Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Effects of Police Militarization on Bureaucratic Behavior and Public Opinion

执法是公民与政府互动的主要途径之一。但是，激进的警察策略和地方执法机构的军事化引发了广泛的争论，讨论警察与公民互动的本质，如何改善这种互动，以及它们对公民对政府和社会世界的看法的影响。本项目利用有关公众舆论和警察行为的新数据，分三部分考察这些问题。第一项研究测试了警察部门内部修改后的程序是否提高了警察与公民互动的质量。第二项研究评估了地方执法机构在哪里以及如何使用军事化警察部队，以及他们的使用对公众对犯罪和执法的看法的影响。第三项研究测试了这些发现在其他类型的政府机构中的普遍性。通过一系列的调查实验，研究者评估了执法人员以外的政府代理人的行为对与他们相关的社会问题的看法的影响。本项目利用民意调查实验数据和警察行为的微观层面数据，研究了有关激进警察策略和地方执法机构军事化的几个规范性重要问题。第一项研究使用中断时间序列分析来测试警察部门内部修改后的程序是否提高了警察与公民互动的质量。第二项研究发展了一个关于政府行为感知副作用的理论，同时评估了地方执法机构在哪里以及如何使用军事化警察部队，以及它们对公众认知的影响。通过数百项公共记录请求收集的特警队部署的纵向数据与当地犯罪和人口统计数据合并在一起。PI还使用调查实验，随机分配个人阅读警察新闻报道，报道中描述的警察要么穿着传统制服，要么穿着不同级别的军事化服装和装备，结果表明，在一个社区看到军事化警察的个人更有可能认为该社区的犯罪更严重，并且不太可能支持警察支出。这些发现强调了政府机构的行为如何以潜在的误导和意想不到的方式影响公众对社会问题的看法。第三项研究检验了这些发现的普遍性。通过一系列调查实验，PI研究了执法人员以外的政府人员对与他们有关的社会问题的看法产生影响的条件。

General SummaryLaw enforcement is one of the primary avenues through which citizens interface with government. But aggressive police tactics and the militarization of local law enforcement agencies have prompted widespread debate about the nature of police-citizen interactions, how they can be improved, and their impact citizens' perceptions of government and the social world. Using novel data on public opinion and police behavior, this project examines these issues in three parts. The first study tests whether revised procedures inside police departments improve the quality of police-citizen interactions. The second study assesses where and how militarized police units are used by local law enforcement agencies, and the impact of their use on public perceptions of crime and law enforcement. The third study tests the generalizability of these findings across other types of government agencies. Using a series of survey experiments, the investigator evaluates the conditions under which that actions of government agents beyond law enforcement personnel impact perceptions of the social problems with which they are associated.Technical SummaryUsing survey experimental data on public opinion and micro-level data on police behavior, this project examines several normatively important questions concerning aggressive police tactics and the militarization of local law enforcement agencies. The first study uses an interrupted time-series analysis to test whether revised procedures inside the police department improves the quality of police-citizen interactions. The second study develops a theory of the perceptual side effects of government action, while assessing where and how militarized police units are used by local law enforcement agencies, as well as their impact on public perceptions. Longitudinal data on S.W.A.T. team deployments collected via hundreds of public records requests is merged with local crime and demographic data. The PI also uses survey experiments that randomly assign individuals to read police news reports that portray officers in either traditional uniforms or with various levels of militarized clothing and equipment demonstrate that individuals who see militarized police in a community are more likely to perceive that crime is worse in that community, and less likely to support police spending. These findings highlight how the actions of government agents can impact public perceptions of social problems in potentially misleading and unintended ways. The third study tests the generalizability of these findings. Using a series of survey experiments, the PI examines the conditions under which government agents beyond law enforcement personnel impact perceptions of the social problems with which they are associated.