See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: [Link]

net/publication/249471754

Fairness and Effectiveness in Policing: The Evidence

Article in Journal of Communication · December 2005

DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-2466.2005.tb03028.x

CITATIONS READS
80 1,591

2 authors, including:

Howard Giles
University of California, Santa Barbara
460 PUBLICATIONS 25,242 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Howard Giles on 26 September 2020.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Journal of Communication, December 2005

Fairness and Effectiveness in search on policing. This is not a failure

Policing: The Evidence of the committee per se, as few such
studies actually exist (see, however,
Edited by Wesley Skogan & Kathleen Giles, 2002). As will be evident below,
Frydl. National Research Council Com- the language describing the phenomena
mittee to Review Research on Police reviewed is, nonetheless, replete with
Policy & Practices, Committee on Law communication constructs, although
& Justice, Division of Behavioral & So- they are not labeled as such. Although
cial Sciences & Education. Washington, far from the intent of its authors, this
DC: National Academies Press, 2004. pp. book opens the doors for communica-
xiii + 413. $44.95 (hard). tion scholars so that in future discus-
sions of, and models for, policing, our
A review by Michelle Chernikoff Ander- testimony and research can play a vital
son & Howard Giles role when the scientific community, law
University of California, Santa Barbara enforcement, and policy makers con-
sider expert evidence.
Prior to the 1968 Omnibus Crime Con- The committee, despite some mixed
trol and Safe Streets Act, which created data, finds that extralegal factors such as
today’s National Institute of Justice (NIJ), a suspect’s demeanor towards an officer
scant scientific research on policing was can affect the likelihood of arrest and
available. Since then, the topic has be- physical force, underscoring the fact that
come more of a focus of social science “there is no legal justification for punish-
research, and much of it, like this book, ing a citizen whose demeanor is unpleas-
NIJ-supported. At various junctures ant but not illegal” (p. 120). In parallel,
throughout, the authors—self-referenced the committee reviews studies examin-
as “the committee”—usefully summarize ing the effects of race on an officer’s de-
their evaluations of past research (for meanor toward citizens, such as whether
further elaborations from many of these the officer is friendly, comforting, or re-
authors, see Skogan, 2004) by means of assuring, further work on which they con-
(ultimately dozens of) formal proposi- tend is a “high research priority.” (p. 125)
tions. Based as they are on insufficient The issue of police legitimacy arises
or mixed evidence, however, the vast frequently across the chapters of this
majority of these are rather inconclusive. book (particularly as it relates to differ-
This notwithstanding, the committee ential racial perceptions) as it does of-
contends that law enforcement should ten in the popular press. As Los Ange-
be at the forefront of ensuring that its les Mayor James Hahn said in response
policies and practices are based, not on to a recent video in which an officer is
hunches or national trends, but on sound beating a suspect—who appeared to
evidence. To this end, they argue that, have surrendered—with a flashlight,
far from being competing interests, po- “this jeopardizes reforms . . . and will
lice fairness and effectiveness are mu- test the ‘bond of trust’ with the commu-
tually reinforcing, while proffering a nity” ([Link], June 24, 2004). Legiti-
plethora of recommendations for future macy is defined herein as the subjective
research. By far the most glaring “find- judgments that civilians make about the
ing” for us, however, is the conspicu- rightfulness of police conduct and the
ous absence of any communication re- institutions that employ and supervise

