Ecological Influence on Perceptions of Police Legitimacy and Suspect Resistance

• In Event: Disadvantaged Populations and Policing

Abstract

Research has generally found that suspect resistance influences police use of force. Police tend to use more severe levels of force when a citizen does not comply with officer commands/authority. As a result, better understanding what predicts suspect resistance to police might be of particular interest to both scholars and practitioners. Using data from the Arizona Arrestee Reporting Information Network (AARIN), the current study examines whether the neighborhoods in which arrestees reside influences their perceptions of police legitimacy and, in turn, their level of resistance to officer authority. More specifically, we explore whether the ecological characteristics of an area (e.g., economic disadvantage; crime rates) negatively impact arrestee perceptions of the police and if those perceptions subsequently increase the likelihood that arrestees fail to comply with officers during their most recent police encounter. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Authors

• John Shjarback, University of Texas at El Paso

• Charles Katz, Arizona State University