Student Perceptions of the Police
Citizens hold views of the police which often drive general perceptions.
However, literature is scant with regard to measuring perceptions of college students.
The research that does exist suggests there are numerous factors influencing a student’s
attitude toward the police. For example, Williams and Nofziger (2003) suggest student
perceptions often are a reflection of the general perception of police, particularly in
terms of race and gender. While Chermak et al. (2006) suggest age alone does not play a
pivotal role in perceptions of police, others contend these attitudes become more
favorable with age (Nihart, Lersch, Sellers, & Mieczkowski, 2005).
Williams and Nofziger (2003) argue that examining student perceptions toward
the police rests on three concepts. First, a unique relationship exists between law
enforcement and young adults that is largely shaped by an individual’s prior
victimization, offense history, and vicarious experiences — all of which generally
remain unique to the particular age group and often cause differing perceptions from the
remainder of the community. Second, sociological factors — such as socialization with
like individuals, access to opportunities, and trust issues that arise with other authority
figures — play an equal role. Third, conflict between the individual and education may,
at times, arise during this stage of life — a struggle which may predispose a student to a
differing perception of the police. Echoing this process, Nihart et al. (2005) suggest that
students who succeed academically and hold positive attitudes toward their parents,
teachers and other authority figures tend to also hold favorable attitudes toward the
police. Thus, police are often viewed in a similar light as student peers, which only
reinforces Williams and Nofziger’s (2003) suggestion on the complexity of influential
factors which may contribute to such attitudes. Nevertheless, it is imperative to further
examine the relevance of student attitudes toward police to effectively predict the
outlook on future perceptions of the public. Examining a student’s prior contact with
police (including those from disadvantaged neighborhoods) are also factors of concern as
these can produce conflicting perceptions of the police (Carr et al., 2007). Examining
student and young adult perceptions is also necessary to improve programs that promote
police efforts, as such programs strengthen ties with the young adult community and help
to effectively implement police strategies such as community policing (Nihart et al.,
2005). Demographic Differences
Existing literature on student perceptions of police suggests there are several
variables of importance. In addition to the influence of student peer associations,
demographic factors are of equal significance. Hurst, McDermott, and Thomas (2005)
argue that gender remains the most significant predictor of juvenile delinquency. More
specifically, they suggest that white females hold more favorable attitudes toward police
than do white males and all African Americans. This finding is said to be a result of the
female’s perceived level of trust in the police. A student’s trust and confidence in the
police holds great value in determining how they view officers. Mbuba (2010) examined
the influence of gender and its effect on student perceptions, and also found that females
hold more favorable attitudes toward police performance and satisfaction than their male
counterparts. Moreover, female students feel that the police are effective in providing
essential services to the public. However, these female students felt differently when
asked about police misconduct, reporting higher levels of perceived police unethical
behavior than the male students. To the contrary, though, Hurst et al. (2005) found that
white teenagers (regardless of gender) held more favorable views of police performance
and their value in providing assistance to the community. Carr et al. (2007) suggests,
however, that much of these variations are determined by the student’s prior contact with
police.
Students and Prior Contact
General public perceptions of the police are largely affected by experience with
officers. Williams and Nofziger (2003) point out that college students, too, share equal
prior contact with police but differ with regard to future action after initial contact.
Specifically, college students are not only more likely to perceive police officers as
unethical and unprofessional, but also more apt to report such behavior — and therein
hold a negative view. Furthermore, they are also more likely to suggest that police
officers exhibit unprofessional behavior during contact with college students. As a result,
they hold less confidence in the police and are least likely to trust officers. These findings
also hold true when evaluating the student perception of campus police.
Miller and Pan-Maureen (1987) assert that students who experience involuntary
contact with campus police are more likely to hold negative attitudes toward officers.
Additionally, these students are less likely to believe that campus relations with students are
of importance to the police. Given that more of their time is spent on the college campus,
college students are more likely to interact with campus police officers than other law
enforcement officials. As a result, these perceptions of campus police are of great
significance to the quality of student-police interactions. Williams and Nofziger (2012)
contribute much of this to students’ increased visibility on campus. These students are
generally more concentrated, and as such are typically more aware of police presence for a
variety of factors including on-campus living, apartments near campus, and the added
factors associated with on-campus fraternities and sororities.
Vicarious Experiences with Police
While prior direct contact with police has been found to mold student perceptions,
the impact of vicarious experience (or indirect contact) also seems to shape their attitudes
— mainly through hearing or witnessing unprofessional conduct through someone others’
experiences. Hurst et al. (2005) suggest that female students who either see or hear of
police misconduct tend to hold more negative views toward police. More specifically,
African American female students are more likely to experience vicarious contact with
police. As such, they are more likely to have been exposed to police misconduct (such as
exposure to excessive force against another citizen, officers protecting other officers’
misconduct, and officers not working while on duty), and as a result hold more negative
attitudes toward such police than their white female counterparts. One reason for this
increased negative outlook appears to be a minority’s increased likelihood of being
targeted by law enforcement. Consequentially, they are more likely to hear of misconduct
and unprofessional behavior, thus producing a negative stigma toward police.
Young adults and college students alike appear to be significant predictors of future
public attitudes (Williams & Nofziger, 2003). While both groups share similarities in
perceptions, the age-to-attitude ratio often poses conflict due to the young adult’s status as a
college student. Nevertheless, demographic factors and contact with police hold reasonably
constant across both student and public attitudes. As negative contact with police tends to
shape negative perception (Carr et al., 2007; Miller & Pan-Maureen, 1987), individuals
become less satisfied with police and their services to the community (Hurst et al., 2005).
In order to promote more favorable attitudes toward law enforcement, Williams and
Nofziger (2003) encourage administrators to promote community programs designed to
rectify the issues which spur the negative stigma of police officers. In addition, training
programs which address better interaction practices with college students can also
alleviate the dilemma. Efforts may also be made in the university setting to establish
more interaction with students and campus police.
Utility of a Criminal Justice Ethics Course
Existing literature has examined the significance of criminal justice education in
shaping attitudes toward misconduct; and as expected, majoring in criminal justice is a
significant predictor in forming such an unfavorable view (Tsoudis, 2006). Likewise, the
criminal justice academic program also promotes a higher sense of professionalism in
policing through exposure to the academic setting (Bumgarner, 2002). However, the
question begs as to whether there are particular components of criminal justice education
that contribute to this conceptualization. Most academic programs generally expose
students to the role of ethics in a profession. Regardless of course depth, students are
made aware of the ethical conundrums that exist in a given field in an effort to promote
awareness — this holds true for criminal justice curriculums as well. As a result,
graduates of criminal justice programs are often more trustworthy individuals who abide
by laws and policies. Moreover, criminal justice majors tend to hold favorable attitudes
toward the criminal justice degree itself (Schanz, 2013). Specifically, students feel their
education is a necessity for professional performance in future careers. As such, this
holds great professional and policy value to the importance of requiring college degrees
in policing. The question still remains, though, as to what effect the ethics course has in
shaping the criminal justice graduate — which are the next generation of law
enforcement. Therefore, their orientations toward police ethics are crucial for continuing
to professionalize law enforcement.
Few studies have examined the effect of a formal criminal justice ethics course
in shaping perceptions of police misconduct. Some researchers, however, have
examined the ethical nature of the criminal justice curriculum in general and its effect on
creating an ethical graduate. Shernock (1992) proposed that criminal justice education
does produce a student orientation toward ethical values, but only in its entirety — not
merely with a single course. However, Bjerregaard and Lord (2004) found that criminal
justice students who are exposed to a single ethics course were less likely to participate
in unethical behavior in their careers. Additionally, the criminal justice ethics course
may also be successful in altering criminal justice student perceptions toward police
misconduct. Interestingly, students are more likely to perceive misconduct as more
serious prior to enrolling in the course. Therefore, research suggests that, indeed, a
criminal justice ethics course may well be significant in promoting a more ethical
mindset in the future of law enforcement. However, future research must examine the
effectiveness of the ethics course in shaping such attitudes.