872
Review and Criticism

them. This process is argued to be cru- collaborators in different continents

cial to policing in a democracy in which points to the crucial role communica-
the consent of the public lies at the heart tive practices play in many of the
of the authority held by law enforce- abovementioned spheres. For instance,
ment. Relatedly, studies on differential how accommodating officers are per-
racial perceptions of police legitimacy ceived to be (i.e., whether they are seen
and trust, as well as their consequent to listen to, and take the perspective of,
effects on compliance, are afforded con- the public) can directly predict civilians’
siderable textual attention. As the com- attitudes towards their local police
mittee points out, a more legitimate agency and also mediate their sense of
police force is a more effective one be- trust in it (e.g., Giles et al., in press).
cause the public will (a) invest it with The committee extols the virtues of
more authority, (b) provide it with more independent research itself being a
tax dollars, (c) call it when in need of means to increasing the legitimacy of
help, (d) assist it in solving crimes by law enforcement by claiming that “when
providing information, and (e) be more their operations fall under scrutiny,
likely to comply with its orders. Impor- adopting agencies can point in defense
tant research findings from the fields of to . . . best practices reports distributed
law and psychology also show that by . . . research institutes” (p. 309).
when officers treat victims, bystanders, Hence, any police department’s invest-
and suspects with dignity and respect, ment in research addressing a police-
perceptions of police legitimacy in- community issue may enhance its per-
crease. What is more, legitimacy is ceived legitimacy, making both law en-
shown to be a greater factor in deter- forcement and the public all the more
mining the public’s support for the po- interested in working with academics.
lice than are instrumental measures such At the moment, police science is not
as law enforcement’s ability to deter attending to research and theory in inter-
crime. Because the committee views the personal, intergroup, media, nor organi-
creation of legitimacy as under the con- zational communication, to name but a
trol of the police, attention is focused few of our tendrils, and (apart from some
on this process. important exceptions, such as Randy
In addition, research on complaints, Rogan, Mitch Hammer, and Brian
as well as citizen reviews, of police rude- Spitzberg) neither are we yet impacting
ness, discourteousness, arrogance, un- them.
friendliness, overly casual treatment,
unreasonableness and unfair behavior References
are also discussed. Needless to say for Giles, H. (Ed.). (2002). Law enforcement, com-
this readership, all of the foregoing are munication and community. New York: John
communicative constructs—a perspec- Benjamins.
tive given implicit and passing credence Giles, H., Fortman, J., Dailey, R., Barker, V., Hajek,
by the committee, as in pleas for the C., & Anderson, M.C. (in press). Communica-
tion accommodation: Law enforcement and the
police to explain their decisions and ac-
public. In B. A. Le Poire & R. M. Dailey (Eds.),
count for their conduct “…in ways that Applied research in interpersonal communica-
make clear their concern about giving tion: Family communication, health communi-
attention to people’s needs” (p. 304). In cation, and communicating across social
boundaries. New York: Peter Lang.
this vein, ongoing research by us and

873
 Journal of Communication, December 2005

Skogan, W. G. (Ed.). (2004). To better serve and audience members construct their own
protect: Improving police practices. Annals of
selves.
the American Academy of Political and Social
Science, 59. The analysis begins with Oprah her-
self and with a description of how Oprah
draws on traditions within African
American culture to establish her pro-
gram above all other talk shows. One
Oprah Winfrey and the Glamour of of Oprah’s greatest feats has been her
Misery: An Essay on Popular Culture success in weaving herself into her own
show, expanding the talk show genre,
By Eva Illouz. New York: Columbia a development that Illouz ties to the
University Press, 2003. 300 pp. $73.50 chaotic (and, yes, postmodern) condi-
(hard), $24.00 (soft). tion of identity. Subsequent chapters are
devoted to the meaning of suffering on
A review by David W. Park Oprah’s show, the play of postmodern
Lake Forest College identity, the tools for living that Oprah
makes available, and a new, reflexive
Oprah Winfrey is an irresistible and dif- critique of Oprah’s oeuvre. Much of this
ficult subject for the cultural scholar: ir- follows from Pierre Bourdieu’s notions
resistible because she connects with so of strategy and habitus; Illouz breathes
many important themes in cultural stud- life into Bourdieu’s theoretical mecha-
ies; difficult because her use of differ- nism without getting bogged down in
ent media and her fluid persona defy it. These largely structural-level insights
some of our most familiar tools for un- are matched with an exacting descrip-
derstanding culture. Eva Illouz’s Oprah tion of the content of her show, the book
Winfrey and the Glamour of Misery club, and other things Oprah. Illouz does
embraces Winfrey as a subject of analy- this with a nuanced appreciation for the
sis while addressing directly the prob- ritual and performative aspects of these
lems that have frequently arisen from messages.
less perceptive approaches to popular There are some problems here. Be-
culture. cause she emphasizes how Oprah’s au-
The book argues for a new approach diences use Oprah as a Swidlerian “tool
to popular culture. Illouz argues that the kit” for addressing chaos and meaning-
“power-pleasure-resistance conceptual lessness, one might wish that Illouz had
trio” (p. 1) that has defined much of the also provided some more information
study of culture has impoverished our regarding how these audiences under-
ability to understand phenomena like stand her, what kind of problems they
Oprah. Illouz approaches culture as “a experience, and how they think Oprah
way to respond to chaos and to mean- fits into those problems. Also, Illouz’s
inglessness by offering rational systems approach leaves little space for a dis-
of explanations of the world” (p. 7). This cussion of the role played by organiza-
leads her to consider Oprah as a moral tional and institutional forces.
entrepreneur, with a focus on the tools Still, what makes this book outstand-
that she uses to forge her relationship ing is how its author digs deeper into
with her audience and also on how her subject matter than any other re-
Oprah provides tools with which her searcher yet to address Oprah. Illouz

874

View publication stats