Panel Paper:
Policing and Place: A Survey Experiment
Friday, November 8, 2019
I.M Pei Tower: Majestic Level, Savoy (Sheraton Denver Downtown)
*Names in bold indicate Presenter
Samara Scheckler1, Megan LePere-Schloop2, Brian N. Williams3, Jason Anastasopoulos1 and Dan Silk1, (1)University of Georgia, (2)The Ohio State University, (3)University of Virginia
How does socioeconomic context shape policing behavior and does workplace trauma affect the relationship between police officers and the environment in which they work? In this paper we provide some initial answers to both of these questions using a series of survey experiments conducted with officers in several police departments across Georgia and Ohio and compared with responses from Mechanical Turk workers. Previous research suggests that the socio-economic profile of a given neighborhood may shape officer patrol decisions and policing outcomes (Alpert & Dunham, 1988;Klinger, 1997; Meehan & Ponder, 2002; Smith,Graham, & Adams, 1991; Weitzer, 2000). Anecdotal evidence suggests that officers may associate traumatic events they experience while on call, also called critical incidents, with specific locations. Returning to locations associated with critical incidents may reinforce trauma and, in some cases, lead to maladaptive coping strategies in ways that adversely affect patrol decisions. Given that officers may be more likely to experience critical incidents in neighborhoods populated by marginalized communities, it is important to understand the relationship between place, trauma, and officer perceptions and patrol decisions. Our research compares individual scales that measure anxiety, trauma and resilience with a newly developed Implicit Association Test and open-ended prompts and policing scenarios. This paper reports preliminary findings from two survey experiments designed to examine the connection between place, trauma, officer health, and work-relevant attitudes and behaviors.
