Do Blacks and Whites Hold Different Views on the Police?: A Propensity-Score Matching Analysis

• In Event: Communities and Place: Understanding Social Processes and Improving Social Justice at Crime Hot Spots

Abstract

Objective: Previous research has consistently identified racial differences in perceptions of the police. However, few empirical studies examined the relationship between race and perceptions of the police with a rigorous methodology in terms of selection bias. To address this gap, this study uses propensity-score matching to compare perceptions of the police between Whites and Blacks.

Data/Methods: Using a propensity-score matching technique on White and Black survey respondents living in 449 street segments in Baltimore, MD, this study compares perceptions of the police between Blacks and Whites who share similar individual characteristics, experiences with the police, police presence, and street environments.

Results: The results indicate that Blacks in Baltimore City have more negative perceptions of police procedural justice than similarly situated Whites, while simultaneously holding similar views on police effectiveness and police legitimacy.

Conclusions/Implications: Race is tied to perceptions of procedural injustice of the police in American society regardless of one’s individuals’ characteristics, experiences with the police, police presence, and environments of the place where they live. At the same time, findings suggest that racial differences between Whites and Blacks’ perceptions of the police are more nuanced than the current mainstream narratives. Policy implications of the findings are provided.

Authors

• Kiseong Kuen, George Mason University

• CJ Appleton, George Mason University

• David Weisburd, George Mason University / Hebrew University

• Clair White, University of Wyoming