Perceptions of African American Police Officers on Racial Profiling in Small Agencies

Abstract

Most assessments of the impact and effects of biased-based policing have been reviewed from the aspect of officer-citizen interaction during traffic stops, with the majority of studies focusing on these occurrences in larger police jurisdictions. Yet police officers themselves, and particularly African American officers, bring a completely different perspective to this issue that has not been fully considered or developed, especially where it concerns the smaller agencies that make up the bulk of the nation’s police community. This study considers the perceptions of African American police officers regarding the presence and impact of biased-based policing in their agencies, as well as their perceptions of the positive or negative effects of their presence in these small local police agencies.

Keywords

Black law enforcement officers racial profiling bias-based policing stereotyping police misconduct role perception perception racism in policing

Introduction

What is racial profiling? And, what is its impact on small police agencies and the African American police officers employed by them? While there are several differing definitions, most provide only the narrowest possible information imaginable, leading one often, and improperly, to identify this phenomenon in terms that are easily denounced and denied. However, in strict layman’s terms, racial profiling is the use of race as the principal or key factor used by the police for stopping, questioning, searching, or arresting someone, rather than the use of “reasonable suspicion” (Chan, 2011; Weitzer & Tuch, 2002). Now more commonly referred to as bias-based policing, it is an issue that has consistently undermined attempts to build better relationships between police and the community, particularly communities of color. Studies have indicated that as many as 21% of serving police officers believe that it is actively practiced, and likely condoned, by members of their agency (Ioimo, Tears, Meadows, Becton, & Charles, 2007).

Racial profiling has seemingly become institutionalized as a systemic part of law enforcement culture. Many law enforcement officers view this procedure as a valid process for curtailing crime and criminal behavior, even while officially considered improper. In fact, numerous police officials suggest that complaints of racial profiling are nothing more than perceptual misunderstandings due to citizen’s lack of understanding the strategies, procedures, techniques, and legal standards used by law enforcement in their daily activities (Covington, 2001). Consequently, some police managers may have turned a blind eye to any known instances of improper conduct in this regard (Ioimo, Meadows, Becton, Tears, & Charles, 2008; Wilson & Wilson, 2014).

It must, however, be both recognized and accepted that racial profiling by police officers, regardless of societal and governmental stated efforts toward its eradication, is a proven fact of life in communities of color, and is symptomatic of the failures and underpinnings of the institution of policing itself (Coker, 2003; Harris, 1997; Lundman & Kaufman, 2003; Smith & Petrocelli, 2001; Weitzer & Tuch, 2002).

Currently, however, only a small amount of research has been compiled regarding how police officers view the actual practice of racial profiling (Engel, Calnon, & Bernard, 2002; Ioimo, Becton, Meadows, Tears, & Charles, 2011; Ioimo et al., 2007) and even less on the perceptions of African American police officers and how they view this specific issue, particularly in those small agencies that make up the bulk of the nation’s law enforcement community (Barlow & Barlow, 2002; Cochran & Warren, 2012; Engel, 2005; Wilson & Wilson, 2014).

Racial Profiling

While racial profiling has been with us since the days of slavery, most scholars have tended to ignore what has been considered powerful, but anecdotal, evidence of its existence, even though such evidence has been readily available in most Black communities (Gabbidon, Marzette, & Peterson, 2007). With some adopting the view that police use race as a form of criminal shorthand that leads them to be more suspicious of racial minorities (Harris, 2002), research has consistently argued that the constraints of bias-based policing have much to do with the lack of confidence in the police for fair treatment in communities of color (Gabbidon & Higgins, 2009; Gabbidon, Higgins, & Potter, 2011; Hagan, Shedd, & Payne, 2005; Hurst, Frank, & Browning, 2000; Reisig, McCluskey, Mastrofski, & Terrill, 2004; Tyler, 2005), with most indicating that those living in White neighborhoods are disinclined to believe that police discriminate against minorities, while those living in predominantly Black neighborhoods generally believe that they are treated more harshly by police and that this treatment is quite common. This has further served to amplify the belief that “Protect and Serve” is a concept only found in predominantly White neighborhoods, while “Law and Order” initiatives are the more common approach in minority neighborhoods (Wilson & Wilson, 2014).

