University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Exploring the influence of implicit bias among police officers and minoritized citizens

(USC Thesis Other)

Exploring the influence of implicit bias among police officers and minoritized citizens

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content Running head: POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 1

Exploring the Influence of Implicit Bias Among Police Officers and Minoritized Citizens
by
Nicole Cochran

A Dissertation Presented to the

FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

August 2, 2018

Copyright 2018 Nicole Cochran

POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 2
DEDICATION
This dissertation is dedicated to God, the reason I get up every morning, my motivation
and the reason I find purpose every day. This is dedicated to my mother Gwendolyn Dianne
Campbell who was the very first person who taught me about Agape love, and the first person to
demonstrate that love by how she loved her children, family, friends and strangers. Although she
is gone, she lives on in every life she touched and changed by her smile, kindness and giving.
This is also dedicated to my husband who is my gift from God, sugar in my coffee,
biggest cheerleader, the joy in every morning, and my comfort at night. I would also like to
dedicate this dissertation to my sons Matthew and Aaron for giving me a selfish reason to
explore and write this research. I would like to thank my dad Myron Anthony Campbell and my
siblings Adrienne and Myron for your love and support.
Lastly, to my village, this dissertation is complete because you pulled me through with
every phone call, text and words of encouragement. Thank you, Patricia, Lanetta, Renatta,
Adrian, Kimberley, Angie, Tyise, Monica, Shannon and Mark.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank my husband who continues to walk beside me though every journey,
and for being in that moment with me when those two Black men were shot and killed just days
a part. Thank you for falling asleep next to me as we worried for our sons lives and for
understanding the feeling of wanting them to make it home safe at night. Thank you for waking
up the next morning next to me with determination to be a part of the change in our world in how
people see our children. “…where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the
content of their character” (King, p. 5, 1963).
Thank you, Dr. Jenifer Crawford, for your willingness to be my chair and supporting me
with me when I changed to such a tumultuous topic. I appreciate the support of my committee
members Dr. Alan Green and his passion and expertise, and Dr. Brenda Green for encouraging
me to start the journey to complete my doctorate and for being a part of the process up to the
very end. Thank you to Dr. Kristin Moody and Dr. Guillermo Munoz for coming through every
time when I needed you at the last minute. Thank you to cohort 2 for taking the crazy ride with
me and encouraging me through this. No man is an island. Thank you to my dear friend Dr.
Kimberley Hundley who gave unselfishly of her time and her intellect, by allowing me to fly to
Atlanta, Georgia and stay in a hotel with me and helped me get through Chapter Two. Thank
you, Dr. Glenn Phillips, for your editing prowess and patience with me through this process.
To the best girlfriends in the world. I cannot express the love I have for all of you and
what each of you mean to me. Thank you for making me feel like I belong with all my doubts,
flaws and insecurities. Thank you for loving me for me. There are no greater cheerleaders this
side of heaven. Everyone needs people who believe in them and motivate them to try to save the
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 4
world one act of kindness at a time. Thank you to Mark Dunzo for sticking with me for 34 years
of friendship and listening to me complain about everything while reminding me I could do this.
To Angie and Greg Barfield who stood in the gap, took care of your nephews, let us vent,
and sat with us when there was nothing to say, I am grateful God placed us all together.
Thank you to my Fresno Pacific work family Daniel, Laura, Jessica, April, Matthew and
Krista for your encouragement, pitching in and standing in the gap when I was tired and worked
crazy hours to try and fulfill every obligation and commitment I made. To my mentors Dr. Vickie
Trask who encouraged me to teach and continues to inspire me, and Dr. Vince Roos for taking
me on as a protege. Likewise, to Fresno Pacific faculty and staff who believe in life long learning
and to my Director Denise for your heart, patience and servant leadership. Additionally, I cannot
forget my students who inspire me every day. Thank you all for allowing me into your lives on a
deeper level. Watching many of you balance family life, work, commitments and school was a
great motivation for me to stay the course. I appreciate every cohort dinner we shared, wedding
invitation and social gathering, I also value the difficult times you allowed me into your lives
with the loss of loved ones and hospital visits. I will forever treasure the precious moments.
To the people who believe in what we are doing and want to be a part of the change I am
grateful for your willingness to reduce bias, have uncomfortable conversations and willingness to
speak for those who cannot, and to stand against injustice, and the marginalized.
Lastly, I sincerely appreciate the law enforcement officers who volunteered their time and
service to the research. Your willingness to recognize bias and work toward bias reduction was
crucial to this endeavor.

POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 5
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION 2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS 5
LIST OF TABLES 8
LIST OF FIGURES 9
ABSTRACT 10
CHAPTER ONE: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 11
Background of the Problem 12
Importance of Addressing the Problem 13
Organizational Context and Mission 14
Organizational Goal 15
Description of Stakeholder Groups 16
Stakeholder’ Performance Goals 17
Stakeholder Group for the Study 17
Purpose of the Project and Research Questions 18
Conceptual and Methodological Framework 20
Organization of the Study 20
Summary 21
Definitions 21
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 23
Understanding Implicit Bias 23
Bias in the Society 29
Law Enforcement Implicit Bias 32
Implications for Altering Implicit Bias 33
Appraisals of Implicit Bias 35
Implicit Bias Impacts Decision-Makers in Leadership 36
Police Officer Implicit Bias Knowledge and Motivation Influences 38
Knowledge and Skills 38
Procedural Knowledge 42
Knowledge Influence. Police officers 42
Motivation 44
Organizational Influences 49
Conclusion 53
Conceptual Framework: The Interaction of Stakeholders’ Knowledge and Motivation
and the Organizational Context 55
Contributing Influences of Officer Implicit Bias 57

POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 6
CHAPTER THREE: METHODS 60
Participating Stakeholders 60
Purpose of the Project and Research Questions 61
Interview Rationale and Strategy 61
Data Collection and Instrumentation 62
Interviews 64
Documents and Artifacts 66
Data Analysis 66
Credibility and Trustworthiness 68
Trustworthiness 69
Ethics 71
Limitations and Delimitations 74
Conclusion 74
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND FINDINGS 76
Participating Stakeholders 77
Findings 77
Research Question 1 78
Knowledge 78
Motivation 84
Organizational Influence 89
Research Question 2 91
Research Question 3 95
Recommended Knowledge Supports 96
Recommended Motivational Supports 98
Recommended Organizational Supports 99
CHAPTER FIVE RECOMMENDATIONS 103
Knowledge Influences of Officer Implicit Bias 104
Motivation Influences of Officer Implicit Bias 106
Organization Influences of Officer Implicit Bias 109
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan 113
Organizational Purpose Need and Expectations 114
Results and Leading Indicators 115
Behavior 116
Learning Goals 119
Reaction 122
Evaluation Tools 123
Data Analysis and Reporting 125
Summary 126
Future Research 127
Conclusion 128
Reference 130
APPENDIX A: Exploring the Influence of Implicit Bias Among Police Officers & Minority
Citizens 142
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 7
APPENDIX B: Informed Consent for Non-Medical Research 144
APPENDIX C: Interview Protocol 147
APPENDIX D: Evaluation Instrument 150

POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 8
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Stakeholder’ Performance Goals 17
Table 2: Knowledge Influence 43
Table 3: Motivational Influence 48
Table 4: Organizational Influences 52
Table 5: Summary of Assumed Needs for KMO Issues 54
Table 6: Participant Stakeholder Demographics 77
Table 7: Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes 115
Table 8: Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for New Reviewers 116
Table 9: Required Drivers to Support New Reviewers’ Critical Behaviors 117
Table 10: Components of Learning for Protocol 121
Table 11: Components to Measure Reactions to the Protocol 122

POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 9
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 Implicit Bias of Law Enforcement Officers 56
Figure 2 Sample illustrating Capitol City Police Department Monthly Report 126
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 10
ABSTRACT
Past and present turbulent events between the police and minoritized groups are at the
forefront of society. The police are viewed as racist and prejudice with data revealing the
overrepresentation of Black suspects who were shot and killed by police (Sadler, Correll, Park, &
Judd, 2012). This study takes a closer look at law enforcement officers implicit bias and how it
influences decision making during police stops of minoritized citizens. The research incorporates
a gap analysis framework constructed by Clark and Estes (2008) to explore the possible
knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences that contribute to the incongruent arrest
rates of Black males. The model will focus on police officers’ perceptions and awareness of
intrinsic biases that might impact officer responses during interactions with minoritized
individuals. Moreover, the review explores several reports from researchers, which investigated
the significant influences between negative attitudes of law enforcement officers regarding race
and ethnicity (Brown & Benedict, 2002; Murphy & Cherney, 2011; Tyler & Huo, 2002; Warren,
2011; Weitzer, 1999; Weitzer & Tuch, 1999). To conclude, recommendations for de-escalation
and bias reduction protocol are discussed along with an evaluation model which uses Kirkpatrick
and Kirkpatrick (2016) framework to connect training to continues feedback and solutions to
effectively reach organizational goals.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 11
CHAPTER ONE: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and
convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
—Dr. Martin Luther King, 1963
Social change is a million individual acts of kindness, cultural change is a million
subversive acts of resistance.
-Mary Pipher
Implicit bias, also referred to as inherent bias, operates outside of conscious awareness;
however, it is universal and contributes to prejudice and stereotyping. Implicit bias affects all
human interaction and is integral to how individuals behave and respond daily; it can play a
major role in law enforcement activity involving minoritized groups. Minoritized groups are
people frequently restricted to the boundaries by measures outside of their control. Law
enforcement activity involving a high rate of police stops, arrest, and deaths of unarmed,
underrepresented minority groups reveals a ubiquitous problem. An estimated 200,000 racially
minoritized people experienced some form of threat or force during police encounters in 2008
(Eith & Durose, 2011, p. 12). Prejudice, intolerance, and bias reflected in law enforcement
behavior raise concerns about police preparation to understand and guard against implicit bias
and the effect of bias on police action (or inaction). Cognitive biases precipitate internal
conflicts between what people “knowingly” believe and what they “innately” or unknowingly
believe (Kahneman, 2011). Implicit bias contributes to distrust between minoritized groups and
law enforcement (Plant & Peruche, 2005). Research also suggests that left unconsidered and
unaddressed, implicit bias perpetuates continued problems between police and disenfranchised
groups (Oliveira, & Murphy, 2015)
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 12
Background of the Problem
Racial discrimination is a national epidemic originating with early colonialism and the
United States’ early and barbarous tradition of slavery. Critical Race Theory (CRT) is an in-
depth analysis of race and racism which begins with the thought that racism is normal, and
characteristic in American culture (Delgado, 1995). CRT asserts that racism so intertwines itself
in the “American DNA” that it seems natural and normal and is inherently acceptable as a part of
the American culture (Ladson-Billings, 1998). Discrimination is pervasive across all domains
(Council of Economic Advisors, 1998), and, specifically, in law enforcement where race and
ethnicity is often used to judge criminal suspicious conduct (Glaser, 2014). Implicit biases
operate outside of conscious awareness and control but still influence our behaviors (Greenwald,
Poehlman, Uhlmann, & Banaji, 2009). These biases can often contribute to discriminatory
practice and racial bias. As an example, minority groups are overrepresented as suspects who
were shot and killed by police (Sadler, Correll, Park, & Judd, 2012). To that end, computer
simulations, devised by social psychologists, measured bias of shooters between citizens and law
enforcement officers (e.g., Correll, Park, Judd, & Wittenbrink, 2002; Greenwald, Oakes, &
Hoffman, 2003; Payne, 2001; Plant & Peruche, 2005). One study discovered that both officers
and regular volunteers’ speed of response demonstrated strong shooter prejudice against minority
“assailants” by having a faster response rate with Black men (Correll et al. 2007). From 1967 to
1998, the Department of Justice (2001) reported that Black suspects were killed five times more
often than White offenders. Moreover, research suggests that officers process visual images (i.e.
skin color) of potential criminals the same way citizens do, by looking at Black and White faces
through a biased lens (Eberhardt, Goff, Purdie, & Davies 2004,). Eberhardt et al. (2004) argued
that police are prone to associate Black faces with words connected to criminal activity such as
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 13
arrest or violent. Implicit bias in law enforcement has both social and safety implications.
Current research substantiates the need for investigation of law enforcement practices regarding
their behavior related to people of color.
Importance of Addressing the Problem
The inherent bias of police officers is important to address because the duty of law
enforcement is to protect and serve the people (Dorobek, 1963). It is important to examine how
implicit biases negatively influence interactions between marginalized groups and law
enforcement agents. The loss of lives (civilian and officer) forces communities, school systems,
organizations, and politicians into tumultuous events which precipitate behaviors regarded as
racist and intolerant. For example, the 2014 shooting and death of a 17-year-old by a veteran
officer in Chicago and the subsequent withholding of details by the Chicago police department
describing how the officer shot the teen 16 times within 15 seconds is an example of one of these
tumultuous events. Video surveillance and the findings led to a request for the mayors’
resignation and a taskforce to improve community interactions.
“False arrests, coerced confessions, and wrongful convictions are also a part of this
history. Lives lost and countless more damaged. These events and others mark a long,
sad history of death, false imprisonment, physical and verbal abuse, and general
discontent about police actions in neighborhoods of color” (Force, 2016, p.6-7).
Yancy and Butler (2015) questioned the notion of the value of certain lives to law
