Police Shooting Statistics and Public Support for Police Reforms

• Published in: Journal of experimental political science Vol. 11; no. 3; pp. 288 - 299
• Main Authors: Schiff, Kaylyn Jackson, Clark, Tom S., Glynn, Adam N., Owens, Michael Leo, Gunderson, Anna, Dobbie, Eric
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington Cambridge University Press 01.12.2024
• Subjects: Cities; Community policing; Information; Nationalization; Partisanship; Police reform; Police shootings; Public opinion; Respondents; Statistics; United States > US
• ISSN: 2052-2630; 2052-2649
• DOI: 10.1017/XPS.2023.30

Does providing information about police shootings influence policing reform preferences? We conducted an online survey experiment in 2021 among approximately 2,600 residents of 10 large US cities. It incorporated original data we collected on police shootings of civilians. After respondents estimated the number of police shootings in their cities in 2020, we randomized subjects into three treatment groups and a control group. Treatments included some form of factual information about the police shootings in respondents’ cities (e.g., the actual total number). Afterward, respondents were asked their opinions about five policing reform proposals. Police shooting statistics did not move policing reform preferences. Support for policing reforms is primarily associated with partisanship and ideology, coupled with race. Our findings illuminate key sources of policing reform preferences among the public and reveal potential limits of information-driven, numeric-based initiatives to influence policing in the US.