With its genesis in the much celebrated war on drugs, for some the mere fact that police appear to disproportionately arrest or ticket persons of color is not, in and of itself, proof positive that racial profiling exists (Harcourt, 2004). For years, though, African American’s have been stereotyped as criminals (Drummond, 1990; Russell, 2002), with young Black men portrayed as criminal predators (Mauer, 1999), physically threatening (Chiricos & Eschholz, 2002), and having a “biological flaw” in their makeup, which causes them to be more prone to violence (Mauer, 1999). Bias takes on many different faces and is rationalized differently by all. Factors such as trait variability, group variability, in-group versus out-group membership, group entitativity, and cross-categorization have been considered where the development of stereotyping has been concerned (Clow & Esses, 2005). Yet the stereotypical face of violent and abhorrent behavior for many in the general public, as well as law enforcement officers, remains that of young Black men (Butler, 2004).

The courts, however, have many times appeared to sanction the use of this practice. As seen through the lens of such decisions as those rendered in Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857), Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), Terry v. Ohio (1968), Whren v. United States (1996), United States v. Brignoni-Ponce (1975), United States v. Cortez (1981), and United States v. Sokolow (1989), the legal precedence and rationality of racial profiling has been brought to the forefront of promoting police behavior where this issue is concerned. For many African American’s, this practice has seen the evolution of “Driving While Black” and stop-and-frisk as an outright effort of subjugation of the Black community.

The constructs of media attention and coverage of crime have also provided added fodder to the general public’s perceptions of African American’s as criminals, with a disproportionate amount of media coverage being devoted to crimes for which African American’s are more likely than others to be arrested, further demonizing them and reinforcing the perceptions of African American’s as nothing more than violent criminals (Chiricos & Eschholz, 2002; Gerbner, 2003; Young, 1985). Convincing evidence of this can be seen in the reporting of the ugly aftermath of the August 9, 2014, shooting of an unarmed Black teenager by a White police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. With a view that police officers possess unconscious biases due to social conditioning or illusory correlations (Hamilton & Gifford, 1976; Kowalski, 2003; Smith & Alpert, 2007), it is then no wonder that many police officers may hold these opinions as well.

Some have determined that a trend toward media depictions of African American police officers as comedic fodder or sellouts to their community exists. In an analysis of more than 500 police genre films over a period of four decades, it was determined that African American law enforcement officers were portrayed in a comedic light, being the target of jokes of all natures (Wilson & Henderson, 2014). Others have determined that heavy viewers of televised news articles concerning crime issues were more likely than light viewers of those same articles to have less than positive perceptions of African American officers that were featured in the newscasts (Dixon, 2007). Still others have investigated the impact of stereotypical versus counter-stereotypical media exemplars on racial attitudes (Ramasubramanian, 2011) and whether being exposed to certain news articles lead persons to perceive Blacks and other minorities as more threatening (Vergeer, Lubbers, & Scheepers, 2000).

While for years the widespread concern of this issue has been its occurrence in larger, more diverse metropolitan areas (Chan, 2011; Covington, 2001; Engel, 2005; Gabbidon & Higgins, 2009; Gabbidon et al., 2011; Lichter, Parisi, Grice, & Taquino, 2007), little investigation has been conducted regarding its presence or prevalence in smaller suburban and rural areas (Kuhns, Blevins, & Austin, 2012). Yet it is almost certain that racial profiling occurs in these smaller areas (Alba & Logan, 1993; Darden & Kamel, 2000; Meehan & Ponder, 2006; Weitzer, 2000a; Wilson & Wilson, 2014). Many of these smaller agencies are unable, as well, to take advantage of any likely benefits of the presence of African American police officers due to their noted absence in their force matrices. Consequently, no inferences have been obtained regarding how these officers perceive the occurrence of bias-based policing or its level of official or unofficial sanctioning by their agencies.

Although there appears to be a general belief within minority communities that racial profiling is perpetrated singularly by White police officers (Cochran & Warren, 2012; Coker, 2003; Donohue & Levitt, 2001, Gabbidon & Higgins, 2009; Hagan et al., 2005), studies have indicated that some African American police officers themselves have been found to use bias-based procedures for stopping motorists. It has been postulated though, that due to their having actually lived the experience of being both Black and law enforcement officers, African American officers may have a greater understanding of those issues associated with racial profiling and are able to provide exceptionally valid viewpoints on this phenomenon (Barlow & Barlow, 2002). Thus, their presence in these smaller agencies may have a specifically dynamic impact on the manner in which community policing is practiced.

