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Reform, defund or do not touch? Exploring factors affecting the demand for organizational change in law enforcement

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  • Guler, Ahmet
  • Onat, Ismail

Abstract

The present study examined the corelates of individuals` varying attitudes towards reforming American law enforcement. Building on previous research, we hypothesized that such demand among American adults may result from their fear of police brutality, the quality of relationship between the police and minorities, the role of media news, political views, and other demographic factors. Three concepts (i.e., reforming the police, defunding the police, or maintaining the status quo) were employed to measure reform attitudes. Analyses of survey data indicated that the three proposals do not have identical predictors. While fear of police brutality and political views were significant predictors of all three attitudes across the models, with opposing effects on maintaining the status quo, belonging to a minority group and exposure to news media had no significant effect on support for defunding or reforming the police. The results of the study were discussed, and its policy implications were considered.

Suggested Citation

  • Guler, Ahmet & Onat, Ismail, 2024. "Reform, defund or do not touch? Exploring factors affecting the demand for organizational change in law enforcement," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcjust:v:93:y:2024:i:c:s0047235224000497
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2024.102200
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    1. Pyrooz, David C. & Decker, Scott H. & Wolfe, Scott E. & Shjarback, John A., 2016. "Was there a Ferguson Effect on crime rates in large U.S. cities?," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 1-8.
    2. Iselin, Anne-Marie R. & Gallucci, Marcello & DeCoster, Jamie, 2013. "Reconciling questions about dichotomizing variables in criminal justice research," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 386-394.
    3. repec:plo:pone00:0229686 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Bolger, Michelle A. & Lytle, Daniel J. & Bolger, P. Colin, 2021. "What matters in citizen satisfaction with police: A meta-analysis," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    5. Buckler, Kevin & Unnever, James D., 2008. "Racial and ethnic perceptions of injustice: Testing the core hypotheses of comparative conflict theory," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 270-278, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rainock, Meagan, 2025. "Expanding contexts of medicalization: The role of policy legacies, race, and class in the prevalence of treatment courts," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 370(C).

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