Public servants or soldiers? A test of the police-military equivalency hypothesis

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...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Ilchi, Omeed S. (Author) ; Frank, James (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2020
In: Journal of crime and justice
Year: 2020, Volume: 43, Issue: 2, Pages: 228-244
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Summary: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.
ISSN:2158-9119
DOI:10.1080/0735648X.2019.1653217