Black Law Enforcement in the United States

Studies conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice have indicated that roughly 11.9% of all sworn law enforcement officers are of African American heritage (Reaves, 2010), with this same study postulating that nearly one half of the nation’s police agencies employ fewer than 10 officers. While there is no doubt of the large presence of African American officers working in areas such as New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., it may be safe to presume that their numbers are relatively small in those agencies that seem to make up the mainstream of the nation’s law enforcement community (Wilson & Wilson, 2014).

For more than 2 centuries, however, African American’s have directly participated in the delivery of police services (Dulaney, 1984, 1996), and have played a pivotal role in the scheme of police-community relations, even while their services, impact, and accomplishments have been largely ignored by White researchers and commentators (Bolton & Feagin, 2004).

Yet there has remained an uncertain relationship, which has left many of these officers feeling as though they are outsiders and treated as second-class citizens within their own agencies (Sun, 2003; Title, 1995), receiving little to no support in their role (Violanti & Aron, 1995), and experiencing heightened levels of discrimination causing limited advancement (Dowler, 2005; Kuykendall & Burns, 1980; Toch, 2002) and tokenism (Stroshine & Brandl, 2011). This may be particularly so in smaller agencies where their numbers are likely gauged in single and double digits as opposed to the hundreds found working in larger metropolitan and urban areas (Wilson & Wilson, 2014), thus providing them with little peer support and a lack of social capital.

Recruitment, promotion, and retention of African American’s as police officers has not been without its problems (Cashmore, 2002; O’Neill & Holdaway, 2007), with various studies indicating that they remain severely underrepresented in agencies on a wide range (Reaves, 2010; Taylor et al., 2009; Wilson, Wilson, Luthar, & Bridges, 2013).

Although several have investigated the effects of citizen-police interaction on the basis of officer race (Mastrofski, Parks, DeJong, & Worden, 1998; Mastrofski, Reisig, & McCluskey, 2002), with only a few finding that African American police officers actually seem to have a better understanding of issues in the Black community (Decker & Smith, 1980; Dulaney, 1984; Weitzer, 2000b), even while indicating that this has little impact on their behavior toward citizens in general, their presence in police agencies has been reported to have had a significant impact on enhanced concepts of police legitimacy (Skogan & Frydl, 2004) and improved interaction with the communities of color that they serve (Donohue & Levitt, 2001; Weitzer, Tuch, & Skogan, 2008).

Unfortunately, because most of the literature that has considered the presence of African American police officers has been concentrated on their services in larger metropolitan areas (Barlow & Barlow, 2002; Haarr & Morash, 1999; Leinen, 1984; Martin, 1991; Warner, Steel, & Lovrich, 1989; Weitzer et al., 2008; Zhao, Herbst, & Lovrich, 2001), little is actually known of their perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs where their service in smaller agencies is concerned.

Men and women of color working in the professional ranks of the criminal justice system play an important and pivotal role in the way justice for all is dispensed. How they view themselves and their profession as a part of that process provides insight into the impact that role has on the profession itself.

Method

This article focuses on the views of African American police officers employed in small police agencies as they relate to perceived issues of bias-based policing and the impact of their presence in those agencies as it relates to their community policing efforts. Therefore, three principal research questions were posed:

Research Question 1: Do you feel that racial profiling or police misconduct is practiced by persons within your agency?

Research Question 2: Do you feel racial profiling or police misconduct is condoned by your agency?

Research Question 3: Do you feel that your presence has a significant impact on the manner in which your agency deals with the minority community?

An online survey was presented to selected members of the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers, a non-profit organization representing the issues and concerns of officers of color, who indicated that their service was with an agency having less than 150 sworn personnel. One hundred forty-four officers were then selected from a listing of members located in the Northeast area of the country who had previously participated in an internal survey regarding membership needs.

