Examining the Impact of the Freddie Gray Unrest on Baltimore Citizens’ Perceptions of the Police

• In Event: Crime and Place: The Baltimore City Longitudinal Hot Spots Study

Abstract

Recent research suggests that seminal events, such as the Michael Brown Shooting, and subsequent police response have a significant negative impact on residents’ perceptions of police legitimacy and procedural justice. We capitalize on the occurrence of a major seminal event that occurred in the midst of a large data collection on 450 streets collected as part of a larger study of hot spots of crime. On April 19, 2015 Freddie Gray passed away due to spinal injury complications that occurred while he was in police custody leading to a period of civil unrest. Examining data from over 3,700 Baltimore city residents collected before and after the Freddie Gray unrest at hot spot and non-hot spot street segments, we aim to understand how the days of civil unrest shaped residents’ perceptions of police legitimacy and procedural justice. We are particularly interested in whether residency in crime hot spots or cool spots led citizens to different reactions to these events.

Authors

• Matthew Nelson, George Mason University

• David Weisburd, George Mason University

• Brian Lawton, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

• Justin Ready, Griffith University