Law Enforcement and the Depiction of Minorities and Women on Social Media: A Review of Municipal Police Department Facebook Pictures

• Author: Brion Sever,Eric Elg,Sydney Ellis
• Date: 01 April 2021
• DOI: 10.1177/2153368718802354
• Published date: 01 April 2021
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Law Enforcement and the

Depiction of Minorities and

Women on Social Media:

A Review of Municipal Police

Department Facebook Pictures

Brion Sever

1

, Eric Elg

1

, and Sydney Ellis

1

Abstract

There is a growing area of research today focusing on how the demographics of law

enforcement officers and criminals are depicted. This research has concentrated on

portrayals by the media, popular culture, criminal justice textbooks, training manuals,

and other literature surrounding criminaljustice. There is little known, however, about

the way the race and gender of police and criminals are represented on social media.

This study attempts to fill this void by examining police Facebook pages in the 171

largest cities in the United States. Specifically, 20,152 imagesof police and criminals on

these police Facebook pages are examined to determine whetherthere are disparities

in representation basedon race, gender, and other variables. We found that female and

minority officers are appropriately represented in the images of police on Facebook

pages in relation to their actual representation in the field. In contrast, images of

criminals tend to be disproportionately composed of Black males. Implications for the

recruitment of minority officers and other relevant issues are discussed.

Keywords

stereotypes, criminological theories, citizen satisfaction, race and policing, community

policing, bias in the criminal justice system, race and public opinion, African/Black

Americans, race/ethnicity, Latino/Hispanic Americans

1

Department of Justice Studies, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL, USA

Corresponding Author:

Brion Sever, Department of Justice Studies, Florida Gulf Coast University, 10501 FGCU Blvd. South,

Merwin Hall 264, Fort Myers, FL 33965, USA.

Email: bsever@fgcu.edu

Race and Justice

2021, Vol. 11(2) 127-159

ªThe Author(s) 2018

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DOI: 10.1177/2153368718802354

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The value of diversifying law enforcement has been a topic of conversation for over a

half century in the United States (Ermer, 1978; Jain, Singh, & Agocs, 2000; Kerner

Commission on Civil Disorders, 1968; President’s Commission on Law Enforcement

and the Administration of Justice, 1967; B. Smith, 2003). Indeed, the U.S. Department

of Justice has not kept secret their desire to diversify police forces across the country,

even providing special instructions for recruiting minority officers in their recruitment

tool kit (U.S. Department of Justice, 2009). Many theorists believe that even more

needs to be done and they contend that the need to diversify law enforcement is one of

fundamental importance to the field (Jain, Singh, & Agocs, 2000; Raganella & White,

2004; Viverette, 2005).

The arguments in favor of diversification of law enforcement agenciesare abundant

and depend somewhat on the type of diversity in question. For instance, there is ample

evidence that minority populationstend to have lower perceptions of and confidence in

police than nonminorities (Benson, 1981; Cao, Frank, and Cullen, 1996; Carter, 1983;

Garcia & Cao, 2005; Hadar & Snortum, 1975; Hagan & Albonetti, 1982; Ho &

McKean, 2004; Jefferson & Walker, 1993; Lasley, 1994; Levin & Thomas, 1997;

Murphy& Worrall, 1999; Thomas & Hyman, 1977; Tuch & Weitzer, 1997; Webb &

Marshall, 1995; Weitzer & Tuch, 2004). Thus, one common argument for diversi-

fication of police is that police–minority relations can be improved, both through the

diversification of individual law enforcement departments and through narrowing

the disparity between the demographics of law enforcement and the demographics

of communities that they police (Weitzer, 2015). According to this viewpoint,

increasing the diversity in law enforcement would improve the poor perceptions of

police in minority populations by giving them more confidence that they will be

treated fairly by police (Cochran & Warren,2012;KernerCommissiononCivil

Disorders, 1967; President’s Commission on Law Enforcement, 1967; B. Smith,

2003). Moreover, minority police officers may relate better to and better understand

these populations, ultimately bringing back needed communication between the

police and these communities (Fridell & Scott, 2005; Hochstedler, Regoli, & Poole,

1984; Sklansky, 2006). This could be a key factor to the success of community

policing efforts within minority communities.

