Policing: Public Perception and Decision-Making

Policing
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Policing
Introduction
Many studies on policing today are devoted to understanding the perceptions behind improper police behavior. The concern is mostly guided by numerous incidences captured in media about police brutality within American society (Worrall & Schmalleger, 2018). George Floyd's murder alongside that of Ahmaud Arbery is appalling, and the offenders should face the law if found guilty. However, the actions of these few individuals should not overshadow the work of the many good men and women that tirelessly work to serve and protect.
The Public's Perception about Police
Police actions and decisions have often been marred with reports of excessive force, brutality, and high-handedness for decades. Incidences as far back as the LA riots in 1992 were at their root sparked by incidences of police brutality (Seider et al., 2010). It is, therefore, no surprise that a survey by Cao & Wu (2017) discovered that a considerable portion of Americans thought law enforcement officers within their community treated all races and ethnic groups fairly only some of the time. Unfortunately, such perceptions exist across nearly every state. Almost as many people think police to be racist as people defend their every action as necessary for public safety.
Various factors affect the public's perception of police, including officers' demeanor and demographics such as race/ethnicity and education. Each of these factors offers variances that contribute to the public's opinion of the police. For instance, many people from African and Latin American communities would both view police as being biased, as these minority groups have typically suffered the worst of police excesses in the past. In contrast, white communities have been seen to defend law enforcement officers time and again. However, this occurrence correlates with the fact that there are near-zero victims of police brutality from the Caucasian communities, whereas thousands exist from Latin and Black communities. Equally, the media also plays a major role in determining people's perceptions about police (Schultz, 2019). Accordingly, every time a new case of police brutality gets widespread media coverage, it is inevitable that public perception will become more negative.
Categories that Guide Police Decision-Making
As a free and democratic society, gagging the media to ensure the 'few' instances of police excessiveness are buried remains an impossible option. Consequently, it remains essential that more research be done into how police make their decisions if only to help improve their job performance. As Worrall & Schmalleger (2018) explain, four categories of factors help explain police behavior: situational, community, organizational, and individual factors. Situational factors arise from the traits exhibited between police-community encounters. Race, demeanor, age, sex, and other traits of the victim, are all examples of situational factors that can determine an officer's decisions while on duty. Multiple cases exist where brutal actions by police have been traced back to the race. Beckett & Brydolf-Horwitz (2020) explain that the much-p...