enforcement because anyone perceived as a threat, is a threat, which justifies “acceptable”
deadly force. Numerous reports examine substantial connections between negative attitudes and
race and ethnicity regarding police (Brown & Benedict, 2002; Murphy & Cherney, 2011; Tyler
& Huo, 2002; Warren, 2011; Weitzer, 1999; Weitzer & Tuch, 1999). The adverse opinions of
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 14
the police, along with statistics showing the disparity of arrest and deaths considering race
intensifies the problem.
Officers underline expectations of regulations and due process emphasized their own
specialized judgment and actions needed to apprehend offenders (Livingston, Skolnick, & Fyfe,
1994). The authors further stated that there are some officers who have an unhealthy expectation
of their freedom to improvise rather than their lawful limitations, which views illegal law
enforcement practices with bias that is contradictory to due process of the law (Livingston,
Skolnick, & Fyfe, 1994) and promotes ongoing racial problems and overt and covert biases.
Officers’ injudicious understanding and inherent behavior propagates the symptoms of
underlying problems. Moreover, varying minority and ethnic groups’ induction into society,
along with historical treatment, influence how minority populations feel about their place as
citizens and how they respond to and are treated by law enforcement (Weitzer, 2010). As
revealed in the Chicago example, decisions made in the line of duty can increase adverse
encounters among police officers and out-groups. Weitzer (2010) illustrated how Africans and
Muslims from Western nations experience varying forms of marginality and attention from law
enforcement compared to immigrants from Anglo-Saxon countries. Therefore, these groups
experience more cultural and systemic issues perpetuating the problem leading to more unlawful
stops, arrests, and deaths among racial minorities.
Organizational Context and Mission
The Capital Police Department (CPD) (pseudonym) is a law enforcement department that
services a regional community with a population of over 490,000 residents in the western United
States. Their mission is to enhance the safety, service, and trust within the community. CPD is
taking strides to earn the community’s trust by equipping frontline officers with body cameras
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 15
and supporting community groups in community policing. The police department is under the
authority of the mayor and local city government. The department structure is a small, hierarchal
system with the police chief at the top, the administrative sergeant at second in command, and
next the assistant chief of police. Below the three-ranked positions are the patrol division deputy
chief, the investigative service department deputy chief, and the administrative/support deputy
chief who all hold equal rank in the police department. Additionally, the police department
budget allows for 995 personnel plus an additional 756 sworn police officers (Capital Police
Department, 2015). CPD operates out of five divisions (Southwest, Southeast, Central,
Northwest, and Northeast).
Organizational Goal
The Capital Police Department’s goal is to fulfill the mission statement, “to serve our
community with courtesy, honesty, and respect” (Capital Police Department, 2016). Under the
leadership of the chief of police, the mission purpose is to guide the reorganization of CPD to
begin moving away from the local and national stigma of altercations between law enforcement
and underrepresented groups. Therefore, the objective of the study is for CPD to show a
reduction in disproportionate traffic stops and arrests of Black and Hispanic persons by
December 2018. The CPD offers minimal implicit bias training. However, the Attorney General
recognized that all humanity has implicit bias and the implied influences bias has on officers not
effectively trained to reduce personal biases. The deaths of unarmed men have garnered
attention (California Department of Justice, 2016). With the attorney general’s support, a
policing course established in designated law enforcement agencies which connects community
organizations, academia, and law enforcement to address the issues of bias to regain public trust
and improve safety.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 16
It is the aim of the study for CPD to have 100% of all frontline officers receive training
on implicit bias awareness and de-escalation by December 2018. Implicit bias awareness and
de-escalation training allows for individuals to comprehend implicit bias in society and reflect
upon its influence personally and professionally. Additionally, it focusses on the relevance of
implicit bias and how it may influence decisions that have adverse implication regarding the
police officer, police department, and the minoritized community. Effective training provides
participants with appropriate knowledge and skills to improve communication and de-escalate
adverse situations. Moreover, this training delivers specific and measurable results such as a
lower rate of police stops of Black and Hispanic people.
A detailed analysis of the goal measures the findings from the Capital Police
Department’s fourth, 2017 quarterly report. Quarterly reports provide the demographics of
police stops and arrests. It is important to monitor police performance to determine effectiveness
of the training and to assess the 50% reduction of traffic stops and arrests of minoritized
individuals. Examining the outcomes of quarterly data will allow CPD to assess the
effectiveness of the training protocol and improve relations among police officers and the
community members they serve.
Description of Stakeholder Groups
The stakeholders for this study are the law enforcement officers, the local city
government, and the minoritized community members. The law enforcement officers are the
central stakeholders. Moreover, police officer decisions affect all stakeholders including
traditionally served and minoritized citizens, the reputation of the police department, and
community trust in city officials and the chief of police. An officer’s implicit bias is critical to
his or her behavior toward oppressed individuals (James, Florida, & Straub, 2016). Therefore, an
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 17
officer’s implicit bias directly influences the community’s belief in the Capital Police
Department along with the elected officials who govern the department. Implicit bias awareness
and de-escalation training for police officers can lower disproportionate traffic stops and arrests
of out-groups and increase trust and feelings of safety among community members, particularly
minoritized groups.
Additionally, the mayor and city officials are accountable to the community members and
their safety. Police behavior is a direct reflection of how the police chief and mayor denounce or
(silently) support poor conduct by officers when engaged with certain groups of people. The
final stakeholder group, community residents, are diverse and separated by income, race, gender,
and sexual orientation. Data from the Capital Police Department’s (2016) fourth quarter report,
which showed that Hispanic and Black men experienced adverse effects more often than others,
highlights the importance of considering minoritized groups. The police officers understanding
of implicit bias may help to resolve the gap between them and police officers.
Table 1
Stakeholder’ Performance Goals
Police Department Police Officers
By December 2018, CPD will implement a plan
to increase implicit bias awareness and de-
escalation strategies. 100% of frontline officers
completes implicit bias and de-escalation
training.
By December 2018, CPD will show a
50% reduction of disproportionate
traffic stops and arrest of minoritized
individuals by practicing the process
from training.

