A shifting racial divide? Race, politics, and fear of police violence from 2014 to 2023

• In Event: Crime, Law and Deviance Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): 9: Race and Privilege

Abstract

Motivated by recent, high-profile instances of police violence against unarmed Black Americans, as well as ongoing, national debates around racial bias in law enforcement, this study examines how fear of police violence among the US public has evolved from 2014 to 2023. Drawing on nine waves of national survey data (N=10,612), we show that the stark ethno-racial divide in fear of police violence became particularly pronounced in 2017, corresponding with a widening partisan divide around that same time. Three-way interaction models show that the divergence was largely driven by non-white Democrats and non-white Independents, highlighting how both ethno-racial and political identities jointly shape fear of police—an outcome which is also highly dynamic over time.

Authors

• Christopher H. Seto, Purdue University

• Savannah Brooks, Purdue University