Research findings show that legal cynicism—a cultural frame in which skepticism about laws, the legal system, and police is expressed—is important in understanding neighborhood variation in engagement with the police, particularly in racially isolated African American communities. We argue that legal cynicism is also useful for understanding neighborhood variation in complaints about police misconduct. Using data on complaints filed in Chicago between 2012 and 2014, we show that grievances disproportionately came from racially segregated neighborhoods and that a measure of legal cynicism from the mid‐1990s predicts complaints about abuse of police power two decades later. The association between legal cynicism and complaints is net of prior complaints, reported crime, imprisonment, and other structural factors that contribute to the frequency and nature of interactions involving police and residents. Legal cynicism also mediates the influence of racially isolated neighborhoods on complaints. The mid‐1990s is the approximate midpoint of a half‐century of police scandals in Chicago. Our research findings suggest that contemporary complaints about police misconduct in highly segregated Chicago neighborhoods are grounded in collectively shared historical memories of police malfeasance. They also suggest that persistent complaints about police misconduct may represent officially memorialized expressions of enduring racial protest against police abuse of power.

中文翻译：

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法律冷嘲热讽的邻里气氛和对滥用警察权力的投诉†

研究结果表明，法律犬儒主义是一种表达对法律，法律制度和警察的怀疑态度的文化框架，对于理解邻里在与警察交往中的变化，特别是在种族隔离的非裔美国人社区中具有重要意义。我们认为，法律冷嘲热讽对于理解警察行为不当的投诉中的邻里变化也很有用。使用2012年至2014年间在芝加哥提交的投诉数据，我们发现，不满情绪主要来自种族隔离的社区，并且从1990年代中期开始，人们对法律的冷嘲热讽也预示着二十年后有关滥用警察权力的投诉。犬儒主义与投诉之间的关联是先前投诉，举报的犯罪，监禁，以及其他导致警察和居民互动的频率和性质的结构性因素。法律冷嘲热讽也调解了种族隔离的社区对投诉的影响。1990年代中期大约是芝加哥半个世纪警察丑闻的中点。我们的研究结果表明，当代人们对芝加哥高度隔离的社区中的警察不当行为的抱怨是基于对警察渎职行为的集体历史记忆。他们还建议，对警察不当行为的持续投诉可能代表对警察滥用职权进行持久种族抗议的正式表述。1990年代中期大约是芝加哥半个世纪警察丑闻的中点。我们的研究结果表明，当代人们对芝加哥高度隔离的社区中的警察行为不检的抱怨是基于对警察渎职行为的共同历史记忆。他们还建议，对警察不当行为的持续投诉可能代表对警察滥用职权进行持久种族抗议的正式表述。1990年代中期大约是芝加哥半个世纪警察丑闻的中点。我们的研究结果表明，当代人们对芝加哥高度隔离的社区中的警察不当行为的抱怨是基于对警察渎职行为的集体历史记忆。他们还建议，对警察不当行为的持续投诉可能代表对警察滥用职权进行持久种族抗议的正式表述。