Attitudes Toward and Experiences with Police across Urban and Rural Context in Missouri

• In Event: Police-Community Survey Research

Abstract

Attitudes toward and negative experiences with police vary across demographics and community social and structural context. Primarily due to a lack of data, most work has focused on these relationships in urban context while very little work has considered whether they differ in rural areas. We use data from the 2016 Missouri Crime and Victimization Survey to examine how residents’ perceptions of and experiences with police vary across urban and rural context with a particular focus on local disadvantage and residents’ perceptions of social cohesion. We discuss our findings in light of the post-Ferguson era in Missouri.

Authors

• Eileen Avery, University of Missouri

• Joan Hermsen, University of Missouri

• Katelynn Towne, University of Missouri