Journal of Social Equity and Public Administration

How Can the Police Avoid Earning Our Distrust?

Exploring the Associations of Police Distrust Among African Americans

Mark Benton

University of Missouri

Michelangelo Landgrave

University of Missouri

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24926/jsepa.v2i1.4987

Keywords: policing, distrust, contact, survey, discrimination

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Abstract

The American public’s distrust in the police is at a historic high. Distrust impairs the ability of the police to meet their objectives. It is therefore important to better understand how the police can avoid earning distrust. Using data from the 2020 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey (CMPS), we explore the associations of police distrust among African Americans. Americans as a group are overpoliced, but we focus on African Americans because of their especially high levels of interaction with the police bureaucracy and the damage police racial inequity has to their citizenship. If the police can avoid earning distrust with African Americans, police could avoid earning distrust with Americans broadly. We find that recent, frequent, discriminatory, and low-quality stops are associated with increased police distrust. This suggests that police can minimize earning distrust by avoiding unnecessary stops and, when stops cannot be avoided, by focusing on quality, nondiscriminatory interactions.

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Author Biographies

Mark Benton, University of Missouri

 

Mark Benton (mbenton@mail.missouri.edu) is a senior research analyst at the University of Missouri’s Institute of Public Policy in the Truman School of Government and Public Affairs. His research interests include equity and inequity in public administration, policing, and program evaluation.

Michelangelo Landgrave, University of Missouri

 

Michelangelo Landgrave (michelangelolandgrave@missouri.edu) is an assistant professor of political science and public affairs in the Truman School of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Missouri. His research interests include race, ethnicity and immigration politics, legislative studies, and state and local politics.

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