American Policing Under Fire: Misconduct and Reform
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American Policing Under Fire: Misconduct and Reform Ronald Weitzer Society ISSN 0147-2011 Volume 52 Number 5 Soc (2015) 52:475-480 DOI 10.1007/s12115-015-9931-1 1 23 Soc (2015) 52:475–480 DOI 10.1007/s12115-015-9931-1 SOCIAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC POLICY American Policing Under Fire: Misconduct and Reform Ronald Weitzer1 Published online: 25 August 2015 # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015 Abstract A cluster of recent police killings of African city’s police department plummeted to 31 % for Latino resi- American men has sparked an unprecedented amount of dents and 14 % for African Americans.1 Over time, however, public debate regarding policing in the United States. public opinion typically rebounds (Weitzer 2002). In Los Critics and protesters have made sweeping allegations Angeles, approval ratings reverted to their pre-King level about the police; a presidential commission has been 4 years after his beating (May 1995), eroded again after a formed to study police misconduct; and reforms are be- major scandal in 1999–2000, and rebounded again a decade ing debated. These events provide a backdrop for this later.2 article’s review of recent poll data and discussion of Recent events, however, may have a longer-term impact research regarding police relations with African Ameri- than those in previous decades. A series of incidents that occur cans, Latinos, and whites. in a compressed time period and gain massive traction in the media can tarnish the image not only of the police in the cities Keywords Law enforcement . Race . Mass media . Police where the incidents took place but can also damage the repu- reform tation of the police nationwide (Weitzer 2002). This contamination-by-association is occurring today in a cumula- tive manner – with each incident pollinating subsequent ones Policing in America could not be a hotter topic than it – in part because activists and the media are drawing connec- is now. Several incidents, in a relatively short time tions between them (see Table 1). And this perfect storm span, have rattled public confidence in the police and gained added momentum with the creation in December sparked fresh debate on reforms. This is a fairly unique 2014 of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, moment in American history, surpassing the level of which signals to the public that recent incidents are much outrage that followed other high-profile incidents a de- more serious than a sum of their parts. cade or two ago (Lawrence 2000). Each of the incidents has been politicized – interpreted Research shows that public confidence in the police typi- according to diametrically opposed frames – by activists and cally erodes after a controversial incident is heavily publicized pundits on the one hand and law enforcement officials on the in the news media. Two weeks after the 1991 videotaped other. Time and again, we have seen protestors on the streets beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles, confidence in the and commentators in the media (1) operating with a 1 In March, 1988, approval of the LAPD’s job performance was remark- ably high for all groups: 80 % for Latinos, 74 % for whites, and 64 % for blacks. Approval ratings declined substantially four days after the * Ronald Weitzer March 3, 1991 videotaped beating (51, 47, 26 %, respectively) and then [email protected] eroded further in a March 20 poll (31, 41, 14 %, respectively) as a result of the repeated broadcast of a video of the beating (Weitzer 2002). 2 In 2009, the vast majority of Los Angeles residents approved of the 1 Sociology Department, 409 Phillips Hall, George Washington LAPD’s job performance: 68 % of blacks, 76 % of Latinos, and 81 % University, 801 22nd Street, NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA of whites (Rubin 2009; see also Stone et al. 2009). 476 Soc (2015) 52:475–480 Table 1 Recent high-profile killings Date City Victim Outcome July 2014 New York, NY Eric Garner No charges August 2014 Ferguson, MO Michael Brown No charges November 2014 Cleveland, OH Tamir Rice In progress February 2015 Pasco, WA Antonio Zambrano-Montes In progress March 2015 Madison, WI Tony Robinson No charges April 2015 North Charleston, SC Walter Scott Murder charges April 2015 Tulsa, OK Eric Harris Manslaughter charges April 2015 Baltimore, MD Freddie Gray Multiple charges All victims were black males except Zambrano-Montes. At the time of the contact with police officers Tamir Rice was displaying a toy gun, Freddie Gray had a knife in his pocket, and Eric Harris was trying to sell a gun to undercover officers. All other victims were unarmed presumption of guilt toward the officer or officers involved, But procedural injustice at the micro level is only part of the (2) asserting that misconduct is widespread and systemic, not equation. Having a good interaction with an officer does not confined to a few rogue