Intergroup dynamics of extra-legal police aggression: An integrated theory of race
and place
Malcolm D. Holmes
a,
⁎
, Brad W. Smith
b
a
Department of Sociology, Department 3293, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, United States
b
Department of Criminal Justice, 2305 FAB, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, United States
abstractarticle info
Article history:
Received 15 February 2012
Received in revised form 27 February 2012
Accepted 12 March 2012
Available online 28 March 2012
Keywords:
Police
Extra-legal aggression
Minority communities
The police are empowered to use various forms of coercion to accomplish legitimate duties, but they also may
employ them gratuitously in violation of law or departmental policy. These extra-legal behaviors range in
severity from verbal abuse, such as racial slurs and profanity, to unjustified physical force resulting in severe
injury or death. Racial and ethnic minorities, especially those residing in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods,
may be disproportionately targeted for such practices. Scholars have offered several explanations for the dif-
ferential employment of extra-legal police aggression, but an integrated theory of minority disadvantage has
yet to be developed. In this article, we synthesize the existing literature into a model of extra-legal police
aggression that considers intergroup dynamics of race and place. We argue that ordinary social-psychological
processes triggered by the characteristics of neighborhoods explain extra-legal police aggression against
minority citizens.
© 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Contents
1. Introduction .............................................................. 344
2. Research on extra-legal police aggression ................................................ 345
3. Intergroup dynamics of extra-legal police aggression ........................................... 346
4. Social and psychological preconditions to extra-legal police aggression .................................. 346
4.1. Group conflict.......................................................... 346
4.2. Emotional processes ....................................................... 347
4.3. Cognitive processes ....................................................... 347
4.4. Norms of aggression ....................................................... 348
5. Aggressive responses to perceived threats ................................................ 349
6. Mediating/moderating factors ...................................................... 349
6.1. Demand characteristics ..................................................... 350
6.2. Situational characteristics .................................................... 350
6.3. Personality characteristics .................................................... 350
6.4. Personal beliefs ......................................................... 350
6.5. Racial/ethnic identity ...................................................... 350
7. Summary and conclusion ........................................................ 351
References ................................................................. 351
1. Introduction
The legitimate use of force to protect citizens and officers from the
dangerous people in their midst constitutes the essence of the police
role (Bittner, 1970), but periodically police actions may deviate from
the regulations and laws that circumscribe the exercise of that authori-
ty. Whereas actions, such as searching a suspect or using physical force,
may be appropriately called upon to perform a legitimate duty, such
measures also may be used extra-legally, as informal means of coercive
control over those perceived as threats to police authority or personal
safety. Nowhere is that possibility more apparent than in the treat-
ment of racial and ethnic minorities in disadvantaged locales. Research
Aggression and Violent Behavior 17 (2012) 344–353
⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: mholmes@uwyo.edu (M.D. Holmes), ag3416@wayne.edu
(B.W. Smith).
1359-1789/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.avb.2012.03.006
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
Aggression and Violent Behavior