Exploring the Policy Implications of High‐Profile Police Violence

• Published date: 01 November 2018
• Date: 01 November 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12410
• Author: Jillian Stein,Johanna Lacoe

POLICY ESSAY

FREDDIE GRAY UNREST

Exploring the Policy Implications

of High-Profile Police Violence

Johanna Lacoe

Jillian Stein

Mathematica Policy Research

Police officers in the United States kill far more people compared with members of

law enforcement in other developed countries (Hemenway, Azrael, Conner, and

Miller, 2018; Lopez, 2018), and minorities are disproportionately more likely tobe

killed at the hands of police compared with Whites (Swaine, Laughland, and Lartey,2015).

Although the United States has a long, sad history of police brutality against minorities,

these incidents have only recently gained coverage in the mainstream media (De Soto, 2018;

Nodjimbadem, 2017). Since 2014, the deaths of several young Black males, killed by White

police officers, were covered widely in the news. This uptick in reporting is not necessarily

indicative of increased incidents of police misuse of force against minorities, but it is likely

the product of many factors including the advent of smartphones and body-worn cameras,

the proliferation of social media, and the increased public awareness and interest in the social

problem. Furthermore, police violence may seem more out of place given how far overall

violence levels have fallen over the past decade (Sharkey, 2018). These highly publicized

deaths and the lack of criminal repercussions for the officers who perpetrated the violence

have resulted in protests and riots in many cities across the United States (Nodjimbadem,

2017).

Toexamine whether such incidents of police brutality influence local residents’ percep-

tions of procedural justice and police legitimacy, Clair White, David Weisburd, and Sean

Wire (2018: 829–858) use survey data collected in Baltimore before and after the death

of Freddie Gray to assess changes in residents’ sense of obligation to obey the law; their

perceived trustworthiness of the police; and their perceptions of procedural justice. They

found little change in Baltimore residents’ attitudes regarding police or procedural justice

after Freddie Gray’s death, with the exception of White residents who showed a significant

decrease in their sense of obligation to obey the law.

Direct correspondence to Johanna Lacoe, Mathematica Policy Research, 505 14th Street, Suite 800, Oakland,

CA 94612 (e-mail: JLacoe@mathematica-mpr.com).

DOI:10.1111/1745-9133.12410 C2018 American Society of Criminology 859

Criminology & Public Policy rVolume 17 rIssue 4