What if the Police were Black? HBCU Students’ Attitudes toward a Majority African American Police Force

• In Event: Perceptions of Police, Crime, and Justice

Abstract

The Black Lives Matter movement has renewed public discussion about police minority relations in the United States. This discussion includes extensive research demonstrating a consistent and disturbing gap between African Americans and Caucasians in their perceptions of the police. Most of this research was conducted in areas where residents experienced a majority white police force. Missing from this research are studies that assess attitudes toward the police and fear of police harassment for African Americans with a majority African American police force. This study attempts to address this gap by utilizing a 2013 sample of university students at a rural residential Historically Black College and University (HBCU) with a majority African American police force. Models for attitudes toward the police and fear of police harassment include control variables such as perception of crime, collective efficacy, sex, and race. Practical and theoretical implications of the results will be discussed.

Authors

• Sarah Britto, University of Regina

• Dahlia Dawn Stoddart, Prairie View A&M University

• Stephanie Broussard, Lamar State College - Port Arthur