The Criminological Cultivation of African American Municipal Police Officers: Sambo or Sellout

In: Race and Justice: RAJ, Band 4, Heft 1, S. 45-67

Abstract

African American municipal police officers have been historically underrepresented and often face a double marginalization, arguably due to fellow officer and public perceptions. This study represents a first-step criminological cultivation analysis of the quantity and quality of African American municipal police officer depictions in the core cop film genre (1971–2011). Utilizing the unified film population identification methodology, 112 films were identified and examined to determine the overarching messages conveyed through the genre. Findings revealed that White officers were depicted in the lead or joint leading role in 89% ( n = 100) and African Americans in 19% ( n = 21) of films. However, White officers were predominantly depicted in a serious light unless sharing the lead with a minority, while African American officers were predominantly depicted in a comedic light. Further, the issue of double marginalization was rarely depicted. The potential implications of these portrayals on officer recruitment, retention, and perceived law enforcement legitimacy are discussed and second-step criminological cultivation studies to determine if a cultivation effect exists are proposed.