By: Juliana King
One of the most concerning topics in our culture at this time is police officer reactions in a variety of arrest situations. Ross and Wright conducted this research study in 2014 and took a different approach at learning about police officer responses by studying specifically what their response was to a relatively low-level offense of graffiti and street art. Their thoughts were that this type of reaction could be related and show a better indication of police officer discretion which would directly affect crime rates in their area. The studies consulted for this research tended to focus on police officer views of illegal behavior, content and causes of the graffiti/street art.
The data gather for this study was from about 130 active-duty police officers who answered a survey regarding their attitude and behavior towards street vandalism. They used an accidental nonprobability sample with voluntary consent from the officers. Their independent variables that were assessed were gender, race, education, shift time period, and rank. The influence of shift time was analyzed for a difference in response to assess for shift work related stressors.
In analyzing the data, the major differences were shown in the race variable where White and non-White responses towards graffiti and street art seemed opposing. White officers responded more often that they disagreed with street art being “a harmless recreational activity, whereas non-White officers responded as not sure whether they agreed or disagreed.” The data found related to shift work showed that officers who had day shifts were more likely to support jail sentences for street art offenders, whereas night shift responders were unsure. The other variables of age, education, and rank did not have a major statistical impact. Gender was not equally represented in the study as shown by the 80% male respondents, but the study was not altered to obtain a balance of gender representation.
In looking forward at how attitudes of police officers affect the way they choose to react to graffiti and street art this study emphasized the cultural differences that makes them relate to the causation of street art. Some officers are able to understand it is expression and others are not. Ross and Wright encouraged more education of locational culture to abate perhaps nonviolent crime arrests and promote community expression by providing appropriate spaces for street art to be created.
Ross, J. I., & Wright, B. S. (2014). “I’ve Got Better Things to Worry About”: Police Perceptions of Graffiti and Street Art in a Large Mid-Atlantic City. Police Quarterly, 17(2), 176–200. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611114531491