London Metropolitan Police: experiences and perceptions of citizen disrespect

Abstract

Although a body of research exists examining the influence of citizen disrespect on police decision-making and use of force, that research is limited in its capacity to appropriately conceptualize citizen disrespect. In fact, little is known about the verbal and non-verbal behaviors that signify disrespect for officers in the UK (and abroad). Utilizing survey data from officers in the London Metropolitan Police, this descriptive research sought to understand the breadth of behaviors that officers found disrespectful, to discover how often officers anticipated disrespect and perceived that they are experiencing disrespectful citizens, and identify the behaviors officers found most egregious. Overall, officers estimate that they experienced low-level verbally disrespectful behaviors more often than physical acts of disrespect. They also estimated that they anticipated and experienced disrespectful behaviors more often in potentially dangerous encounters or ones where the citizen’s sobriety is in question. The results help lay the foundation for future causal research by establishing an officer-based conceputalization of disrespect.

Keywords:

• police
• disrespect
• conceptualization
• London
• UK
• England

Notes

1. Given the overhaul of the police complaints system resulting in 2002 legislation, improving the way police handle citizen complaints, one would expect a body of research focusing on the complaint system itself. Unfortunately, there have been surprisingly few studies (see McLaughlin & Johansen, 2006).

2. In September and October 2006, an informal pre-test revealed that officers were familiar with the concept of disrespect from citizens during police encounters.

3. Verbal: Impolite or discourteous, verbally antagonistic, ignores requests or commands, denies, accusations, curses/uses profanity, makes derogatory statement to officer, makes a physical threat to officer, or other Physical: Makes an obscene gesture, spits toward/on officer, takes a defensive/aggressive stance, physically resists arrest/detention, physically assaults officer, attempts escape/flees on foot, engages in a pursuit, or other.

4. Given the small sample size, the behaviors listed in Table 5 may not comprise all the behaviors that officers believe to be disrespectful. While the results here indicate a more inclusive definition of disrespect than seen in past research, collecting data from a larger sample could reveal different categories or could elevate the single-response categories listed in Table 4 into more meaningful categories.

5. It must be noted that a smaller percentage of officers believed these to be disrespectful when answering the open-ended question, but these percentages increased as the others did when responding to the close-ended question and allow for inclusion in the definition.