NCJ Number
180338
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 16 Issue: 4 Dated: December 1999 Pages: 819-846
Editor(s)
Finn-Aage Esbensen
Date Published
1999
Length
28 pages
Annotation
One of the most controversial issues in policing concerns allegations of police abuse of minority group members; black and white perceptions and experiences of police misconduct (unjustified street stops of citizens, verbal abuse, and excessive force) were examined in three neighborhoods in Washington, D.C.
Abstract
The three neighborhoods varied in racial and class composition, and data were collected as part of a larger study of police-community relations. Interviews were conducted in 1996-1997 with 169 residents of two predominantly black neighborhoods (one middle-class, one lower-class) and one predominantly white middle-class neighborhood. The interview instrument contained both closed and open-ended questions to measure respondent perceptions of police misconduct. It was found that residents of white and black middle-class neighborhoods were less likely to perceive or experience police abuse than residents of the black lower-class neighborhood. Neighborhood class position thus may be an important but often overlooked factor shaping citizen attitudes and experiences. In encounters with the police outside the neighborhood, however, individual race becomes salient. Implications are discussed for understanding the role of race, class, and neighborhood context in police-community relations. 69 references, 6 footnotes, and 5 tables