An Inductive Approach to Examining Racial Majority Versus Minority Expectations and Appraisals of Police Legitimacy in a Small-Town Context

Abstract

In the wake of significant media coverage of officer involved shootings and civil unrest to protest police behaviors toward Black suspects, policing is confronting a time where public perceptions of police are central to effective policing, especially views by racial minorities. Efforts to understand these views have largely been conducted within urban contexts. Moreover, many studies have relied on quantitative survey data to examine racial differences in views about police; thus, scant research has used qualitative approaches to understand racial differences. Based on qualitative in-person surveys administered to 238 residents in a small Midwestern town, we aim to understand residents’ expectations and assessments of police legitimacy. Contrary to research conducted in urban areas, we do not find a racial gap in views about police. Other than a stronger preference among White residents on the role of police as crime fighters, differences are subtle. These small-town residents appear to be like-minded in their assessments and view police positively. However, nontrivial, albeit nonsignificant, differences by race include minority residents emphasizing treatment by police in making legitimacy judgments, likely explained by the group position thesis and accumulated experiences, while it seems White residents based their responses on global views about the ideal police officer.