Stakeholder Group for the Study
The stakeholders of focus in this study are the frontline patrol officers. The patrol
officers have direct communication with the citizens and form the principal line of
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 18
communication and connection to the police department. The patrol officers cover five divisions
separated by invisible lines based on coordinates to certain areas of the community.
While all stakeholders are involved in the overarching goal of developing a protocol for
the police department by fall 2018, it is essential to evaluate the frontline officers regarding their
implicit biases, and their biases’ effects on officer behavior during encounters with certain
minority groups because it directly effects their daily communication and encounters with
minoritized people. Although a thorough evaluation of CPD will involve all stakeholders,
including the chief of police and city personnel, for practical purposes, it is more feasible to
evaluate the decisions of the patrol officers, and how their choices correlate with the
disproportionate arrest and traffic stops.
Purpose of the Project and Research Questions
The purpose of this research is to examine the implicit bias of law enforcement officers
and those now working with the local police department that serves the community of Capital
City. The study will investigate the factors that contribute to police behavior during adverse
encounters with minoritized groups. The Capital Police Department’s (2016) Demographic Data
Collection, fourth quarter report showed that although Black people make up 7.7% of the
population in the community, they account for 20.1% of the arrests from traffic stops.
Additionally, the Hispanic population represents 46.9% of the community population, and
comprises 47.4% of the arrests from traffic stops. Conversely, 30% of the population are White,
with 23.9% of traffic stops ending in arrest. Although the data does not openly connect to
implicit bias, the data reveals an imbalanced proportion of arrests per respective populations.
The gap analysis framework suggested by Clark and Estes (2008) is applicable to
investigate the possible knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences that contribute to
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 19
the discrepancy in arrest rates considering the race categories identified in the data. The model
will focus on police officers’ perceptions and awareness of intrinsic biases that might impact
officer responses during interactions with minoritized individuals. Perceived differences in
treatment by law enforcement officials of a minority group can impact organizational culture in a
negative manner and can adversely affect relationships between the police department and the
community. There is no mandated training, and this study informs future training. Discoveries
from the research can be useful for police departments to address law enforcement perceptions of
minoritized groups and possibly provide direction on bias awareness and de-escalation
competencies to improve police interactions with certain people groups.
It is necessary to examine underlying intrinsic bias and recommend solutions that may
help the police department to improve outcomes between officers and minoritized individuals.
Otherwise, inherent bias will increase adverse encounters between the police officers and
outgroups, affecting community conflict. On the other hand, implicit bias awareness and
evaluable proficiencies may improve relationships in the community between police officers and
underrepresented minorities.
The following questions guide the study:
1. What are the knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences that affect officers
when interacting with minoritized groups?
2. How does implicit bias shape the decision making of officers when involved in
encounters with underrepresented minorities?
3. What are police officers’ recommendations for knowledge, motivational, and
organizational supports to address/reduce police officer implicit biases?
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 20
Conceptual and Methodological Framework
This study uses the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis framework. Implementation and
structure of the gap analysis by Clark and Estes (2008) is an efficient and analytical method that
helps to clarify organizational goals within an organization. The use of this method will help
investigate implicit bias of police offers. Using the Clark and Estes framework provides a
detailed process, recognizing possible underlying causes of unwarranted conduct and
investigating appropriate performance solutions.
The methodological framework is a qualitative case study with descriptive statistics.
Based on participant knowledge and related literature, the researcher investigates knowledge,
organizational, and motivation influences which affect police officers’ encounters with
minoritized groups. The purpose of the analysis is to examine core biases of officers, which may
cause some adverse behavior.
Furthermore, the gap analysis model by Clark and Estes (2008) uses multiple approaches
to extract and analyze data. Research studies have used varying methods such as qualitative,
quantitative, or mixed methods. However, this study is a qualitative approach which includes
surveys, qualitative procedures using open ended interviews, public data from the Bureau of
Justice and Statistics and local police department information, and document collection and
analysis. Additionally, I the study includes a thematic analysis of the qualitative data.
Organization of the Study
This study consists of five chapters. The first chapter focuses on the background of the
Capital Police Department and police officers’ performances and relationships with minoritized
groups. This chapter also discusses the researcher’s interpretation of implicit bias and its
probable influence on officer behavior. Finally, the chapter discusses the mission and goals of
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 21
key stakeholder groups along with an overview of the framework used in the research. Chapter
Two provides a detailed review of current and foundational literature surrounding implicit bias,
societal biases, police bias effect on racial issues, and police actions related to inherent biases.
The chapter concludes with literature that investigates the knowledge, organizational, and
motivational model and its ability to account for influencers of police implicit bias. Chapter
Three explains the methodology of the research project, reiterates the theoretical frame used, and
explores researcher positionality. In Chapter Four, the results of the collected data are evaluated
and analyzed. Finally, Chapter Five offers solutions and recommendations constructed from the
literature and data, including implementation proposals to improve perceived relations among
police officers and minoritized people.
Summary
This project seeks to understand police officer perception of implicit bias and its effect on
the disproportional arrests and violence associated with minority groups, specifically Black
people. Clark and Estes's (2008) knowledge, motivational, and organizational model provide a
framework to better understand how institutional bias may contribute to organizational
challenges in the researched police department. Participant interviews and surveys provide the
data and analysis to validate the causes related to intrinsic biases of police officers
disproportionate traffic stops.
Definitions
Implicit Bias: An attitude or behavior regarded as a stereotypes or prejudice that stems from an
unconscious internal process (Kahneman, 2011).
Minoritized: People frequently restricted to the boundaries by measures outside of their control.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 22
Marginalized people: A group of people who have continual disadvantages including those who
experience social inequality based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or skin color.
Minority: A group of people with distinguishing characteristics of ethnicity, race, religion, or
sexual orientation who differentiate from the social majority, or those who hold the social power
(Correll et al. 2007).
Out-Group – Individuals that differentiate from the majority, often considered lower, or those
considered “other” by the in-group (James, Florida, & Straub, 2016).
Law Enforcement: An organization where members enforce the law in a structured manner. A
city, state, or federal entity may govern the department (Plant, & Peruche, 2005).
Police Officer: A person trained and hired to enforce the law. They are also compelled to
“protect and serve” individuals in the community where they work (Dorobek, 1963).
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 23
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
“I have a dream that my… children will one day live in a nation where they will not be
judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”
-Martin Luther King, I have a Dream, 1963