Participants in the survey were asked to respond to a questionnaire consisting of 21 questions, and to self-report their perceptions of role, organizational integration, agency and individual officer practices where racial profiling was concerned, and peer and community support. They were also requested to provide brief demographic information.

Survey questions were based on a 5-point Likert-type scale (strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree), which has proven to be extremely useful in measuring constructs of attitudes and opinions. Responses were coded 1 through 5, with the resulting data set analyzed based on a statistical frequency analysis, thus making the results efficient and straightforward for implementation. A total of 102 responses were received for a sample rate of 70.8%.

Analysis and Findings

Respondent Demographics

There were 102 respondents (male = 84, female = 18) with an age range of 43, and a mean age of 50 years (50.09) for all respondents. The average ages of both males and females were similar. When only observing males, the mean age was 50 years (50.39). Similarly, the mean age for female respondents was 49 years (48.67).

Our analysis showed the average years of service to be 23 (23.13). Specifically, males had an average of 24 years (24.14) while females had an average of 18 years (18.28). In total, the years of service had a range of 32 years, with a minimum value of 7 years and a maximum value of 39 years.

To delve further into the respondents’ backgrounds, we considered correlations between gender and ranking. The respondents were given nine options to choose from: Patrol Officer, Corporal, Detective, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Deputy Chief, and Chief (see Table 1).

Table 1.

Respondent Demographics—Rank.

	Rank
	Patrol	Corporal	Detective	Sergeant	Lieutenant	Captain	Total
Gender
Male
Count	41	16	9	11	6	1	84
% within gender	48.8	19.0	10.7	13.1	7.1	1.2	100.0
% within current_rank	78.8	88.9	69.2	91.7	100.0	100.0	82.4
% of total	40.2	15.7	8.8	10.8	5.9	1.0	82.4
Female
Count	11	2	4	1	0	0	18
% within gender	61.1	11.1	22.2	5.6	0.0	0.0	100.0
% within current_rank	21.2	11.1	30.8	8.3	0.0	0.0	17.6
% of total	10.8	2.0	3.9	1.0	0.0	0.0	17.6
Total
Count	52	18	13	12	6	1	102
% within gender	51.0	17.6	12.7	11.8	5.9	1.0	100.0
% within current_rank	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
% of total	51.0	17.6	12.7	11.8	5.9	1.0	100.0

Male respondents were most likely to be a Patrol Officer at an occurrence of 48.8%. The other 51.2% of males were widely spread. The remaining percent of males were then more likely to be a Corporal (19.0%), or a Sergeant (13.1%). Males were less likely to be a Detective (10.7%) or a Lieutenant (7.1%). Finally, the male data set showed that they were least likely to be Captain (1.2%).

Female respondents were most likely to be a Patrol Officer at an occurrence of 61.1%. This statistic makes female respondents 12.3% more likely to be a Patrol Officer than male respondents. Next to Patrol Officer, females were likely to be a Detective (22.2%), followed by Corporal (11.1%). Females were less likely to be Sergeants (5.6%), and no female respondents were Lieutenants or Captains.

Respondents, in total, were most likely to be a Patrol officer (51%). They were then more likely to be Detectives (12.7%), followed by Sergeant (11.8%), Corporal (6.9%), Lieutenant (5.9%), and least likely to be Captain (1%).

Education is a variable that is frequently observed due to the sheer assumption that it correlates with many other aspects in life. The respondents were given seven choices: high school/GED (General Educational Development), associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, PhD, post-doctoral, and certificate (see Table 2).

Table 2.

Respondent Demographics—Education.

	Education
	0	HS/GED	AA degree	BA degree	MA degree	Total
Gender
Male
Count	9	25	17	31	2	84
% within gender	10.7	29.8	20.2	36.9	2.4	100.0
% within education	100.0	92.6	68.0	79.5	100.0	82.4
% of total	8.8	24.5	16.7	30.4	2.0	82.4
Female
Count	0	2	8	8	0	18
% within gender	0.0	11.1	44.4	44.4	0.0	100.0
% within education	0.0	7.4	32.0	20.5	0.0	17.6
% of total	0.0	2.0	7.8	7.8	0.0	17.6
Total
Count	9	27	25	39	2	102
% within gender	8.8	26.5	24.5	38.2	2.0	100.0
% within education	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
% of total	8.8	26.5	24.5	38.2	2.0	100.0

Note. HS = high school; GED = General Educational Development.

