Community Relations with Law Enforcement Through the Lens of Media Exposure

• In Event: Students’ Perceptions of Police Legitimacy and Conduct

Abstract

Recent events have brought issues related to community and police interactions to the forefront of the media. An individuals’ opinions of law enforcement agencies may be formed from various areas, including the media. Here, we are interested in the types of media students are exposed to (television, documentaries, films, social media, newspapers), and the portrayals they are exposed to through various stories.
Through interviews with a range of undergraduate students, we seek to disentangle the various avenues of how perceptions are formed. Ultimately, some students will work in the field as practitioners that put them into contact with these issues. All students will confront these issues in the media or in daily life in some fashion, and it is paramount to understand the process of how these ideas are formulated.

Authors

• Kristine Levan, University of Idaho

• Kelsey Stevenson, University of Idaho