The research outlined in chapter two investigates the literature related to police bias of
underrepresented minoritized groups. The initial section of the literature review explores the
definition of implicit bias. The second section examines bias in society and its influence in
professional decisions, and police biases’ effect on racial matters between police departments
and underrepresented minority groups. The third section explores contributing factors of law
enforcement implicit bias and subsequent behaviors related to inherent bias. The fourth section
discusses some criticisms of implicit bias. Lastly, the review considers influences of knowledge,
motivational, and organizational structure, as described by Clark and Estes (2008), to help
identify any underlying influences related to officers’ intrinsic bias as it relates community
relations.
Understanding Implicit Bias
Inherent biases develop through exposure to behaviors, beliefs, or ideals over an
individual’s lifetime. Implicit bias develops from subtle cognitive gestures that influence
judgmental behaviors (Casey, Warren, & Elek, 2012). Humans are not born holding implicit
biases in their character; as individuals grow, certain learned behaviors become habit forming.
Individuals exposure to behaviors and beliefs over the course of their lives can impact the way
they begin to filter their values, judgements, and attitudes towards others inside and outside of
their social group (Payne & Gawronski, 2010). For behavior to become habitual, it requires
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 24
practice until it becomes part of the individual’s character. Implicit bias can be characterized as
an unconscious and relatively automatic response denoting judgment (Brownstein, 2016).
Additionally, implicit bias is instinctual and does not require necessary prompting. Once a
person receives information, an individual internalizes meaning that they apply to similar
situations and stimuli. Most people are not necessarily aware that data or information has
influenced them; confrontations along with circumstances can trigger a response; and implicit
bias can shape perception. Previous research has focused on implicit attitudes toward individuals
from minoritized ethnicities noting that implicit bias reveals behavior in individuals that can be
construed as stereotypes (Brownstein, 2016). Implicit bias is not a conscious action; instead, the
process of implicit bias exists at a lower level of consciousness. Most people are unaware and
unable to control the occurrences of implicit bias (Casey et al., 2012).
Therefore, to understand this process, research considers how implicit bias can convey
attitudes. Some research has investigated the time it takes to build an implicit bias (Brownstein,
2016). It takes time for implicit bias to generate over an extended period. Implicit bias builds as
the individual experiences life and develops relationships. Exposure to each personal connection
subconsciously deposits cognitive residue into their mind influencing the receiver’s behavior.
Implicit Social Cognition. Although implicit bias plays a role in inherent prejudices, it
stems from implicit social cognition. Implicit social cognition is associated with involuntary,
implicit, and unconscious processes underlying judgments and social behavior (Payne &
Gawronski, 2010). As an individual experiences life within their specific communities and
cultures, implicit bias forms instinctively. Social cognition is relevant to how individuals learn,
use, and process information within the social systems that construct their society. From school-
age children to adults, humans learn from trial and error. The attitudes, behaviors, and cognitions
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 25
that are acceptable to one group are not tolerable to society at large. Each group determines its
own values, but these decisions influence the greater society. Social cognitive studies focus on
social behavior and the unconscious process that forms implicit bias (Payne & Gawronski,
2010). An examination of social cognitive processes may lead to a better understanding of how
implicit bias forms and how it to disrupt the process.
Research on the unconscious regards Freud work as a major influencer (Brownstein,
2016). The author also mention how Freud emphasized that human behavior affects the
unconscious mind or, to use his term, the id. The id is the most basic functioning aspect of the
human psyche that makes up human innate behavior (Payne & Gawronski, 2010). In his
research, Freud (1915) revealed that the conscious and unconscious mind both impact the
thinking, attitudes, and behaviors of humankind; though one may not be aware of their
subconscious thoughts, the thoughts are powerful determinants of one’s actions
The unconscious mind influences behavior. Corey (2015), discussing the history of
psychotherapy and the development of behavior therapy, indicates that there was movement in
the field of psychology that shifted from the practice of providing therapy exclusively from a
psychoanalytic approach to one in which the behavior of the individual was the primary focus of
the therapeutic relationship. In the psychoanalytic approach to therapy, the past and history of
the individual is the primary focus of the counselor (Corey, 2015). Although, Corey (2015)
stated that in reference to behavior therapy, implicit bias, life choices, and recent behavior of the
client serve as the consideration for behavioral therapist.
Building on this shift, behavior therapy is the process in which client monitoring is
essential while moving towards a resolution (Mandelbaum, 2016). Moreover, behavior
therapists believe that how an individual learns will assist them in resolving issues or negative
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 26
consequences. This type of method in behavior therapy is a form of conditioning. An
individual’s conditioning affects behavior and is associated with a person’s implicit bias, due to
their ignorance or their developed behavior (Greenwald et al., 2009). Furthermore, if a person
receives a positive response for their actions, the subject will continue to exhibit that behavior
such as they will with implicit bias.
Comparatively, behavior therapists also work with a concept that is referred to as operant
conditioning. In operant conditioning, the subject learns from the repetition of their behaviors
(Mandelbaum, 2016). The subject will immediately receive a reward or consequence in response
to their action, and that immediate feedback will condition the subject. If the response it
negative, the subject refrains from that behavior. If the reward is positive then the subject holds
on to that behavior and incorporates it into their normal behavior patterns (Corey, 2015). If the
once-positive reward diminishes, or is not present in other environments, the subject will learn
how to adjust their behavior to those changes over time. Also, the social learning approach
suggests that there is connection between the attitude, behavior, and cognition of the subject.
This approach proposes that the subject’s personal value system influences how they behave and
learn from their experiences (Corey, 2015). These issues are still subjective and, therefore, have
incomplete characteristics of implicit social cognition as concerning unconscious and automatic
features of judgment and social behavior (Brownstein, 2016). Nonetheless, they add to the
discussion.
Implicit Racial Bias. Implicit racial bias can stem from adverse exposure, experiences,
or encounters with racial groups. People know less about their own mental processes than
common sense would suggest; overt racism may be diminishing, but subtler forms of racism
persist (Casey et al., 2012). As children grow, they learn lessons consciously and unconsciously
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 27
by those that serve as their caretakers, teachers, friends, and family. Based on the lessons their
guardians learned, children are conditioned with the same values, beliefs, and attitudes of their
environmental influences. At an early age, people construct the basis of a belief system.
Additionally, intrinsic messages that evolve over time develop into implicit racial bias. Implicit
bias may progress from a history of personal experiences that connect certain racial groups with
fear, or another negative effect (Casey et al., 2012). The cues received by the racial bias of
adults can cloud the unconscious thought processes of children by prompting prejudice behavior.
Exposure to racist jargon and ideas influence the individual beliefs and behaviors regarding
different racial groups.
The process of exactly how people think is a mystery (Casey, Warren, & Elek, 2012).
Evidence shows that human behavior develops over time and is influenced by the collection of
lived experiences. It is only when meaning is made of specific learning that the subject will
solidify a new belief that will in turn influence their behavior. The thought process is
complicated and is impacted by many variables. Internal and external stimuli can trigger
thoughts. The meanings attached to those thoughts determine the behavior of the subject.
To hold a bias against someone means that one has an issue with another individual, situation, or
group due to a strong and unyielding opinion. In the context of racial bias, people with an
adverse implicit racial bias toward African Americans will more rapidly and easily react to
thoughts related to the negative label of African American than perceptions that are not
connected with the stereotype (Casey, Warren, and Elek, 2012). There are negative connotations
associated with the concept of the word black in reference to Black people. Moreover, negative
racial bias permeates every level of societal systems causing disparities in how larger society
view racial groups.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 28
The Implicit Association Test more specifically the Child IAT was given to White middle
class American children (6-10 years of age) and adults to measure race related attitudes. The
research, conducted by Baron and Banaji (2006), found that children as early as three and often
by the age of six, already hold anti-Black biases. Children are not born holding negative racial
bias against Black people or other minoritized groups. Anti-Black bias links negative attitudes
(conscious or unconscious) of those who have influence over the views of children. From the
lens of behavioral theorist, behavior is learned. Genetics do not predispose children to
prejudices, intolerance is learned through the messages children are taught. It is important to
understand the development of implicit attitudes in children (Baron & Banaji, 2006) and what
those connotations imply as they mature. These attitudes undergird the future behavior of
children and are model as they grow into adulthood.
Furthermore, a significant finding from this research study was that on average, Black
adults did not hold implicit in-group preference for Black people (Baron & Banaji 2006). The
same study included results for Black youth with similar results as their adult counterparts.
Similarly, further research results specified that 80% of the middle-class White Americans
studied hold favorable implicit in-group preferences yet Black youth and adults do not hold the
same sentiments toward their own ethnicity. Undesirable societal racial views coincide with a
negative self-image, which is impaired by the internalization of negative implicit bias. The
inherent behavior decreases the self-esteem of those minoritized.
Furthermore, racial implicit bias is linked to emotional responses. Research has found
that emotions can impact the processing of information related to the out-group (Dasgupta,
DeSteno, Williams, & Hunsinger, 2009). Stimuli triggers emotions and can influence how some
individual responds to those considered other than the in-group. Depending of the value placed
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 29
on an emotion, it can lead to a negative or positive response from the individual. The results of
this research emphasize that if actions incense an in-group member, or an in-group member feels
threatened by an out-group member, volatile actions can ensue. Negative attitudes of the in-
group will only worsen the implicit bias held by those individuals against the out-group.
inducing others to experience dislike or disgust can create implicit racial bias against newly
encountered out-groups (Dasgupta et al., 2009).
Following the same pattern of racial bias is stereotypes and prejudice. The stereotypes
that one holds influence the prejudices that are held against the out-group or the minoritized
(Devine, 1989). Stereotypes are ideas or beliefs that one holds that add meaning to their
thoughts. Stereotypes are not valid or factual, but they are real to the individual. Individuals use
stereotypes to define, measure, and dismiss. When stereotypes are used to devalue another
individual, prejudiced actions and behavior will take hold, augmenting the future interactions of
the subject (Devine 1989). When ideas are put into action, they become beliefs that are
transformed into behaviors. The process involved in stereotype development can be automatic or
controlled in nature according to Devine (1989). If the thoughts come by no effort, they are
automatic; when choice implements prejudicial actions, they are referred to controlled processes.
Therefore, behavior can be controlled when effort is put forth to do so. Prejudicial behavior can
be changed if the internal decision is made that the behavior is inappropriate (Devine 1989).
Bias in the Society

