A Field Study of Racial Bias in Policing: Implications for Organizational Sciences

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-1-2023

Abstract

The deep roots of racial bias embedded in organizational (e.g., policing) systems and practices have had disturbing consequences for Black people in the US. This paper responds to the call to reduce racial bias against Black individuals in organizations by examining the policing decisions employed by narcotic enforcement agents when operating under different agency-driven performance strategies for controlling crime. Applying a multilevel design that considers narcotic offenses that are nested within individuals, we analyze narcotic arrest reports for a 19-month period from a US metropolitan city. Guided by recent research and theory on racial bias in policing, we develop and test hypotheses to determine (a) whether racial bias exist in the severity of charges issued to offenders, (b) whether these biases are influenced by two key organizational risk factors (officer job discretion and the organizational performance strategies employed to control crime), and (c) whether bias driven by risk factors occurs in the form of more severe charges for Black offenders, less severe charges for White offenders, or both. Findings from our study suggest that Black males received more severe charges for the same gram-for-gram narcotic offense than White males. Moreover, our findings suggest Black offenders received more severe charges in jurisdictions with a crime focus and less severe charges in jurisdictions that practice deterrence focus policing; however, White offenders received less severe charges under a crime-focused approach. Our findings offer several implications for organizational sciences and practice.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Journal of Business and Psychology

First Page

63

Last Page

74

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