Males were found most likely to have a bachelor’s degree (36.9%). This was followed by high school/GED (29.8%). Males were less likely to have an associate’s degree (20.2%), and least likely to have a master’s degree (2.4%).

Females, while also more likely to have a bachelor’s degree, also had the same chance of having an associate’s degree, both with a likelihood of 44.4%. They were less likely to have a high school/GED (11.1%), and no females had a master’s degree.

Only 59.5% of males had a higher education than a high school diploma or GED, while 88.8% of females did. This statistic showed that females were more likely than males to have had a post high school formal education.

The entire data set matches the males’ data to which all the respondents were most likely to have a bachelor’s degree (38.2%), followed by a high school degree or GED (26.5%), then an associate’s degree (24.5%). Respondents were all least likely to have a master’s degree (2%).

Perceptions of Racial Profiling

A principal concern of this study was to determine African American officers’ perceptions regarding the occurrence of racial profiling within their agencies. Findings indicated that male officers had a high chance of agreeing that profiling occurs in their agency (89.3%). Only 8.3% of males disagreed and 2.4% were neutral. All female respondents agreed that profiling occurs in their agency (100%).

Males and females in total were most likely to agree that profiling occurs in their agency (91.2%, N = 93). Only 6.9% disagreed and 2% were neutral (see Table 3).

Table 3.

Perceptions of Racial Profiling Occurrences Within Agency.

	profiling_occurs
	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Total
Gender
Male
Count	75	2	7	84
% within gender	89.3	2.4	8.3	100.0
% within profiling_occurs	80.6	100.0	100.0	82.4
% of total	73.5	2.0	6.9	82.4
Female
Count	18	0	0	18
% within gender	100.0	0.0	0.0	100.0
% within profiling_occurs	19.4	0.0	0.0	17.6
% of total	17.6	0.0	0.0	17.6
Total
Count	93	2	7	102
% within gender	91.2	2.0	6.9	100.0
% within profiling_occurs	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
% of total	91.2	2.0	6.9	100.0

Due to the high percentage of respondents agreeing that profiling occurs, the next logical step was to examine if they also agreed that police supervisors and administrators were condoning it (see Table 4). Male officers were most likely to agree that profiling was condoned (64.3%, n = 54), followed by an even split of neutral and disagree responses (both 17.9%). This indicated that while most male officers (89.3%) believed profiling occurred, not all of them believed those actions were condoned. Contrary to males, all females who believed profiling occurred also agreed that it was condoned (100%).

Table 4.

Perceptions of Administrative Attitudes Toward Racial Profiling.

	profiling_condoned
	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Total
Gender
Male
Count	54	15	15	84
% within gender	64.3	17.9	17.9	100.0
% within profiling_condoned	75.0	100.0	100.0	82.4
% of total	52.9	14.7	14.7	82.4
Female
Count	18	0	0	18
% within gender	100.0	0.0	0.0	100.0
% within profiling_condoned	25.0	0.0	0.0	17.6
% of total	17.6	0.0	0.0	17.6
Total
Count	72	15	15	102
% within gender	70.6	14.7	14.7	100.0
% within profiling_condoned	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
% of total	70.6	14.7	14.7	100.0

In total, the respondents were all most likely to agree that profiling was being condoned (70.6%). Neutrality and disagreement were both at a low 14.7%.

Perceptions of Community Worth

A secondary issue of this study was to determine officers’ perceptions of their worth to the community they served. This parameter considered whether officers believed that minority communities expected more from them because of their race (see Table 5), and how they believed they were seen professionally in both the majority and minority community (see Tables 6 and 7).

Table 5.

Perceptions of Minority Community Expectations.

	community_expectations
	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Total
Gender
Male
Count	73	7	4	84
% within gender	86.9	8.3	4.8	100.0
% within community_expectations	89.0	43.8	100.0	82.4
% of total	71.6	6.9	3.9	82.4
Female
Count	9	9	0	18
% within gender	50.0	50.0	0.0	100.0
% within community_expectations	11.0	56.3	0.0	17.6
% of total	8.8	8.8	0.0	17.6
Total
Count	82	16	4	102
% within gender	80.4	15.7	3.9	100.0
% within community_expectations	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
% of total	80.4	15.7	3.9	100.0

Table 6.

