Police Spokespersons in America: A Nationwide Examination

• In Event: Poster Session I

Abstract

High-profile incidents involving police often garner much public attention. In order to manage the interest in such incidents, public information officers (PIOs) are tasked with handling media inquiries and disseminating incident-relevant information. Given their prominence in media and associated outlets, PIOs are particularly ‘visible’ representatives of the policing institution. Little research, however, has examined the characteristics of PIOs. We contribute to this important line of inquiry by exploring the characteristics of PIOs in the United States. Using an innovative methodology, we first collect sociodemographic data for hundreds of PIOs from across the country. Using such data, we then assess the relationships between characteristics of PIOs (e.g., rank, gender, race, etc.) and their respective agencies and cities. Our results reveal several key findings, which we discuss with respect to police diversity and representation.

Authors

• Rylan Simpson, University of California, Irvine

• Xiao Li, University of California, Irvine