Indicators” 2002, Benson 1981). Public approval of the police is far from universal,
however. In particular, several studies have found African Americans more inclined than
whites to believe that the police treat African Americans more harshly than other groups,
to perceive that police racism and prejudice against African Americans is common, and
to report that they have been treated unfairly by the police (Aberbach and Walker 1970,
Benson 1981, Ennis 1967, Jacob 1970, Weitzer 2000, Weitzer et al. 2005, Wilson 1975).
Group differences in perceptions of the police have significant implications for
police-community relations. Sunshine and Tyler (2003) and Tyler and Huo (2002) argue
that racial and ethnic group variation in perceptions of police legitimacy contribute to
perceptions of police effectiveness, fairness of the distribution of police services, and
police tactics, and charges of police brutality. Their findings are significant, not least
because the police have more control over how they treat people than on the crime rate in
their jurisdiction. They indicate that “over time, the police will be most effective in
communities where they successfully engage social values such as legitimacy and
accountability. It is these social values that lead to self-regulation on the part of most of
the public, most of the time.” (Sunshine and Tyler 2003, 535) Through their influence
over internal police department policies and practices, therefore, police chiefs have a
potentially profound impact – either bolstering or undermining public perceptions of the
police.
Research concerning public opinion toward police departments’ top brass remains
scarce, a surprising omission given the considerable latitude of police chiefs in shaping
departmental policies and practices including officer hiring and promotion, policing
styles and tactics, deployment patterns, and procedures for investigating citizen
9
Convention