Exploring the Impact of Anti-Police Culture: A Case Study of Two Former Police Officers

• In Event: Posters II

Abstract

Since the 1980s, anti-police culture has come to the forefront in American culture as being pro-civil rights coupled with a protest against police brutality, racial profiling, and prejudice. Although it is common to hear about the intersection of race issues and police brutality in the media today, there are oppositely rare times when police officers’ perspectives are brought into the limelight. Informed by Conflict Theory, the current study uses a qualitative method to explore the impact of anti-police culture on police officers’ lives and careers. A comparative case study approach was conducted to analyze similarities/differences among two individual cases through a series of in-depth interviews. Preliminary qualitative information provides insights for the damaging effects of anti-police culture on police departments across the US and the officers that serve them. Results also provide insights about short and long-term effects of anti-police culture and prejudice on officers’ mental health, financial stability, career paths, and family lives. Theoretical implications for studying this phenomenon including possible avenues for carrying out effective police investigations will be discussed. Practical implications as well as broader discussions of the importance of understanding the impact of anti-police culture and prejudice on officers’ careers and families will also be addressed.

Authors

• Sherley A. Bedore, Texas Tech University

• Elizabeth Trejos-Castillo, Texas Tech University