ABSTRACT

Recently, there has been a push for policies that seek to increase police accountability. Two of these policies, requiring independent investigations and prosecutions of police shootings, have been suggested by academics and activists. Using a sample of undergraduate college students from a large Midwestern university, this study examines the extent and correlates of support for these two policies. The results of the study indicate that both policies enjoy overwhelming support. Respondents who perceive police officers to be like soldiers in a war on crime are less likely to support both policies while those who believe police misconduct to be more common are more likely to support them. Symbolic racism was predictive of a lack of support for independent investigations. Based on the findings, we recommend that more jurisdictions adopt these policies, so that they may improve perceptions of transparency and legitimacy compared to international contexts now relying on citizen reviews.

摘要

最近，人们一直在推动旨在增加警察问责制的政策。其中两项政策要求对警察枪击事件进行独立调查和起诉，已由学者和活动人士提出。本研究以中西部一所大型大学的本科生为样本，检验了对这两项政策的支持程度和相关性。研究结果表明，这两项政策都得到了压倒性的支持。认为警察就像是打击犯罪的士兵的受访者不太可能支持这两种政策，而认为警察不当行为更为普遍的受访者则更有可能支持这两种政策。象征性的种族主义预示着缺乏对独立调查的支持。根据调查结果，