Similar to increasing minority populations that work in law enforcement, the

addition of more women in law enforcement agencies may also provide some

benefits that are unique to their inclusion. A number of theorists have maintained

that, like minority officers, female officers will provide a unique perspective on

crime that has been lacking from traditional law enforcement (Buzawa & Buzawa,

1996; Ledwith & Colgan, 1996; Lonsway, Moore, Harrington, Smeal, & Spillar,

2003). Moreover, female officers may rely more on their communication skills to

deescalate a situation, and their presence may not cause the contention with male

offenders that may result when authority is used by male officers (Heidensohn,

1992; Rabe-Hemp, 2008). This in turn could decrease the use of physical force by

the police as a whole and ultimately improve law enforcement’s relations with all

communities (Lonsway et al., 2003; Price, 1989).

128 Race and Justice 11(2)

Despite the attention in the literature and by the media to the issue of diversity and

police, diversifying law enforcement has been easier to achieve in theory than in

practice. While both female and minority officers have increased in percentages since

the 1980s, the size of the increases has not been consistent across demographics. For

instance, officers identified as Hispanics rose from 4.5%in 1987 to nearly 11.6%in

2013, while Black officers rose only from 9.3%to 12.2%during that same time period

(Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2015). Like Hispanic officers, female officers saw a

significant increase accounting for 5%of local police in 1987 compared to just over

12%in 2013 (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2015). Moreover, female officers accounted

for 3%of police chiefs by 2013. This represents progress considering that females

represented only 2%of all police personnel in the United States in 1970 (Price, 1996).

Regardless of the strides that have been made in diversity of law enforcement

departments since the 1980s, all demographic groups besides White males are still

underrepresented in local law enforcement. While White males make up about 31%of

the U.S. population, they still account for the majority of local police officers in the

United States in the 21st century (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2013). Additionally,

while the U.S. population is 62.6 White, the average police department in the United

States has a demographic makeup of 72.8%White (Reaves, 2015). The sluggish

progress for women and minorities in law enforcement has led to a significant amount

of literature focusing on the substantial barriers still remaining that impede them from

entering law enforcement (Harrington & Lonsway, 2004; Hyman, 2000; Martin &

Jurik, 2007; Scott, 2001; Stone & Tuffin, 2000).

Some researchers have found that law enforcement agencies face a number of

obstacles in recruiting both female and minority officers today (Jordan, Fridell,

Faggiani, & Kubu, 2009; Matthies, Keller, & Lim, 2012; Schuck, 2014). The con-

tinued societal stereotype that law enforcement is a male endeavor contributes to some

women’s perception that law enforcement is an undesirable profession for them

(Dodge, Valcore, & Klinger, 2010; Prokos & Padavic, 2002; Robinson, 2013).

Similarly, research indicates that educated Black populations hold negative stereo-

types about the job of policing and view it as an undesirable occupation that will only

lead to unequal advancement possibilities for minorities (Stone & Tuffin, 2000). Other

segments within Black populations view the police as antagonists and perceive joining

the ranks of police as a betrayal to their race and community (Stone & Tuffin, 2000).

These stereotypes for both minorities and women may be perpetuated in popular

culture, the media, textbooks, and training manuals.

The complications that police face in recruitment of female and minority offices

may be seen as a cyclical process. While poor perceptions of minorities toward law

enforcement may be impacted by the lack of diversity in law enforcement officers, the

lack of diversity in law enforcement officers may in part be impacted by the negative

images of minorities they encounter when viewing police related media stories or

when they visit police departments online. Similarly, women may perceive that the

field of law enforcement is better suited for males, and recruitment of women may be

ineffective because women constantly see reminders that law enforcement is primarily

Sever et al. 129