Police Tactics and Their Effects on Democracy

Abstract

Scholars have long wondered whether the intersection of crime, justice, and local elections are correlated. Recently, multiple deaths of African-American citizens during encounters with police have become highly-publicized and have consequently catalyzed discussions around police misconduct and police reform. Based on the increased exposure of police misconduct, this study explores how contact with the criminal justice system and perceptions of police legitimacy shape political behavior in the modern era, with specific emphasis on the aggressiveness of police tactics and voting behavior in local elections. This study has attempted to control for neighborhood context by using the municipalities with similar ecological factors to highlight the correlation between specific police tactics and voting behavior in local elections. This study also will look at how specific police tactics either promote or obstruct the requirements of a participatory democracy set forth by Robert Dahl. Those requirements are as follows: meaningful and extensive competition, sufficient inclusiveness in national and local elections, and a high level of civil and political liberties. Due to this study’s focus on voting behavior in local election, the analysis will concentrate on the second requirement of participatory democracy. The results of this study show that perceptions of police legitimacy through the use of specific policing tactics are likely to be highly influential in the prediction of candidate selection as well as the likelihood of a citizen’s participation in local elections. Municipalities that have less aggressive police tactics turn out to have a higher voter turnout, as well are to be more likely to vote for a Democratic candidate, while those municipalities that institute more aggressive police tactics will have a lower voter turnout and will also more likely vote for a Democratic candidate but will have larger amount or residents vote for a Republican or Independent candidate.