Prioritizing Justice? Citizen Policy Demands Amidst COVID-19 and BLM

• In Event: Intersectional Research on Class and Inequality

Abstract

Questions of criminal justice reform are forefront in current political debates worldwide. Despite the prominence of slogans such as “Defund the Police” in media coverage, we are only starting to uncover how different groups of citizens formulate their demands for justice policies within the context of the global racial reckoning and the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper aims to address this question while accounting for the cross-pressures of simultaneously considering financial downturns, racial equity and increasing crime (in some contexts). Utilizing an experimental design within an original survey fielded among the UK population in July 2020, I test whether respondents were supportive of increased/decreased funding for the police with variable primes for racial justice and financial austerity when asked to consider community investment instead. Analyzed alongside responses to questions on individuals’ perceptions of safety and the capacity of the punishing arm of the state, the results allow us to understand what tradeoffs citizens are willing to make to advance certain political and personal goals.

Author

• Elizabeth Pfeffer, University of Oxford