Law enforcement is tasked with protecting and serving the public in their jurisdiction. A long-standing area of research has been to understand how communities perceive their law enforcement entities. Community perceptions are particularly important regarding police use of force against members of the community. This study examines differences in perceptions of police use of force amongst US citizens who were born in the United States and those who were born abroad.
We used a nationally representative public opinion poll – the 2020 Wave of the American National Election Study – to analyze predictors of community perceptions of police use of force. These covariates were compared using conditional marginal analyses.
The findings indicate that foreign-born individuals tend to perceive police use of force more critically than native-born citizens, with fewer differences observed across racial and ethnic groups. Key sociodemographic factors such as race, ethnicity, marital status and political affiliation significantly shape these perceptions. These results emphasize the unique experiences of immigrant populations in influencing police-community relations. This study contributes to the broader literature on public attitudes toward law enforcement. It also highlights the importance of culturally responsive policing strategies to build trust and promote collaboration with diverse communities.
We sought to build upon existing research on community perceptions of police by highlighting non-native born US citizens. Citizens not born in the United States may include both birthright citizens born to American parents in a foreign country as well as naturalized citizens. In each case, American citizens born outside the United States may hold perspectives of law enforcement closer to those of immigrants. Much like immigrant populations, not citizens upon entry into America, foreign-born US citizens must integrate into American culture and society. Indeed, naturalized citizens logically may hold similar experiences as immigrant populations prior to achieving citizenship. However, foreign-born US citizens differ from immigrant populations as they no longer have to worry about deportation. As such, we argue that foreign-born US citizens represent a community with unique perspectives compared to those of native-born US citizens. Specifically, we have situated foreign-born US citizens as potential boundary spanners between native-born citizens and immigrant populations. Their potential experiences with both the challenges of acculturation into American society as well as, potentially, the insecurity of the immigration system.
