How Wide Is the Political Divide? Respondent Political Affiliation and Victim Criminal Background Affects Perceived Guilt of Police Who Shoot Children

Abstract

African Americans/Black citizens in the United States are far more likely to be shot by law enforcement officers (LEOs) than European Americans/White citizens. A limited amount of research examines factors contributing to perceived consequences for police who shoot civilians, especially respondent political affiliation. The present study tested how different factors influenced perceived outcomes for LEOs who shoot youth using case vignettes in a diverse sample of 1044 participants. Vignettes included a shooting scenario that manipulated victim race/ethnicity, LEO race/ethnicity, and victim criminal history across vignettes. Results indicated a main effect of the presence or absence of criminal history on: perceived guilt of perpetrator, whether the perpetrator should be fired from their job, whether the perpetrator should be incarcerated, and whether the victim’s family should be monetarily compensated. There was also a robust main effect of political affiliation, such that conservative political affiliation was associated with more lenient views on all outcomes for the LEO. Additionally, several noteworthy interaction effects were observed. Overall, results suggest that, along with situational factors, political affiliation strongly influences the perceptions of guilt and other consequences for police officers who shoot civilians. Differential messaging is warranted to improve public perceptions of LEOs based on political affiliation.