Towards a Better Understanding of Policing: Race and Class

• In Event: The Politics of Crime, Marginality, and Policing

Abstract

This study examines how different segments of the population experience police interactions. I explore why and how various demographic groups experience police contact and what the determinants of the use of force in these interactions. Data for this study come from a nationally representative data set covering years 1996 to 2011. This data is unique in that it asks civilians about their interactions with police. Much of previous work relies primarily on administrative statistics from police departments and other reporting agencies which only give one side of a complex story. Furthermore, none of the interactions with police documented in this survey resulted in conviction or incarceration for the respondents. Thus, this provides a rare glimpse into the ways police interactions play out in everyday, mundane life of citizens not found guilty of any wrongdoing and potentially provides further insight beyond the traditionally reported statistics. In this study, I will investigate the degree to which the intersection of race and class predict experiences of contact with the police and use of force with police. The findings of this study will provide a key insight into the degree to which trends highlighted in cities such as Ferguson are representative of what is happening across the United States as a whole.

Author

• Megan Blanchard, Princeton University