Racial Tension and Public Mistrust: Perceptions of Police Leaders in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV)

• In Event: Police Legitimacy and Bias

Abstract

The literature is replete with studies focusing on the police and black America’s relationship. However, with Hispanics now being the number one minority group, their relationship with the police has gone relatively unnoticed. Yet as a minority group, their members may have similar interactions and feelings about the police as do black community members. The perception among minority police leaders with respect to minority-police interactions remains unclear. As such, this paper looks at whether or not police leaders, such as chiefs and sheriffs, in a predominantly Hispanic region of the country perceive how racial tensions and movements such as “Black Lives Matter” influence police community interactions. Data gathered from surveys are analyzed. Findings and implications for future studies are also discussed.

Authors

• Marika Dawkins, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

• Mark L Dantzker, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley