ABSTRACT

The Ferguson Effect is the argument that negative publicity on policing will cause officers to engage in de-policing. We explore this premise by examining the roles of legitimacy and media awareness in terms of police ability to protect against the negative impacts of such publicity. Officers from a midsize police agency in California were surveyed regarding media consumption and awareness, as well as perceptions of legitimacy. These factors were examined as to their ability to influence officer responses to post-Ferguson publicity. Officer awareness of pro-policing news coverage was related to lessened impact of negative publicity, but perceptions of media unfairness and awareness of negative policing news exerted a greater, and negative, influence. Media consumption and social media use were not found to be related to the impact of post-Ferguson coverage, but more nuanced measurement is warranted to capture the full range of news and social media interaction that officers have. Perceptions that the community viewed them with less legitimacy heightened impact of negative publicity as well, consistent with findings on officer concerns related to the effect of high-profile incidents on the public.

摘要

弗格森效应是指对警务的负面宣传会导致警察参与去警务活动。我们通过考察合法性和媒体意识在警方防范此类宣传负面影响的能力方面的作用来探讨这一前提。加利福尼亚州一个中型警察机构的警官接受了有关媒体消费和意识以及合法性看法的调查。研究人员对这些因素影响官员对后弗格森宣传的反应的能力进行了研究。警官对支持警务新闻报道的认识与负面宣传的影响减弱有关，但对媒体不公平的看法和对负面警务新闻的认识产生了更大的负面影响。研究发现，媒体消费和社交媒体的使用与后弗格森报道的影响无关，但有必要进行更细致的衡量，以捕捉官员们的新闻和社交媒体互动的全部范围。人们认为社区认为这些事件的合法性较低，这也加剧了负面宣传的影响，这与官员对引人注目的事件对公众影响相关的担忧的调查结果一致。