RESEARCH PREVIEW Stakeholder Perceptions of Law Enforcement in Washington State NOVEMBER 13, 2018

Introduction GreatWork Communication partnered with WSU’s DGSS to examine perceptions of law enforcement in Washington State Used mixed method approach: Literature review, interviews and surveys Procedural justice (whether citizens view process and encounters as fair) Biggest predictor: personal or vicarious contact with police Performance-based (perceptions of effectiveness) Fear of crime, past victimization, level of crime impact perceptions 629 respondents/ 27.36 % people of color/33.2 % 21-29 years

Most respondents have confidence in law enforcement

Most respondents are satisfied with local law enforcement

Procedural Justice (perceptions of fairness) Overall, respondents rate their local police highly in perceptions of fairness and their personal contacts. Three areas where less than a majority agree or strongly agree: Local police provide opportunities for unfair decisions to be corrected (38.13%) Local police make decisions based on facts, rather than their own personal opinions (47.29%) Local police are honest and trustworthy (48.68%) Rules and procedures fair to everyone Opportunities for unfair decisions to be corrected Decisions based on facts, not personal opinions Likely to treat you with respect Clearly explain actions for people they deal with In general, treat all citizens equally Honest and trustworthy Care about people in my community STRONGLY AGREE AGREE NEITHER DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE

Performance-based explanations Do a good job maintaining order. Do a good job preventing crime. Do a good job interacting with victims of crime. Where I live, police do a good job responding to problems that really concern people. STRONGLY AGREE AGREE NEITHER DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE

Most respondents get news from Websites and Apps Specific incidents No difference in Race/Ethnicity and how often respondents hear or read about incidents of police misconduct, negative encounters between police and people of color, positive encounters between police and U.S. residents, or fatal encounters with police. Differences based on party and ideology. Conservatives and Republicans hear about negative aspects more often and positive encounters less often than other groups. Misconduct exaggerated by news media Differences based on party identification and political ideology

Media No potential differences in most used sources based on race/ethnicity Potential differences in frequency People of color get news from social media more frequently Hispanics get news from Facebook more frequently High percentage of Black/African Americans get news from Twitter most days or everyday In response to the statement that Incidents of police misconduct are exaggerated by news media, responses were nearly evenly split between strongly agree/agree (39.03%) and disagree/strongly disagree (35.27%).

Incidents of police misconduct are exaggerated by news media

Comparing factors MEDIA: OTHER FACTORS: At present, media use does not explain differences in confidence or satisfaction While certain groups reported using some types of media more frequently, this did not seem to impact ratings of confidence and satisfaction This is a divergent finding from other studies, but may reflect similar media use among this population OTHER FACTORS: Age, ideology and party also linked to confidence and satisfaction with services

Legislative perspective CURRENT PERCEPTIONS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT DIFFERENCES AMONG GROUPS GENERALLY POSITIVE, MOSTLY TRUSTED AGENCIES VIEWED DIFFERENTLY ICE (-) Local (+/-) State Patrol (+) Younger (-) vs Older (+) Rural (+) vs Urban (-) Minority Groups (-) Seattle (-) Majority feel that perceptions of law enforcement are generally good. Overwhelming agreement on perception differences based on region, and race. The majority of respondents think that news/social media has affected perceptions. Vocal activists

Legislative perspective Echo chambers (+/-) More used than other media Nuanced, personal stories Amplifies negative stories FACTORS INFLUENCING PERCEPTIONS Older audiences Trust/lack of trust Sensationalism Balanced Encounters with police (-/+) Vocal activists (-/+) How mistakes are handled (-/+) Police conduct OTHER FACTORS TRADITIONAL MEDIA SOCIAL MEDIA

Legislator perspective POLICE COMMUNICATION & SUGGESTED ACTIONS SUGGESTED ACTIONS It has improved a lot Doing a good job The role of leadership POLICE COMMUNICATION Transparency Have positive interactions with young people Training: mental health, public relations Increase face-to-face interactions Community Policing Body cameras Generate more positive messages/stories /news/etc.

Our early conclusions Surveys and interviews confirm perceptions of law enforcement are largely positive Differences between groups (age, race/ethnicity, region) are identified in both interview and survey responses Participants emphasized the role of media and social media in perceptions, but in the surveys media sources did not impact ratings of confidence and satisfaction with services. This may be due to similar sources used across campuses which may not reflect media use of general U.S. public. No difference among specific media or frequency in hearing about negative encounters, including fatal encounters with police. Social media users reported hearing about these incidents at similar levels to traditional media users. Interview participants suggested community policing, face to face interactions, and positive encounters with young people for improving perceptions. This is supported by the survey and current research that suggests personal contact has the largest influence on perceptions of police. Limitations: Low response rates for surveys, must be interpreted with caution People of color represented 30% of sample, but fewer African American and Native American respondents (preventing significance testing) Survey collection is ongoing due to unforeseen issues that reduced response rates

Stayed Tuned for Final Report Due Jan 2019