Perceptions of Professional Worth in Majority Cultures.

	worth_majority_culture
	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Total
Gender
Male
Count	36	36	12	84
% within gender	42.9	42.9	14.3	100.0
% within worth_majority_culture	66.7	100.0	100.0	82.4
% of total	35.3	35.3	11.8	82.4
Female
Count	18	0	0	18
% within gender	100.0	0.0	0.0	100.0
% within worth_majority_culture	33.3	0.0	0.0	17.6
% of total	17.6	0.0	0.0	17.6
Total
Count	54	36	12	102
% within gender	52.9	35.3	11.8	100.0
% within worth_majority_culture	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
% of total	52.9	35.3	11.8	100.0

Table 7.

Perceptions of Professional Worth in Minority Cultures.

	worth_minority_culture
	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Total
Gender
Male
Count	77	6	1	84
% within gender	91.7	7.1	1.2	100.0
% within worth_minority_culture	81.1	100.0	100.0	82.4
% of total	75.5	5.9	1.0	82.4
Female
Count	18	0	0	18
% within gender	100.0	0.0	0.0	100.0
% within worth_minority_culture	18.9	0.0	0.0	17.6
% of total	17.6	0.0	0.0	17.6
Total
Count	95	6	1	102
% within gender	93.1	5.9	1.0	100.0
% within worth_minority_culture	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
% of total	93.1	5.9	1.0	100.0

Males were most likely to agree that minority communities had higher expectations from them because of their race alone (86.9%). Only 8.3% were neutral and 4.8% disagreed. Females were split between agree and neutral (both 50.0%). In this case, males had a stronger belief that their race predetermined their job expectations in minority communities.

Where the concepts of interaction with community members of the majority culture were concerned, male respondents’ answers varied in which they were more likely to either agree or stay neutral (both 42.9%). Only 14.3% of males disagreed. In contrast to males, female respondents had a stronger belief that their worth as a law enforcement professional was recognized in communities represented by the majority culture (100%).

Males were most likely to agree that their worth was strongly recognized in minority communities (91.7%). Only 7.1% were neutral and 1.2% disagreed. Females, similarly to the previous section on majority culture, all agreed they had strongly recognized worth in minority communities. In total, 93.1% of respondents agreed that they felt their worth as law enforcement professionals was well recognized in the minority community in comparison with the 52.9% of respondents who agreed they were adequately recognized as professionals in majority cultured communities.

Perceptions of Profiling Based on Rank

There was a general agreement between rankings that profiling occurs in their agency. A majority of 90.4% of Patrol Officers believed that profiling occurred and 86.5% of them also believed that profiling is condoned. All Corporal Officers agreed that profiling occurs and 55.6% also believed that it is condoned. Similarly, all Detectives agreed that profiling occurs and 61.5% agreed that profiling is condoned. Most of the Sergeants, at 83.3%, agreed that profiling occurs and 50% of them also agreed that profiling is condoned. A smaller majority of 66.7% of Lieutenants agreed that profiling occurs but only 33.3% of them believed that the profiling is condoned. There was one Captain in this sample and he or she agreed that profiling occurs and that it is condoned. With rank being the independent variable in his section, this Captain will be viewed as an outlier. There is a slight correlation that the higher the rank, the less likely someone were to agree that profiling is condoned (see Tables 8 and 9).

Table 8.

Perceptions of Racial Profiling Occurrences Based on Rank.

