Citation

Son IS, Davis MS, Rome DM. J. Crim. Justice 1998; 26(1): 21-28.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1998, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S0047-2352(97)00051-2

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Because of the attributed role of race in criminal justice interactions, one should expect it to be significant in police-citizen encounters. This point is accentuated by the cases of Rodney King and O. J. Simpson, and by other well-known cases in the media in which race is presented as an important factor. Employing vignettes and the factorial survey method in a sample of 718 Ohio police officers, this study examined the extent to which a suspect's race influences the perceived seriousness of an officer's conduct toward that suspect. In vignettes describing police misconduct, it was expected that police officers would perceive misconduct toward a minority suspect as significantly less serious than toward a White suspect, reflecting police bias against minority citizens. Contrary to this expectation, race was not found to be a significant determinant of perceived seriousness. The suspect's demeanor was significant, however. African Americans' perceptions of police bias are interpreted in light of these findings.