Police use-of-force self-efficacy: an antidote to the Ferguson effect?

ABSTRACT

Research has consistently shown that officers’ perceptions of deteriorated relationships with the public are associated with physical and emotional disengagement with their work. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this ‘Ferguson Effect’ has also contributed to reluctance to use necessary physical force in the course of their duties, leading to compromises for officer safety and public safety. This study has two objectives: first, it is the only study to systematically assess the claim that apprehensiveness to use force is associated with perceptions of community support; second, it examines whether use-of-force self-efficacy reduces apprehensiveness to use force. Using OLS regression of officer surveys from 4,000 police officers in a Southeastern U.S. state, we find support for both hypotheses, as well as evidence of interaction effects. We identify several practical implications for agency leaders, and further encourage the development of use-of-force self-efficacy as a substantively and theoretically meaningful concept for researchers.

KEYWORDS:

• Use of Force
• Ferguson Effect
• war on Cops
• Self-efficacy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. For an overview of legal standards vis-à-vis community expectations standards, see Stoughton et al. (2021).

2. Non-field assignments that were removed from the sample include those working in Community Policing, Command, Administration or Support, and ‘Other non-field assignment.’ Field assignments included Patrol, Investigations, Traffic, Gangs, Narcotics, School/Juvenile Policing, and ‘Other field assignment.’ However, it was not possible to make more fine-tuned distinctions, such as officers in field assignments that did not interact with the public (such as patrol officers that primarily worked in training, or certain types of investigators who rarely interacted with the public or effected arrests).

3. Indeed, officers much more strongly agreed with the statement ‘The relationship between my agency and the public is very good’ than ‘Most people respect the police’ (4.066 vs. 3.397, N = 4,137, t = 37.083, p < .001). The items are moderately correlated at r = .32.

4. Although there may be a difference between ‘respect’ and ‘confidence,’ it is worth noting that most Americans (74%) have confidence in their local police, despite declines in recent years (Ray 2022); at the same time, 55% of our sample agreed or strongly agreed that ‘Most people respect the police’ and more than 75% agreed or strongly agreed that ‘The relationship between my agency and the public is very good.’ Thus, there seems to be some congruence between officers’ perceptions and actual community members’ attitudes.

5. UOF self-efficacy and apprehensiveness to use force, on their face, may appear to measure the same construct. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated substantially better fit for a two-factor solution, suggesting that they are, indeed, distinct (likelihood ratio test $\mathcal{X}$² = 1,091.93, p < .001).

6. Except for interaction terms, which are by definition a linear function of their components and therefore collinear with them. This is not a problematic form of multicollinearity.

7. Stress and burnout demonstrated the largest correlation at r = .551.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Christopher J. Marier

Christopher J. Marier earned his Ph.D. in Criminology from the University of South Florida. His teaching and research focus on policing, race, and theories of punishment. He worked in law enforcement prior to earning his Ph.D. His research has been published in the Journal of Criminal Justice, Justice Quarterly, and Criminology and Public Policy.

Daniel B. Baker

Daniel B. Baker earned his Ph.D. in Public Policy and Management from Ohio State University’s John Glenn College of Public Affairs. His research and teaching focus on policing, prosecutorial discretion, public management, and leadership. He has worked with a variety of law enforcement organizations to understand the influence of leadership and organizational culture on officer attitudes and performance. His research has been published in the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory and the Journal of Criminal Justice Education.