Racial Prejudice Predicts Police Militarization

In the United States, police are becoming increasingly militarized. Whereas the racialized nature of police militarization has been documented, the relationship between racial prejudice and police militarization is less understood. We assessed the link between racial prejudice against Black and Native Americans and police militarization at individual and regional levels. Study 1 (N = 765) recruited a nationally representative sample of White Americans and found a positive association between racial prejudice and support for police militarization. Study 2 (N = 3,129,343) sourced regional aggregates of prejudice among White Americans from Project Implicit and policing data from the Defense Logistics Agency and found that police departments in states higher in prejudice acquired greater amounts of militarized equipment. Together, these studies demonstrate that, in terms of attitudes and policies, racial prejudice predicts police militarization.

Automated summary

Based on two studies, this research examined the relationship between police militarization in the United States and racial prejudice. The findings showed a positive association between racial prejudice among White Americans at both individual and regional levels and support for police militarization. Additionally, it was found that police departments in states with higher levels of prejudice acquired more militarized equipment.