	profiling_occurs
	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Total
current_rank
Patrol
Count	47	2	3	52
% within current_rank	90.4	3.8	5.8	100.0
% within profiling_occurs	50.5	100.0	42.9	51.0
% of total	46.1	2.0	2.9	51.0
Corporal
Count	18	0	0	18
% within current_rank	100.0	0.0	0.0	100.0
% within profiling_occurs	19.4	0.0	0.0	17.6
% of total	17.6	0.0	0.0	17.6
Detective
Count	13	0	0	13
% within current_rank	100.0	0.0	0.0	100.0
% within profiling_occurs	14.0	0.0	0.0	12.7
% of total	12.7	0.0	0.0	12.7
Sergeant
Count	10	0	2	12
% within current_rank	83.3	0.0	16.7	100.0
% within profiling_occurs	10.8	0.0	28.6	11.8
% of total	9.8	0.0	2.0	11.8
Lieutenant
Count	4	0	2	6
% within current_rank	66.7	0.0	33.3	100.0
% within profiling_occurs	4.3	0.0	28.6	5.9
% of total	3.9	0.0	2.0	5.9
Captain
Count	1	0	0	1
% within current_rank	100.0	0.0	0.0	100.0
% within profiling_occurs	1.1	0.0	0.0	1.0
% of total	1.0	0.0	0.0	1.0
Total
Count	93	2	7	102
% within current_rank	91.2	2.0	6.9	100.0
% within profiling_occurs	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
% of total	91.2	2.0	6.9	100.0

Table 9.

Perceptions of Attitudes Toward Racial Profiling Based on Rank.

	profiling_condoned
	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Total
current_rank
Patrol
Count	45	1	6	52
% within current_rank	86.5	1.9	11.5	100.0
% within profiling_condoned	62.5	6.7	40.0	51.0
% of total	44.1	1.0	5.9	51.0
Corporal
Count	10	5	3	18
% within current_rank	55.6	27.8	16.7	100.0
% within profiling_condoned	13.9	33.3	20.0	17.6
% of total	9.8	4.9	2.9	17.6
Detective
Count	8	3	2	13
% within current_rank	61.5	23.1	15.4	100.0
% within profiling_condoned	11.1	20.0	13.3	12.7
% of total	7.8	2.9	2.0	12.7
Sergeant
Count	6	4	2	12
% within current_rank	50.0	33.3	16.7	100.0
% within profiling_condoned	8.3	26.7	13.3	11.8
% of total	5.9	3.9	2.0	11.8
Lieutenant
Count	2	2	2	6
% within current_rank	33.3	33.3	33.3	100.0
% within profiling_condoned	2.8	13.3	13.3	5.9
% of total	2.0	2.0	2.0	5.9
Captain
Count	1	0	0	1
% within current_rank	100.0	0.0	0.0	100.0
% within profiling_condoned	1.4	0.0	0.0	1.0
% of total	1.0	0.0	0.0	1.0
Total
Count	72	15	15	102
% within current_rank	70.6	14.7	14.7	100.0
% within profiling_condoned	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
% of total	70.6	14.7	14.7	100.0

Discussion

One limitation of this research was that some respondents left answers blank. This could be due to using a closed-ended survey. However, this would not skew the data abnormally because the missing answers were only a small fraction to the total obtained (specifically, in the “education” category). A total of nine male respondents left the question unanswered. While unlikely, there is still a possibility that these respondents may have left those questions unanswered because they had less education than a high school/GED degree. Due to being unverifiable, the respondents’ missing data should not be replaced with statistical imputation because it could completely misrepresent nine total respondents (8.8%).

Statistical imputation was used in the “current rank” category to replace missing data with substituted values. In the current rank category, 11 male respondents left the answers blank. The options for the “current rank” category were fully exhaustive to the recipients the survey was sent out to. This ensured any missing data were either accidental or a preference of privacy before manipulating any of the data with statistical software. This method increased the findings significance.

Another apparent limitation came from the male to female ratio. Most of the tables showed males with a wider range of answers than females. Due to the small female sample size, females rarely had answers that were different than males. In some cases, female respondents only had responses for one or two categories and the rest were blank. While this is true, there are some areas in this study that would most likely not change even with the event of adding more female respondents. Particularly, in the rankings section, while no females were Lieutenants or Captains, only 7.1% of Lieutenants and 1.2% of Captains were males. There was a small chance of being in either rank, regardless of gender. Similarly, where education was concerned, while no female respondents held a master’s degree, only 2.4% percent of males had it.

The mean age of this sample (50 years) could also be considered a limitation because there are a large number of officers in this country who are substantially younger than 50. There may be significant differences of perceptions given differences in age and generation. This may be due to changes over the years in culture, job responsibility, and so on.

