Perception of campus police is more negative among students from minority groups

Student views of campus police may be affected by societal views of law enforcement more broadly. steved_np3 via Getty Images by Christopher R. Dennison, University at Buffalo; Jessica Finkeldey, State University of New York at Fredonia, and Nicholas Tucker Reyes, University at Buffalo Racial, ethnic and self-identified sexual minorities possess more negative views of campus police compared with nonminorities. That’s the key finding from a new study in which we analyzed data from approximately 400 undergraduate students to assess being stopped by campus police. We also looked at perceptions of campus police more generally. Eighty-two percent of our sample identified as non-Hispanic white, 31% identified as being male, and 64% identified as being heterosexual. We found few differences between students with and without a history of being stopped by campus police. Why it matters We believe our findings highlight how the racial bias experienced by minority communities in police investigations has spilled over into the views of all police figures, including campus police. The fact that we found few differences between students with and without a history of being stopped by police is telling. To a certain extent, it could suggest that minority students in our study are being treated...