cops, and (3) imputing racial animus necessarily enhance one’s general opinions of the police (Ja- as a motive. When it was announced that charges would not be cob 1971; Skogan 2006). People are also influenced by their brought against the officer who killed Tony Robinson in Mad- “vicarious experiences”: the narratives of friends, family ison, Wisconsin, one protestor filmed on the street shouted, members, neighbors, or remote others (as portrayed in the “This is not what democracy is about,” which clearly pre- media) that are indirectly experienced by an individual. Lati- sumes that the officer should have been indicted. For their nos and African Americans are much more likely than whites part, the police often circle the wagons after such incidents. to hear about instances of officer mistreatment from people in More often than not, the department is slow to provide the their social networks and to internalize these experiences public with information about the incident and the police (Weitzer and Tuch 2006). And proactively, there has been a union (if not the chief of police) typically jumps to the defense long tradition among African Americans of elders taking pains of the accused officer (Baker 2015). to transmit “proper” conduct norms to young people in the Whether politicized or not, incidents of apparent police hope of preventing them from having altercations with police misconduct gain added significance when they resonate with officers (Brown 2009; Brunson and Weitzer 2011). These other factors that condition individuals’ perceptions of and norms include keeping hands in full view, speaking softly experiences with the police. and respectfully, avoiding sudden movements, and complying with officer commands. There is no evidence that white par- ents caution their children in this way. Some Underlying Factors Police-citizen relations are also influenced by neighbor- hood socioeconomic conditions. In middle-class and affluent Americans’ attitudes toward the police are shaped by several communities, a police presence is typically episodic and, on factors, including the dynamics of face-to-face encounters and the rare occasions when officers are called to the neighbor- structural factors beyond media reporting. At the interactional hood, they are likely to treat residents with a measure of re- level, it is now well established that procedural justice during spect (Mastrofski et al. 2002; Sykes and Clark 1975; Weitzer encounters can make a big difference in citizens’ willingness 1999). In disadvantaged communities, irrespective of their to cooperate with officers, in their evaluation of the contact, racial composition, police are less likely to show respect to- and in their overall opinion of the police (Tyler and Huo 2002; ward residents. In addition, some residents of these neighbor- Wiley and Hudik 1974). Procedural justice takes place when hoods engage in unconventional survival practices (e.g., sell- officers give citizens a reason for a stop, treat them courteous- ing loose cigarettes, drug dealing), which is correlated with ly, allow them to explain their actions, and demonstrate that aggressive law enforcement and stops that are essentially fish- police procedures are fair. When a person is verbally de- ing expeditions (Epp et al. 2014; Fagan et al. 2010). A minor meaned, given no reason for being stopped, told to infraction, such as walking in the middle of the street (e.g., “shut up” detained in public for a long time, subjected to Michael Brown in Ferguson), can serve as a pretext for a stop excessive force, or given a “rough ride” in a police van, it is and interrogation whose real purpose is to discover other types almost guaranteed that he or she will define this treatment as of wrongdoing (drug or gun possession, stolen goods, an out- unjust and that these experiences will spill over and color the standing warrant, etc.). Young black and Latino men and citizen’s general opinion of the police. women who live in these neighborhoods are not only uniquely Soc (2015) 52:475–480 477 vulnerable to being stopped and questioned by the police,3 but as Regina Lawrence (2000) demonstrated in her study of news are also much more likely than their white counterparts to be coverage of policing in the 1980s and 1990s. The reforms stopped repeatedly (ACLU 2015; Epp et al. 2014; Weitzer and being discussed today may, if implemented, help to reduce Tuch 2006). There is thus an interaction between (1) high police misconduct and enhance police professionalism. I dis- neighborhood-level poverty and unemployment, (2) residents’ cuss a few of these reforms here. involvement in illicit survival strategies (including victimless During the past year, reporters and commentators have al- and property crime), and (3) aggressive police practices – each most universally assumed that racial diversification of police of which contributes to popular alienation from and avoidance departments will reduce misconduct. The issue dates back to of the police, if not outright hostility toward them.