Societal behavior and governing themes contribute to group and community biases. The
average individual is unaware of implicit bias and how inherent biases adds to judgements and
certain actions. Individuals are not always cognizant of the method by which they process
information. There is no consideration for how much influence contributes to character and
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 30
biases. Certain tests have been utilized to determine how the attitude of the subject influence
inherent biases. A meta-analysis of 122 research accounts discovered that the Implicit
Association Test (IAT) “effectively predicted bias in a range of relevant social behaviors, social
judgments, and even physiological responses” (Greenwald, Poehlman, Uhlmann, & Banaji,
2009). The test focused on the correlation between attitudes and behaviors. Their findings
indicated that when socially sensitive information is being asked, self-reports were not as reliable
when compared to the IAT. Out of the 122 reports studied, 32 samples measuring Black-White
interracial behavior; the Implicit Association Test offered significantly higher validity over the
self-report (Greenwald et al., 2009). In the study of racial and intergroup behavior, Greenwald et
al. (2009) also found that self-reporting in conjunction with using the IAT is beneficial in
socially complex matters and provides a gain in valid projections.
In reference to understanding societal bias, people are not generally aware as to how their
personal bias and prejudices influences others. The indication of having prejudices is negative in
larger society. Individuals feel rejection and exclusion for holding prejudice against a certain
group. Dovidio and Gaertner (1986) stated that in the modern world, hate groups and prejudicial
behaviors has been “driven underground.” It implies that American society no longer accepts
those who openly spout hateful rants. Dovidio and Gaertner (1986) inferred that the implicit bias
and behaviors of those who prejudge others is not openly tolerated. Space is not created in
society where those who hold such open prejudices can share their thoughts outside the circle of
those with similar beliefs. Although Sheppard (2016) reflected on recent societal shifts from the
presidential election where Donald Trump’s rhetoric and endorsement of open racism, hatred,
and Islamophobia gives free voice to raciest and prejudiced Americans. The unrestricted
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 31
expressions by a vocal leader gives voice to once hidden bigotry, making what was unacceptable
suitable in current society.
In modern society, implicit bias has harmful effects. Individuals who hold implicit biases
also may hold professional positions of power where decisions impact the lives of others. The
Implicit Association Test studies do not show any evidence of class-wide discrimination, but the
studies show that discrimination exists in diverse settings (Jost, Rudman, Blair, Carney,
Dasgupta, & Glaser and Hardin, 2009). A study by Tetlock and Mitchell (2009) demonstrated
how implicit biases exist in physicians, police officers, and other professionals from various
ethnicities, gender, and social class. The significance of this study is that those who hold
professional positions have the power to make decisions that can negatively impact the
disenfranchised. This study suggests that implicit bias is a “genuine phenomenon” and requires
intervention to eradicate change in behavior (Jost et al., 2009).
Implicit bias in the medical field. One example of implicit bias that impacts African
Americans is that of the physician. Historically, in the Black community, medical services have
not always been equitably distributed. Black people were used for experiments with detrimental
physical implications for the subjects while yielding medically valuable results for the field of
science and medicine, such as the Tuskegee Experiment in Alabama that lasted from 1932-1972.
The experiments were a form of explicit bias. Explicit bias is a conscious deliberate form of
attitudes and beliefs about groups or individuals (American Values Institute, 2016). In this
experiment, Black men were injected with syphilis and studied while being denied access to
penicillin which proved to be successful at curing the disease. The subjects were not made
aware of the specifics and repercussions of the study and were considered subjects and not
humans. Historical medical treatment regarding Black people developed overtime into
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 32
unconscious biases of doctor’s treatment and diagnoses of Black people compared to Whites.
Physicians with implicit bias may treat their Black patients differently than they do their White
patients (Jost et al., 2009).
In some cases, implicit bias causes some physicians to prescribe medications for their
White patients yet alter their prescription options when providing medications to their Black
patients (Jost et al., 2009). The healthcare of African Americans is one area where implicit
biases can negatively affect the quality of life and inadvertently cause serious complications and
even death. To that end, a person’s implicit bias and their conduct in their profession are
interconnected (Green et al., 2007).
Law Enforcement Implicit Bias
Studies have found that although police officers are considered highly trained, they
harbor implicit biases that can influence their judgement (Correll et al., 2007). What research
has found is that police tend to use excessive force when dealing with people of color in contrast
to how they use non-lethal force more often when dealing with White suspects. More
specifically, according to the Department of Justice (2001), police officers use lethal and deadly
force five times more often with Black suspects than they do with Whites defendants. In the
recent history of American society, a record number of African American men and women have
been killed at the hands of police and criminal justice correction officers. The U.S. Census
(2010) estimates the Black population at 13% and White population at 72%. That being said, the
Bureau of Justice statistics accounted for 2,026 White arrest related deaths and 1,529 arrest
related deaths of African Americans, from 2003-2009 (BJS, 2011). The African American
community has indicated, by protesting, that safety and trust has been breached (Morin, Stepler,
2016). In light of these high-profile police involved deaths, social psychology research has also
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 33
risen in an attempt to gather a sense of how these actions are impacting the morale of the Black
community (Correll et al., 2007).
Black people in the United States have had a tenuous relationship with law enforcement
since slavery. History depicts the complicated issues that have evolved from the Civil War,
Emancipation Proclamation, Jim Crow Laws, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964; African
Americans have endured maltreatment from the justice system. Research has implied that some
police officers are racist and that they use excessive force with Black people and other
minorities, causing those communities to not trust the police (Correll et al., 2007). With that
understanding, social psychologists take into consideration the relationship Black people have
had with law enforcement, and not just due to the recent increase in visual evidence of police
involved deaths. When trust is not a part of the relationship, there can be no possibility of a
healthy relationship built. One promising aspect of the research is that with training specific to
cultural sensitivity as well as training on how to ignore stereotypical cues, police interactions
with minorities have potential for improvement (Correll et al., 2007).
The work day of a police officer is filled with uncertainty. Officers are required to do
underappreciated duties in difficult conditions. Police officers face high-pressure, high-risk
decisions in the line of fire (Casey et al., 2012). Additionally, frontline officers make life and
death decisions under intense circumstances, which is why training for these officers is necessary
to decrease the likelihood of mistakes (Casey et al., 2012). Due to the nature of their work,
training is required but does not always involve the psychology of their behavior during intense
situations. Research finds that implicit bias can influence and control “quick lethal” decisions
made by police officers (Casey et al., 2012).
Implications for Altering Implicit Bias

POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 34
Studies revealed a fluctuation in implicit bias from indirect exposure to positive or
negative outcomes, although certain responses of racial bias remained consistent. When ideas
and biases are challenged by the exposure of contradictory messages, implicit bias can be
decreased and adjusted. Research shows that when women are seen in a negative light and
images of strong women are shown, those in the study who once held poor images of women, by
the exposure to the strong images of women led to “weaker implicit bias” (Payne & Gawronski
2010). Biases can be lessened when education is presented. Lack of positive example enhances
negative views of out-group people. Payne and Gawronski (2010) discussed that when visuals of
positive or negative images of African Americans were shown, implicit bias altered depending on
the type of image. In the same study, the authors showed images of Black role models while also
showing images of White serial killers, which reduced their implicit racial bias.
Police officers are required to make decisions within split seconds. When decisions are
made with limited information, deadly mistakes occur at alarming rates. Not only are officers
more prone to shoot African Americans, but as research shows, so are other citizens. Skin color
is a factor in how police respond to perpetrators (Plant & Peruche, 2005).
Moreover, research finds that college students show signs of racial bias when confronted
by Black people. College students were asked to watch and participate in computer simulated
exercises where they would be asked to respond by shooting dangerous criminals. In this
simulation exercise, the students were prone to shoot Black suspects more frequently and lethally
(Correll, Park, Judd, & Wittenbrink, 2002). The results showed that Black people were seen as
the more violent of the characters when they were armed or unarmed. The college students made
“false alarm” kills based on the color of the suspects skin before it was known if they were
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 35
armed. Both the police and laypersons assume African Americans are more threatening, which
contributes to officer shootings of unarmed Black men.
Appraisals of Implicit Bias

