Police Use-of-Force Self-efficacy: An Antidote to the Ferguson Effect?

Abstract

Research has consistently shown that officers’ perceptions of deteriorated relationships with the public are associated with physical and emotional disengagement with their work. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this “Ferguson Effect” has also contributed to reluctance to use necessary physical force in the course of their duties, leading to compromises for officer safety and public safety. This study has two objectives: first, it is the only study to systematically assess the claim that apprehensiveness to use force is associated with perceptions of community support; second, it examines whether use-of-force self-efficacy reduces apprehensiveness to use force. Using OLS regression of officer surveys from 4,000 police officers in a Southeastern U.S. state, we find support for both hypotheses, as well as evidence of interaction effects. We identify several practical implications for agency leaders, and further encourage the development of use-of-force self-efficacy as a substantively and theoretically meaningful concept for researchers.

Published in the Journal of Crime and Justice.

Racial Threat and Punitive Police Attitudes

Racial Threat Theory posits that punitive attitudes are produced when Whites are alarmed by large or growing Black populations. While research has identified a relationship between Black composition and support from community members for more punitive criminal justice policy, no research has examined whether racial composition influences punitive attitudes among criminal justice personnel—even though they represent a key population that can engage in discrimination. This study advances our understanding of racial threat and police force by examining the relationship between Black population and punitive use-of-force attitudes on the part of police. Using survey and census data for approximately 10,000 police officers in 97 agencies, multilevel analyses reveal that officers report more punitive attitudes in jurisdictions with larger Black populations and that this relationship is concentrated among White police officers. The results provide evidence that racial disparities in police outcomes are at least partly driven by motivational criteria (such as discrimination).

Published in Justice Quarterly.

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Worried Sick: Perceptions of Low Public Support, Stress, and Somatic Health Problems in Law Enforcement

Recent surveys suggest that confidence in police reached its lowest level on record in the wake of controversial police custody deaths and associated protests in recent years. Meanwhile, research has found links between perceptions of low public support for police and a variety of negative outcomes among police officers, including stress and withdrawal. The consequences of psychological stress, according to much other research, include a variety of physical health problems. The present study synthesizes these bodies of research by examining whether perceptions of low public support are associated with physical, somatic symptoms in police officers, including headaches, gastrointestinal problems, sleep disturbances, and upper respiratory infections. Structural equation modelling of 4,221 officer surveys from a Southeastern U.S. state collected in January of 2022 suggests that officers are quite literally worried sick about poor police–public relations, and that stress mediates this relationship. We discuss the implications of these findings for officer wellness and the relationship between mental and physical wellbeing among officers. Furthermore, we discuss practical recommendations for police leaders who may be struggling to promote officer wellness during a period of intense public scrutiny.

Published in Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice

Demonstrations, Demoralization, and De-policing

Research Summary
This study examined relationships between public antipathy toward the police, demoralization, and de-policing using pooled time-series cross sections of 18,413 surveys from law enforcement officers in 87 U.S. agencies both before and after Ferguson and contemporaneous demonstrations. The results do not provide strong support for Ferguson Effects. Post-Ferguson changes to job satisfaction, burnout, and cynicism (reciprocated distrust) were negligible. Although Post-Ferguson officers issued fewer citations and conducted less foot patrol, effect sizes were minimal in magnitude. Cynicism, which was widespread both before and after Ferguson, was associated with reduced officer activity.

Policy Implications
Post-Ferguson protests in 2014 did not appreciably worsen police morale nor lead to substantial withdrawal from most police work, suggesting that the police institution is resilient to exogenous shocks. Low job satisfaction, however, was associated with fewer citations, and cynicism was negatively associated with both citations issued and community meeting attendance, indicating that agencies may need to address officer attitudes—irrespective of legitimacy crises—to promote proactive policing and community engagement.

Published in Criminology & Public Policy

Feeling Blue: Officer Perceptions of Public Antipathy Predict Police Occupational Norms

Recent protests against law enforcement have spurred claims by practitioners and editorialists that public antipathy toward the police may influence police occupational norms. A number of classic police ethnographies also suggest a link between perceived public antipathy and police culture, but limited empirical research has examined this claim. Using a sample of 12,376 sworn law enforcement officers who participated in the National Police Research Platform, and a series of ordinary least squares regressions, this study examines whether officers’ perceptions of public support predict their cultural orientations. Results reveal that officers perceiving greater public antipathy report higher levels of social isolation, work-group solidarity, cynicism toward the public, and coercive attitudes. We identify practical implications and potential organizational remedies to address these perceptions, and situate these findings within theoretical arguments of early police ethnographers and contemporary claims of the “Ferguson Effect.”

Published in the American Journal of Criminal Justice.