When Police Violence Isn't Just a Black Problem: Racial Framing and Support for Police Reform

• In Event: Crime, Law and Deviance Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): 9: Race and Privilege

Abstract

Public discussion of police violence has largely emphasized Black Americans’ disproportionate victimization. These structural realities have reinforced the perceived group position among White Americans that police violence is primarily a problem affecting marginalized groups—contributing to a sense that White Americans are largely insulated from such harms. This study examines how challenging this perceived insulation by portraying White Americans as more likely victims of fatal police violence shapes perceptions of the police and support for accountability and structural reforms. Using a survey experiment of 2,000 U.S. adults, respondents are randomly assigned to read that either Black Americans or White Americans are the racial group most likely to be fatally shot by police. Models assess treatment effects on police perceptions and reform support and test whether framing effects are moderated by subtle prejudice, blatant prejudice, and antiracist beliefs. I expect that framing police violence as affecting White Americans will produce more critical evaluations of the police and greater support for reform than framing it as affecting Black Americans. Among respondents high in racial resentment and blatant prejudice, the Black risk frame is expected to reinforce support for policing and opposition to reform, while the White risk frame is expected to weaken or suppress these tendencies. In contrast, respondents expressing stronger antiracist beliefs are expected to express more critical views across conditions and to respond especially strongly to the White risk frame, which highlights the broader and systemic nature of police violence. By shifting attention from racial disparities to racial privilege, this study shows how challenges to status quo inequalities shape responses to police violence and condition support for reform.

Author

• Christian Elijah Law, Northeastern University