Empirical research has found that the rise in national attention and criticism toward American law enforcement in the wake of Ferguson (i.e., summer 2014 and beyond) has negatively influenced police officers’ perceptions and behavior. Yet, there is variation in how officers have viewed motivation, morale, and proactivity in the post-Ferguson era. Building on previous work and integrating the “media effects” literatures from the disciplines of political science and communications, specifically Gerbner and colleagues’ cultivation theory, the current study examined whether consulting professional/trade publications was associated with officer perceptions of the Ferguson effect among a nationally representative sample of 163 US police chiefs. Results found that those chiefs who subscribe to/regularly visit professional/trade law enforcement publications, such as Law Enforcement Today and Police1, were more likely to hold negative perceptions of the Ferguson effect. That is, chiefs indicated greater problems with motivation, morale, and productivity in their respective departments. Chiefs who experienced backlash (e.g., protests/demonstrations) in their jurisdictions were also more likely to hold negative perceptions.

实证研究发现，在弗格森之后（即 2014 年夏季及以后），国家对美国执法部门的关注和批评的增加对警察的看法和行为产生了负面影响。然而，在后弗格森时代，军官们对动机、士气和积极性的看法存在差异。在以往工作的基础上，结合政治学和传播学科的“媒体效应”文献，特别是 Gerbner 及其同事的培养理论，当前的研究检验了咨询专业/行业出版物是否与官员对弗格森效应的看法有关。 163 名美国警察局长的全国代表性样本。结果发现，订阅/定期访问专业/行业执法出版物（例如《今日执法》和《警察》1）的酋长更有可能对弗格森效应持负面看法。也就是说，主管们表示他们各自部门在动力、士气和生产力方面存在更大的问题。在其管辖范围内经历过强烈反对（例如抗议/示威）的酋长也更有可能持有负面看法。