NCJ Number
219672
Journal
Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management Volume: 30 Issue: 2 Dated: 2007 Pages: 277-290
Date Published
2007
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study assessed the accuracy of nonverbal behaviors in differentiating between criminals and innocent citizens and assessed the impact of race as an influence on the display of these nonverbal behaviors.
Abstract
The findings indicate that the following nonverbal cues that police officers are trained to believe are indicators of suspicion, are actually poor indicators of criminal involvement and, moreover, are strongly influenced by the race/ethnicity of the individual: frequent speech disruptions, frequent or inappropriate smiles, avoidance of eye contact, and increased hand gestures. The findings have significant implications for police officers who are trained to be suspicious based on certain nonverbal cues, which in this study were not effective at detecting criminal involvement and were instead associated with race/ethnicity. Future research should focus on the influence of nonverbal behaviors on officer decisionmaking during officer-citizen interactions. The research involved a frame-by-frame analysis of 240 videotaped interactions between citizens and police officers drawn from the Cops television show. Under analysis was the frequency with which citizens of different races and differing roles (either offender or non-offender) exhibited specific nonverbal behaviors that officers are trained to believe are indicators of suspicion. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Tables, references