‘Some Are Good, Some Are Bad’: Perceptions of the Police from Black and Latina Women Living in the San Francisco Bay Area

Abstract

In recent years, high profile cases involving the deadly use of force on men and boys of color have raised concerns about police interactions with people of color. In general, these highly publicized cases have consolidated the view that men of color are the primary targets. While this focus is important, it has led, nevertheless, to an overshadowing of women of color’s experiences with police violence and their perceptions of the police. In order to begin to fill this gap, this paper, using in-depth interviews with 49 women of color residing in the San Francisco Bay Area, explores their perceptions of the police and the factors that influence their views. Analysis of the narrative data revealed that women do not view the police positively and suggests that personal and vicarious experiences with the police through friends, family members and the media operated as influential factors that shaped their perceptions of police.

Keywords:

• Perceptions of the police
• policing
• Black women
• Latinas
• Media

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Collection of data in this article was made possible by funding by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health [AA022656] (PI: Dr. G. Hunt). Sincere appreciation is due to each participant who volunteered their time for the study. Without them, this research would not be possible. We also thank Maya Sisneros, who conducted interviews and made contributions to the coding process.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

None.

Notes

1 On July 10th, 2015, Sandra Bland was stopped by a Texas Department Safety Trooper in Plainview, Texas for failing to signal a lane change. The dashcam video of the stop shows the trooper yelling at Bland and ordering her to get out of her vehicle. When she refused, he proceeded to remove her from her vehicle and threatened her with a taser. According to the trooper, she kicked and swung her elbows at him. She subsequently was arrested and placed in jail for assaulting a public servant. Three days later, she was found dead in her jail cell. https://time.com/3966220/sandra-bland-video/

2 On August 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager was shot and killed by police officer, Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri. Wilson was not indicted for Brown’s death. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/08/13/us/ferguson-missouri-town-under-siege-after-police-shooting.html

3 On March 3, 1991, Rodney King, a black motorist, was brutally beaten by four officers from the Los Angeles Police Department during a traffic stop. https://time.com/4245175/rodney-king-la-riots-anniversary/

Additional information

Funding

The research and preparation of this manuscript was supported by grant AA022656 from the from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the opinions NIH or NIAA.