#Public perception definition how to

Simpson hypothesized that, as a symbol of a community and its values, a uniform serves to legitimize police, enhancing public perception of officers presented in uniform and diminishing an officer’s perceived status when presented in civilian clothing. I was curious how these informal, and often unceremonious, observations of the police impact the ways in which citizens perceive officers.” “Although few people engage with the police under formal conditions, most people observe the police at least on a semifrequent basis: at traffic lights, civic centers and community events. “My interest in mere presence and the effects of such presence on perceptions of the police motivated my current research,” Simpson said of his work. Simpson strives to extend previous research by identifying how police attire and patrol strategies influence public opinion.

“It is possible that even mere presence factors (i.e., absent contact), such as the appearance of police officers in different attire and patrol capacities, may be enough to impact their perceived approachability, accountability, respectability, and so on,” posits Rylan Simpson, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society at the University of California, Irvine, in his recent research paper, “The Police Officer Perception Project (POPP): An experimental evaluation of factors that impact perceptions of the police,” published in the Journal of Experimental Criminology. In addition to public outreach programs designed to bring citizens in contact with officers in constructive, positive ways, recent research suggests that an officer’s appearance can influence public opinion.

#Public perception definition how to

How does an officer’s physical appearance influence public opinion? Recent events involving police use of force have compelled law enforcement to spend more time considering their relationship with the communities they serve and how to improve the public’s perception of officers and their role in the community.