Conclusion

While the results of this study are obviously not generalizable due to the small sample size, they should be considered when assessing the perceptions and value systems that are in place for these smaller police agencies and the African American officers who serve in them.

Although common trains of thought are constantly focused on the practices, activities, and police-citizen interactions of larger agencies such as those in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, and New York, it is these smaller agencies that makeup the true backbone of the nation’s law enforcement community. Consequently, the manner in which they interact with members of the minority community may have a more telling and chilling effect on the overall concepts related to community policing.

It is clear that the presence and service of African American police officers have tremendous value, both to the agencies that employ them and the citizens of their communities. Playing a pivotal and vital role in the dispensing of justice and social order, they have become strategic players in the criminal justice system, whose relevance and integration into the profession of contemporary law enforcement cannot be overlooked. Inasmuch as the study of issues related to African American police officers has been largely ignored, both academically and professionally, the issues discussed within this study may also serve as a forum for more widespread conversation among these officers and those who manage and administer these smaller agencies.

Their views on agency practices and policies then, particularly those which have a directed impact on agency community policing efforts, should not be readily put aside solely because their numbers are small or are seen as having little political interest, value, and support.

It is also clear that the practice of bias-based policing, whether by design, omission, personal bias, or failures in policy or procedures, has become a scourge on communities of color in near epidemic proportions, in both large and small jurisdictions. Yet it is an infestation that can be severely mitigated through conscientious effort. We unfortunately live in an unbalanced and somewhat imperfect world, filled with abstract individual perceptions of race, ethnicity, power, and social structure. The interpolation of race and police-community relations has become a significant interest where smaller law enforcement agencies are concerned. However, all believe, as did the founders of our nation, in the concepts of equal justice for all, and, it is through this context that bias-based policing will find its just and well-deserved demise.

Strongly worded agency policy statements that are supported both top-down and bottom-up, properly motivated supervisors in their oversight capacities, enforced remedial training for police staff in such areas as cultural sensitivity and the ethical approaches to community policing, systemic change in agency core values, improved efforts and methodologies in communications with targeted communities, and the studied elimination of perceived stereotypes and unconscious biases created from differential exposure and illusory correlation mechanisms, all will go a long way in serving to eradicate these practices. When the associations now presumed between race and criminality are removed and cease to have a compelling interest, it will become quite clear that bias-based policing serves no true purpose.

Implications for Further Study

Future social scientists seeking to continue this study should focus on obtaining more female respondents to form a higher chance of reliability and generalizability. While this study had 102 respondents, only 18 were female making this data set not generalizable. The Pearson’s R was never above .2 or below negative .2 suggesting that the correlations were generally low.

Regarding the limitation of mean age and perceptual differences between generations, future social scientists should continue this study targeting a younger sample group and compare the results.

Another possible area of future study would be to examine racial profiling or community expectation in a qualitative procedure. This could determine, in detail, how respondents classify racial profiling or how respondents believe profiling is condoned. This could also allow the researcher to determine what act is considered racial profiling and how much is being condoned, if any. Studying community expectations qualitatively could also clarify why some respondents do not feel as though their worth as a law enforcement officer is recognized in some cultures.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Author Biographies

Charles P. Wilson, BA, currently serves with the Rhode Island College, Providence, Campus Police Department, as a patrol shift supervisor. With a professional career dating from 1971, his previous law enforcement experience has included service as a detective/patrolman with the Woodmere Village, Ohio Police Department, where he also served as its first African American Chief of Police from 1988 to mid-1990. He earned his bachelor of arts degree with an emphasis in justice studies from the Rhode Island College in Providence, and is a three-term National Chairman of the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers, Inc.

Shirley A. Wilson, PhD, currently serves as a professor of management at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island, where her specific area of instruction is in organizational behavior and global diversity. Her previous experiences have included service as the coordinator for school/community relations with the Cleveland Heights–University Heights, Ohio Board of Education, and personnel analyst with the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company. Her specific area of research is in the field of mentoring, with emphasis on Black female professionals. She earned her doctorate from the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

Malane Thou is currently a student at Rhode Island College in Providence, where his areas of studies are sociology, communication–public relations/advertising, computer science, and management information systems. He has earned memberships in Alpha Kappa Delta Sociology Honors Society, National Society of Leadership and Success, and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

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