Perceptions of Police Misconduct Among University Students: Do Race and Academic Major Matter

While much previous research has looked at how race influences perceptions about police misconduct, very little research has explored races outside of Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics. Additionally, although research has explored how academic major affects college students' attitudes about a variety of criminal justice issue, only recently has research begun to explore the impact that college major has on attitudes toward the police and perceptions about police misconduct. Using data from surveys given to students from three universities, this study explores the extent to which being White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American as well as majoring in law enforcement, criminal justice, and other disciplines influences perceptions students have about police misconduct. The findings indicate that race plays an important role related to perceptions about both general and neighborhood-level police misconduct and that academic major does have an influential impact on perceptions about police misconduct in general but does not significantly influence perceptions about neighborhood-level police misconduct.