Each member of the society wants a peaceful, crime-free neighborhood. In the desire to obtain such an environment the government commissioned the work of policemen to main peace and order by enforcing the law. However, despite the importance of their role in the community, police personnel continue to earn negative image from the public. It should be noted that the publics’ perception to law enforcement officers play a crucial role in maintaining peace and order. A positive perception will more likely help in meeting such goals. It is therefore important to understand the causes of the negative perceptions against the police. Previous studies that touches this subject suggests that there are several factors that lead to the negative perceptions against the police. These factors are: the level of peace and order in the neighborhood, the unrealistic representation of the police in the media, video recordings of police operations or events that include police personnel, and level of familiarity with police personnel.
In a study conducted by the United States Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice (NIJ), entitled, “Factors that influence the public opinion of the police,” the primary factor that determines whether there will be a positive or negative public image for the police is the level of crime in the neighborhood. According to the findings of the said research, the members of the public living in neighborhood with high crime rate and disorder tend to develop more negative images against the police. They tend to associate the level of disorder and crime with the inability of the police to do their work or even with the corruption of police officers. The study also revealed that people who have had primary experience with police officers usually dislike the latter’s demeanor. People who have had personal experiences with the police usually perceive them to possess negative, unfriendly behaviors. Such experiences cause them to develop negative image against the police.
Interestingly, while there are opinions and studies that argue that race has an effect in the development of police public image, the study conducted by the NIJ revealed, otherwise. In fact, the NIJ study showed that race ethnicity has nothing to do with negative police image. All races have the same propensity to develop such negative image (National Institute of Justice 4).
Nevertheless, this particular finding about the effect of race on police perception was contradicted by the study conducted by Ben Brown and Reed Benedict. Their study involved the review of 100 past studies that touches the subject. Their systematic review revealed that the majority of the studies prove that race is one of the determining factors if police public image. This factor stands in equal footing as the other factors such as neighborhood. Accordingly, the authors explain that Black Americans and other minority groups tend to show more negative perceptions against the police. They also explained that the reason for this is that more Black Americans are arrested by the police using violent means compared to the White Americans. The Black Americans and other minority groups are also less educated compared to the White counterparts that make them reluctant to have formal communications with the police (Brown and Benedict 545 – 546).
Jack R. Greene has presented two causes of the public’s negative image against the police. In his book entitled, “The Encyclopedia of Police Science, Vol. 1,” he showed the use of video recording cameras has actually increased the negative public images of the police. Accordingly, there have been videos of police officers that harass their victim – whether innocent or not. These videos are uploaded to social networking sites where the public can quickly and freely access them. It should be noted that the majority of these videos possess violent content – usually perpetuated by the police officers. Such scenes help in the development of negative perceptions against the police. One of the most recent events that have caused the public’s uproar against police officers was the shooting of a homeless man named “Africa” in Los Angeles near Skid Row. A resident has captured the entire shooting incident and has uploaded it in social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter (Gambino). Another recent event is the expulsion of a subway singer by a police officer. The video of altercation was caught on a video and uploaded in YouTube and other social networking sites. The video shows that the police officer was unaware of the law the he needs to implement as singing in subways is legal under US laws (Knafo).
Another factor presented by Greene is the unrealistic representation of the police in mainstream media such as the movies. Movies either portray police as bad entities or people with extra ordinary skills in solving crimes. Both portrayals result to the development of negative image against the police. Accordingly, viewers tend to compare what they see in the cinemas with what they hear and see in the news. They sometimes think that the police in their neighborhood are very inefficient because they do not show the qualities of the police they see in the movies. Viewers who watched films that give negative portrayal against the police tend to believe such portrayals (Greene 777). This causes as proposed by Greene seem to be valid. Consider the arrest of Robert Davis in 2005, which was filmed and then uploaded to different sites in the internet. Leading news channels such as the CBS have also released some pictures of Davis showing how badly he was beaten by the police officers who mistakenly thought the he was drunk. The posts have easily garnered millions of views and negative comments against the police (Pace n.p.).
It appears from the identified factors that the negative public image against the police is reversible. This means that there is a way to develop a positive image of the police in the community. One of these ways is to lower the crime rate and improve the level of order in the community. Another way is to make legislations that will provide a detailed account on how police officers must perform their arrest so that violence associated with arrests can be reduced. Police departments should also have their personnel accountable for the violations that they have done. Lastly, videos showing the good work of police officers can also be uploaded so that public can acknowledge them. Lastly, the movie industry should try hard not to over-represent or misrepresent the police in the movies. They must portray police officers as closest to reality as possible. Lastly, the public has to become more educated to the nature of the police work – that there many instances when violence must be used to apprehend or arrest perpetrators.
In conclusion, it is very important to understand the factors that determine police public image. Knowing the said factors or causes can help determine ways to reverse the negative public image against them. This study revealed that there are four main factors that determine police public image. The nature of the four factors also revealed the negative police public image can be reversed. The reversal needs not only the participation of the police, but also by legislators, the government, the media and the public. In other words the problem with negative police image can be solved through the participation of all the affected stakeholders. In the long run, the society can will realize that true peace and order can only be accomplish with the cooperation between the public and the law enforcers such as the police. It is therefore important that these two groups of people work hand in hand. One way to start this is for each group to ensure the welfare of each other; this can be started by ensuring the each group develops a positive image of the other. This image or perception will facilitate the communication and cooperation between the public and the police.
