Citation

Ilchi OS, Frank J. J. Crime Justice 2020; 43(2): 228-244.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Midwestern Criminal Justice Association, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/0735648X.2019.1653217

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

During these times of escalating tensions between the police and the communities they serve, the news and social media have been full of images of police officers wearing military gear, armed with military weapons, and driving military vehicles. This study surveyed a sample of undergraduate college students taking criminal justice classes at a Midwestern university and examined whether the blurred lines between police officers and soldiers have caused the public to perceive police officers who work in urban areas as being equivalent to soldiers in war zones. The findings indicate that holding a conservative crime ideology and having negative attitudes towards people who live in poor, high crime neighborhoods ('the policed') are strong predictors of a belief in police-military equivalency.

DISCUSSIONs for future research and tests of this theory are discussed.

Language: en

Keywords

Citizen perceptions of the police; police militarization; symbolic racism