RT Article
T1 Reforming the Police: Examining the Effect of Message Framing on Police Reform Policy Preferences
JF Criminal justice policy review
VO 34
IS 6
SP 534
OP 558
A1 Dunbar, Adam
A2 Hanink, Peter A.
LA English
YR 2023
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1871222311
AB Amid purported bipartisan support for police reform, legislation aimed at addressing racial injustice has been met with public and political resistance. Public opinion research provides minimal insight into this disjuncture. The current study found that while varying the messaging about race and policing did not affect attitudes about police reform, participant attitudes about race and policing were influential. Participants who attributed racial disparities to structural discrimination and unconscious racial biases indicated more support for reform than those who attributed disparities to differential involvement in crime. Conversely, participants who believed that Blacks themselves are to blame for racial disparities due to their greater criminal involvement were less likely to support reforms that address inequities in policing. Overall, this study highlights challenges for policymakers attempting to enact comprehensive police reform.
K1 Experiment
K1 Race
K1 Police Reform
K1 Public Opinion
DO 10.1177/08874034231211259