NCJ Number
174636
Journal
Policing Volume: 21 Issue: 4 Dated: 1998 Pages: 683-706
Date Published
1998
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This article explores the effects of a critical incident on various measures of support for the police, and does so within the context of Easton's theory of support for political institutions.
Abstract
The article examines the effect of a highly publicized violent arrest of an African-American youth on general (or diffuse) levels of support for the police institution. Diffuse support for the police is relatively constant, varying little with specific situations or actors. Specific support, on the other hand, depends on the outcome of a quid pro quo relationship in which a constituent anticipates outcome benefits. Non-white respondents held significantly less favorable attitudes toward police than did white respondents on all measures evaluated, and were significantly more affected by the use-of-force incident. This difference is attributable to chronic reductions in levels of specific support and a less robust reservoir of good will (diffuse support) from which to draw. Distinguishing between diffuse and specific support is particularly relevant to policymakers. Significantly reduced levels of diffuse support among a portion of a political system's constituency could act as an early warning of the possibly disastrous effects of a single specific incident. Tables, figures, notes, references, bibliography, appendix