College Students' Perceptions of Law Enforcement Fairness: The Influence of Gender and Political Belief

摘要

The purpose of this study was to examine college students' perceptions of law enforcement fairness and the role that political leaning and gender have on these perceptions. This study specifically wanted to find if there was a main effect for gender on perceptions of law enforcement fairness and if a person's political leaning can predict their perceptions of law enforcement fairness. Results found a main effect for gender on perceptions of law enforcement fairness. Women tended to self report more negative perceptions of police fairness when compared to men in regards to police treatment of different ethnic populations and persons of different socioeconomic status. Results also found political leaning was a significant predictor of a person's perceptions of law enforcement fairness based on police treatment of different ethnic populations, treatment of persons of differing socioeconomic status, and police respect of privacy. Results found the more conservative a student was, the more positive his perceptions of law enforcement fairness would tend to be. In conclusion, this research found that women and liberal students tend to have more negative perceptions of police when compared to male and conservative students. The implications of this research were discussed.