Assessing How Perceptions of Police Closeness Affect Social Distance and Recruitment Efforts
Restricted (Penn State Only)
- Author:
- Johnson, Benjamin
- Graduate Program:
- Criminal Justice (MA)
- Degree:
- Master of Arts
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- March 14, 2023
- Committee Members:
- Jennifer Catherine Gibbs, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Jennifer Catherine Gibbs, Committee Member
Jennifer Gibbs, Professor in Charge/Director of Graduate Studies
Jonathan Lee, Committee Member
Jennifer Lindmar Schally, Committee Member - Keywords:
- police closeness
social distance theory
police recruitment
pennsylvania
gender
race
job satisfaction
law enforcement - Abstract:
- Objective. This study examines how perceptions of police closeness affects police recruitment. Based on social distance theory, the study discusses the nature of the police recruitment problem in Pennsylvania. The focus is on gender, race, and job satisfaction. Methods. Bivariate and multinominal models are used to analyze whether social distance predicts police closeness. Data on police background information are retrieved from an online survey. In a 35-question survey questionnaire, 213 police officers across Pennsylvania were asked specific questions about their relationship with the police before they joined law enforcement. Results. The findings show gender does not make a stark difference in whether police candidates felt closer to police, although 14.3% of males felt fully close to police as opposed to 0% of female candidates. The results indicate no support for the presumption that race is a major factor in police closeness. While many white police candidates (13.5%) felt fully close to the police compared to individuals of color (5%), both groups felt moderately close to the police (White=23.3% and people of color=25%). Likewise, police closeness is not associated with job satisfaction. Conclusions. Regardless of gender or race, the reason people seek a career in law enforcement is mitigated. Individuals of color, whites, men, and women felt distant from the police. However, the results are inconclusive. Several study limitations are acknowledged. Further research is called for to ascertain relationship.