Police Perceptions of Disadvantaged Neighborhoods: An Impact on Police-Minority Relation

• In Event: Roundtable: Critiquing the Influence of Race, Perception, Violence, and Fear on Victimization in Marginalized Community Encounters

Abstract

Police-minority interactions, such as the incidents of George Floyd, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and other Black citizens, expose the ongoing problem of negative interactions between law enforcement officers and African American citizens. Existing literature suggests that police perceptions of disadvantaged neighborhoods inhabited by predominately African Americans may negatively impact police-minority relations, which are essential factors during police-citizen interactions. This article investigates this hypothesized linkage between police-community relations and how they shape officers’ perceptions of disadvantaged neighborhoods. This study used a qualitative phenomenological research design to collect in-depth information from law enforcement officers with extensive experience patrolling disadvantaged neighborhoods. The analytical findings demonstrate how officers’ negative perceptions of disadvantaged neighborhoods can adversely affect the relationship between police officers and minority citizens living in these areas and that pre-existing relations between law enforcement and the communities in which they operate can play an important mediating role.

Author

• Trovona Davis, Virginia State University