Section 8.2 Media Exposure and Perceptions of the Police
Crime analysts do not always focus on numbers related to crime. Their research subjects can involve how people feel about crime or what people think about the police because residents’ perceptions of crime and police can impact the operations of criminal justice professionals. In this chapter, we will use a trimmed version of data collected firsthand, focusing on a study I conducted. In my experiment (Choi, 2018), participants were randomly assigned to watch one of three video clips. The “police misconduct” condition depicted victims or their family members reflecting on police use of force. The “positive police” condition focused on the risks of police work and the sacrifices made by police officers. The “mixed” condition combined elements from both the “police misconduct” and “positive police” conditions to generate mixed messages about the police.
This study aimed to examine whether there are differences in perceptions of the police among groups assigned to watch different police-related videos. There are various methods to measure such perceptions, which have been a subject of debate among policing scholars (Brown & Benedict, 2002; Cao, 2015). In my study, I employed confidence in the police scale, which was consistent with previous research (Gau, 2011; Reisig et al., 2007). This scale includes the following items:
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People’s basic rights are well-protected by police officers in my community.
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Police officers can be trusted to make decisions that are right for my community.
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Most police officers in my community do their jobs well.
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Police officers in my community are generally honest.
Participants’ responses to these survey items were measured on visual analog scales, which are psychometric scales allowing respondents to specify their responses visually on a continuous line between two ends.
