Abstract
ObjectivesPolice legitimacy can hinge on what happens in police–civilian encounters, yet much remains unknown about the socio-psychological processes involved in these bilateral interactions, especially those affecting officers. We integrate insights from policing research with theories and findings from scholarship on moral psychology, interpersonal strain, and victimization fear to develop hypotheses about the situational effects of civilian demeanor on officers’ cognitions (suspicion and perceived danger) and emotions (anger, frustration, annoyance, and fear).MethodsWe administered a series of three randomized vignettes involving routine police–civilian encounters to 546 officers working in a large city in the southwestern United States. We randomized civilian behavior—compliant, bad attitude (compliant but disrespectful), or noncompliant—and the encounter type—offense-based versus dispatch-initiated.ResultsDemeanor exerts a large causal effect on what officers think and feel in police–civilian encounters. In each experiment, civilian hostility and disrespect increased officers’ self-reported suspicion, perceived danger, and antagonistic emotions (anger, frustration, and annoyance). In some cases, it also increased their fear.ConclusionsEach of these cognitions and emotions may separately influence police decision-making, and each carries unique policy implications. Our results also suggest the efficacy of experimental surveys to unpack the dynamics of police–civilian interactions.
Highlights
In today’s society where policing is increasingly visible and salient (Weitzer 2015), whether people view the law as legitimate and trust in legal institutions can hinge on Extended author information available on the last page of the article what police officers do when faced with one of their most difficult and dangerous tasks: interacting with civilians (Mazerolle et al 2013; Tyler and Jackson 2014)
After choosing to intervene, officers choose how to handle the interaction as it unfolds, and their choices can range from issuing a verbal warning to using deadly force
The results show that independent of compliance, demeanor exerts large causal effects on officers’ cognitions and emotions; it influences not just what officers think and how they feel when interacting with civilians
Summary
In today’s society where policing is increasingly visible and salient (Weitzer 2015), whether people view the law as legitimate and trust in legal institutions can hinge on Extended author information available on the last page of the article what police officers do when faced with one of their most difficult and dangerous tasks: interacting with civilians (Mazerolle et al 2013; Tyler and Jackson 2014). The two most important decisions in these interactions are connected (Reiss 1971; Sykes and Clarke 1975). Civilians decide how they will behave toward police officers, and officers decide how they will exercise their authority. When civilians are disrespectful or hostile, it increases their likelihood of being ticketed (Worden and Shepard 1996), arrested (Engel et al 2010; Novak and Engel 2005), and subdued by force (Alpert and Dunham 2004; Engel et al 2000). Officers may be less likely to use verbal deescalation tactics with civilians who are disrespectful or hostile (James et al 2018)
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