The Racial Divide on Support for Police Use of Force

• In Event: 2323 - Student Forum Refereed Roundtable
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: 1. Crime, Law and Deviance at an Intersection

Abstract

The use of force by police officers has been a controversial issue in the United States, which has gained media attention in recent years surrounding the deaths of citizens such as Eric Garner and Freddie Gray. Polarization around this issue has increased as movements like BlackLivesMatter receive backlash. Still there is hardly a consensus about where to draw the line between reasonable force and police brutality. Though one thing has become apparent; a racial divide on support for police use of force exists. The purpose of this study is to explore this divide and shed light on the possibility that prejudice plays a role in the attitudes of whites toward police use of force. The results from my findings, using the 2004-2014 GSS, suggest that prejudice plays a role in the racial divide which could hold serious policy implications for future research.

Author

• Robyn T Moore, Universityof Maryland- College Park