Fear of Being Stopped and Questioned by Police

• In Event: Police-Community Relations and Engagement

Abstract

An extensive literature on police-community relations highlights the impact of involuntary police contact on citizen attitudes toward the police. Involuntary contacts can have particularly negative implications for the views of minority group members, who often perceive differential enforcement of the law and express significant distrust of the police. These issues are particularly salient in light of the current national discussion about police-citizen relations, stop-question-frisk strategies, and police use of force. To build on this literature, this study explores fear of being stopped and questioned by police. Using citizen survey data from a large police jurisdiction in the mid-Atlantic region, this study examines the prevalence and predictors of fear of police stops. Race, ethnicity, gender, immigrant status, perceived police legitimacy, and other predictors are considered. The implications for future research and police-community relations are discussed.

Authors

• Devon Johnson, George Mason University

• Cynthia Lum, George Mason University