 March 2014. Johnson, Devon, and Joseph B. Kuhns. "Striking Out: Race and Support for Police Use of Force." Justice Quarterly. 26.3 (2009): 592-623. Web. 20 March 2014. Thompson, Brian L, and Lee J. Daniel. "Who Cares If Police Become Violent? Explaining Approval of Police Use of Force Using a National Sample." Sociological Inquiry. 74.3 (2004): 381-410. Web. 20 March 2014. Weiss, Mitch, and Jeffrey Collins. "Jonathan Ferrell, Unarmed Man Killed In North Carolina, Was Shot 10 Times By Officer." Huffington Post. 19 Sept. 2013. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.