A Documentation and Analysis of Far-Right Extremism in U.S. Policing Departments, 1915-2025

• In Event: Police Strategies, Issues, and Perspectives, Past and Present.

Abstract

Contemporary discussions and debates about the role and nature of American policing have increasingly drawn attention to its historical ties with ideological movements like white supremacy. These discourses have become increasingly visible considering public concern over far-right presence and influence within U.S. policing departments. However, no systematic empirical evidence exists to provide insights into the nature and estimated extent of the issue. To shed light on the phenomenon, this paper presents preliminary descriptive and inferential findings from an individual-level dataset on far-right extremist-motivated police misconduct and deviance (PDM) over a 110-year period. Particular attention is given toward longitudinal PDM behaviors and their potential associations with ideological, departmental, rank, geographic, and historical factors. It concludes with a discussion about the implications of its findings for policy, practice, and collective historical memory. It also discusses the strengths and limitations of the larger project from which this paper is derived and proposes directions for future research.

Author

• Alejandro Beutel, University of Massachusetts Lowell