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Chapter 24 - Police Brutality

from Part II - Problems Related to Crime and Violence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 March 2018

By
Malcolm D. Holmes
Edited by
A. Javier Treviño
A. Javier Treviño
Affiliation:
Wheaton College, Massachusetts
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Summary

Police brutality (excessive force) causes significant physical and psychological harm to victims, entails considerable financial costs to communities, and undermines the legitimacy of the institution of policing. The victims of police brutality in the United States are disproportionately black or Hispanic. Attempts to explain the relationship of race/ethnicity to police brutality have relied on two distinct theoretical approaches. Traditional perspectives locate the causes of police brutality primarily in the institution of policing, whereas conflict perspectives maintain that police brutality reflects racial/ethnic divisions of the larger society. This chapter explicates these theoretical perspectives, reviews the empirical evidence regarding their predictions about race/ethnicity and police brutality, and discusses the policy implications of research findings. Extant studies provide stronger support for the conflict argument. Yet recommendations to reduce police brutality have focused on changing police agencies and practices in line with the traditional approach. Broader social changes that alleviate the socioeconomic disadvantages experienced by many black and Hispanic citizens, in conjunction with meaningful efforts to improve policing, may ultimately mitigate the problem.

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The Cambridge Handbook of Social Problems , pp. 411 - 432
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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