African American Perceptions of Police Misconduct and Accountability

Authors

Ronald Weitzer, George Washington University
Rod K. Brunson, Rutgers University

Abstract

"This article examines city residents’ reported experiences with and perceptions of various forms of police misconduct as well as their perspectives on two types of accountability mechanisms: internal and external to the police department. The data are derived from in-depth interviews with adult African American residents of the city. Our findings highlight the complexities involved in establishing credible citizen-led review boards, particularly in the types of cities such as the one examined here, East St. Louis. Survey research reveals that a majority of the public supports the principle of external oversight, but this general support may be diluted in settings where the public lacks confidence in both the police and in external mechanisms of accountability. The study draws on rich, qualitative data in examining the factors and universes of meaning that influence public attitudes toward police misconduct and accountability."

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Weitzer, Ronald and Brunson, Rod K. (2013) "African American Perceptions of Police Misconduct and Accountability," Qualitative Criminology (QC): Vol. 1: No. 2, Article 3.
Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/qc/vol1/iss2/3