Title

Officer Race Versus Macro-Level Context: A Test of Competing Hypotheses About Black Citizens' Experiences With and Perceptions of Black Police Officers

Authors

Authors

R. K. Brunson;J. M. Gau

Comments

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Abbreviated Journal Title

Crime Delinq.

Keywords

African Americans; Black citizens; Black police officers; ecology; policing; community accountability; RIGHTS CRIMINAL COMPLAINTS; NEIGHBORHOOD CONTEXT; MINORITY THREAT; SOCIAL ECOLOGY; URBAN AMERICA; CITY; CRIME; FORCE; WHITE; DETERMINANTS; Criminology & Penology

Abstract

It has been proposed that hiring more Black police officers is an effective way to alleviate long-standing tensions between police and African Americans because Black officers will connect with Black citizens and treat them well. This hypothesis, however, fails to account for the macro-level context of the troubled locations in which African Americans disproportionately reside and wherein police-minority citizen problems are deep seated. The present study examines two competing hypotheses concerning the influence ofofficer race relative to that of ecological context in shaping African Americans' experiences with and perceptions of local police. These hypotheses are testedusing in-depth interview data with Black residents of a majority-Black, high-crime, economically troubled city. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.

Journal Title

Crime & Delinquency

Volume

61

Issue/Number

2

Publication Date

1-1-2015

Document Type

Article

Language

English

First Page

213

Last Page

242

WOS Identifier

WOS:000349598900003

ISSN

0011-1287

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