TY - JOUR
T1 - Racialized perceptions of the police
T2 - Measuring the dimensions of juveniles’ perceptions of the police
AU - Ra, Kwang Hyun
AU - Kim, Yeon Soo
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited.
PY - 2019/3/18
Y1 - 2019/3/18
N2 - Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine differences in latent structures/dimensions in public perceptions of the police by race/ethnicity and level of identification with a given race/ethnic group. Design/methodology/approach: To identify differences in dimensions of juveniles’ perceptions of the police by the sub-samples, factor analyses were conducted utilizing data from the Gang Resistance Education and Training program evaluation. Findings: The results show that minority juveniles have a relatively fragmented dimensional structure for the construct of perceptions of the police, while white juveniles have a unidimensional structure. Furthermore, moderate within-group differences in structures were found among African–American juveniles. Research limitations/implications: The results of the current study call for further examination of racial invariant assumptions in criminology. Since individual dimensions constituting perceptions of the police vary by race/ethnicity, those dimensions may potentially have unique associations with endogenous variables (e.g. criminality and cooperation with the police) according to individuals’ racial/ethnic membership. Practical implications: Police should clearly understand individuals’ dimensions constituting perceptions of the police and should identify dimensions that greatly impact precursors to compliance and cooperation with police such as perceived police legitimacy or perceived risk of sanction. Originality/value: Individuals’ dimensions constituting perceptions of the police have significant implications on the construction of measures and their associations with other variables; however, racial differences in these dimensions have not been explored since Sullivan et al.’s (1987) research about three decades ago. In addition, the current study examined within-race differences in the dimensions constituting perceptions of the police.
AB - Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine differences in latent structures/dimensions in public perceptions of the police by race/ethnicity and level of identification with a given race/ethnic group. Design/methodology/approach: To identify differences in dimensions of juveniles’ perceptions of the police by the sub-samples, factor analyses were conducted utilizing data from the Gang Resistance Education and Training program evaluation. Findings: The results show that minority juveniles have a relatively fragmented dimensional structure for the construct of perceptions of the police, while white juveniles have a unidimensional structure. Furthermore, moderate within-group differences in structures were found among African–American juveniles. Research limitations/implications: The results of the current study call for further examination of racial invariant assumptions in criminology. Since individual dimensions constituting perceptions of the police vary by race/ethnicity, those dimensions may potentially have unique associations with endogenous variables (e.g. criminality and cooperation with the police) according to individuals’ racial/ethnic membership. Practical implications: Police should clearly understand individuals’ dimensions constituting perceptions of the police and should identify dimensions that greatly impact precursors to compliance and cooperation with police such as perceived police legitimacy or perceived risk of sanction. Originality/value: Individuals’ dimensions constituting perceptions of the police have significant implications on the construction of measures and their associations with other variables; however, racial differences in these dimensions have not been explored since Sullivan et al.’s (1987) research about three decades ago. In addition, the current study examined within-race differences in the dimensions constituting perceptions of the police.
KW - Perception of police
KW - Race and ethnicity
KW - Racial/ethnic identity
KW - Racial/ethnic socialization
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85052387512&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1108/PIJPSM-11-2017-0144
DO - 10.1108/PIJPSM-11-2017-0144
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85052387512
SN - 1363-951X
VL - 42
SP - 301
EP - 315
JO - Policing
JF - Policing
IS - 2
ER -