With that being said, there is an overabundance of studies debating implicit bias and the
influence it has on attitudes and unconscious behavior. The advocates of implicit bias argue that
the hundreds of social, psychological, and cognitive studies over many decades demonstrate
enough evidence to substantiate the existence of implicit bias (Jost et al., 2009). Some may
assume implicit bias is reserved for a certain group of people, although the essence of being
human exposes implicit bias in all human kind. Jost et al. (2009) believed implicit bias may
occur when the subject holds and acts on negative attitudes, values, and beliefs. The authors
referred to the Implicit Association Test, which was used to measure the evidence associated with
implicit bias. Academics still argue over the definition and appraisal of implicit bias (Jost et al.,
2009). The intricacies of how it is defined does not alleviate the implications of the cause and
effects of implicit bias. Notwithstanding, scholars consider implicit bias to be an “attitudinal
phenomenon” referring to its nature to influence not just the thought process but the
implementation of decisions (Jost et al., 2009). As long as the research continues, so will the
debate and characterization of implicit bias.
As the implicit bias discussion continues, there are classic studies which discussed how a
person’s decisions regarding their own life influences minor aspects such as pleasant or bad
weather (Schwarz & Clore, 1983), thereby recognizing that feelings can affect human behavior.
Depending on the mood of the person when they have a thought, emotion can affect their future
behavior when confronted with the same thought. Thoughts, happy or sad, can trigger similar
judgements enhancing the intensity of the behavior. Studies have shown that depending on the
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 36
person’s quality of life, their status can impact their mood. Mood disorders can inform behavior.
For example, seasons of the year where the availability of sun is decreased has caused moods to
fluctuate. Furthermore, a persons’ stated attitude at any given moment is receptive to an array of
pertinent and seemingly irrelevant influences (Schwarz & Clore, 1983).
Additionally, awareness of one’s behavior allows the subject to have awareness into how
they can change their behavior. To know who you are requires self-introspection. Research
shows that humans have the capacity for explicit and implicit responses. Explicit responses are
“controllable” while implicit responses are “unconscious” in nature (Nosek, 2007). When
responses are implicit, the individual may not be aware that they hold such judgements due to
their lack of awareness. Though there is no awareness that the subject holds certain value
judgements, they are accountable for their negative reactions. The implicit and explicit
processes are determining factors of the person’s character. Nosek (2007) contended that
regardless of whether these implicit processes are characteristic of ways of thinking or as
associations, the outcome is the same.
Implicit Bias Impacts Decision-Makers in Leadership
Implicit bias influences leaders’ understanding of knowledge and motivation for
organizational change. Everyone has the potential to hold implicit biases that can impact the
way they perform their job and make decisions. Given that implicit bias is unconscious, and
individuals are unaware, it calls for knowledge of what implicit bias is and how it influences
behavior and activities. It is not plausible for motivation to be a determining factor until
awareness of implicit bias is explained. It calls for leaders to assist staff in addressing their
implicit bias through training. Taylor (2008) stated that for attitudes and behavior to change,
employees from all disciplines require implicit bias training.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 37
Training fosters a groundwork for cultural understanding. Cultural competency calls for
an understanding of the culture and diversity of minorities. Minorities and minoritized are those
in society who have limited access to quality care, services, resources, and equal worth (Taylor,
2008). Cultural competency helps professionals develop compassion and sensitivity when
communicating with persons representing varied cultures in addition to cultivating a community
of respect for people of varying backgrounds (Taylor, 2008). A person reaches cultural
competency when there is a better understanding of minoritized groups, along with opportunities
to process imbedded bias.
This takes into consideration clinical cultural competency. Clinical cultural competency
takes into consideration the attitudes of the professionals and the quality of care provided to the
minoritized. Cultural competency is not measured by knowing everything there is to know about
the ethos of others, but it measures the effort put forth towards understanding the needs of others
from a lens of compassion and acceptance.
Research indicates that when professionals are dealing with groups of people, it is
necessary for the training of professionals to work with those specific populations (Srivastava,
2007). Barriers serve as obstacles to cultural competency when ethnocentrism is the lens used to
determine the worth of an individual. Ethnocentrism is defined as the belief that one’s own
culture is “superior” to that of the minoritized (Leininger, 1995). For example, studies have
found that ethnocentrism exists in the medical field and inadequate communication, poor
analysis, and unsuitable care can be the results of the lack of cultural competency needed by
medical professionals (Smedley, Smith, & Nelson, 2002). Cultural bias influence decisions of
these professionals. In medical fields, these actions, or lack thereof, can lead to negligence.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 38
While the goal of all professionals is to be responsible, the definition for responsibility is
subjective.
Coupled with organizational structure is understanding what influences organizational
decision. Rueda (2011) provides a detailed explanation of organizational culture and how culture
influences organizations internally. In decision-making, implicit and explicit behaviors influence
the process. Moreover, culture-related factors affect the decision-making process. Culture goes
beyond group labels but includes other markers that make an individual unique (Rueda, 2011).
There are some aspects of one’s cultural identity that are visible where the others are unseen
unless the individual shares the specific aspects. Some of the hidden cultural characteristics of
one’s identity could be their religious practices, sexual identity, and language. Organizations can
also have hidden cultural characteristics including implicit biases. Rueda (2011) described
culture as an active progression that shapes people in the course of navigating daily life.
Awareness of the dynamics of the organization is essential because as Rueda (2011) described,
change happens when innovation and the existing collaborate.
Police Officer Implicit Bias Knowledge and Motivation Influences
Knowledge and Skills
It is important to examine the knowledge and skill of stakeholders when investigating
internal problems prior to finding solutions. This section examines the knowledge and skills
pertinent to the Capital Police Department. Therefore, knowledge and skills awareness are
valuable when people are unable to accomplish objectives and when potential problems require
innovative solutions (Clark & Estes, 2008). It is important to consider the factual, conceptual,
procedural, and metacognitive knowledge types. This review will examine the knowledge and
skills Clark and Estes (2008) described to enhance stakeholder goals.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 39
Knowledge types. The knowledge types significant to understanding police officers’
goals are conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive comprehension (Rueda, 2011). The factual
and conceptual types illustrate the facts, principals, how to accomplish the goals, and
understanding of the individual cognitive process (Rueda, 2011). Conceptual knowledge
considers the classification, evaluation, and interpretation of information, and procedural
knowledge refers to knowing how to do something (Krathwohl, 2002; Rueda, 2011).
Metacognition is “thinking about thinking” (Baker, 2006, p.1). The knowledge types aid in
understanding the cognitive process of law enforcement officers and what influences their
behavior.
The studied police department recognized the deficiency in officer behavior toward
minoritized individuals and acknowledged the need for implicit bias awareness and de-escalation
strategies that will improve encounters with underrepresented groups. The police officers’
knowledge and skills center on information and training where applicable. For the police officer
to devise a plan to address implicit bias and increase diversity relations, they need an appropriate
strategy. Clark and Estes (2008) noted that to devise an effective plan, individuals would need
original and effective ideas; they need to understand how to implement operational strategies and
the knowledge and skills to help with unique challenges. While Rueda (2011) contends that
individuals develop improved insight and learn what to do, the steps needed to accomplish their
goal and reflect on behavior and beliefs involve assessing distinct challenges in relation to the set
goals of the organization.
Police Officer Knowledge. Police officers need to understand what implicit bias is and
how it influences their behavior and can affect community relations, breeding distrust between
police officers and minoritized groups. Taylor (2008) stated that as institutions are more
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 40
inclusive, it is important that the personnel prepare to work effectively with others. The Capital
Police Department is regionally located with a diverse population. Therefore, it is essential for
officers to have knowledge of the people in the community they serve, cultural competency, and
an awareness of any personal biases to safeguard against unfavorable behavior. It is the police
officer’s duty to protect the community which requires a closer examination of the community,
complete with additional research and data analysis.
Conceptual Knowledge
Conceptual knowledge considers the ideas, patterns, and relationships of the objective
(Krathwohl, 2002). Therefore, the initial process of understanding the goal is to (1) obtain
knowledge, (2) comprehend the purpose of understanding intrinsic bias in police officers, and (3)
provide accurate and detailed information. Bias is not a new concept, but recognizing the
purpose of intrinsic bias and its effect on encounters with underrepresented minorities provides
fundamental awareness for police officers to set realistic objectives. This recognition also
enables them to develop strategies to forge positive diversity relations among minoritized
groups.
Subsequently, police officers’ comprehension of past situations and current statistics of
disproportionate arrest demonstrate a pattern. Patterns are indicators that inform the stakeholders
of developing problems and future concerns (Rueda, 2007). Although adverse patterns offer
insight, it is reflective of unachieved goals. Bauer (2012) discusses the internal and external
responsibility of stakeholders, asserting that if appropriate training and transfer of knowledge is
ineffective, goal specific outcomes are difficult to achieve.
Police departments may neglect the root cause of intrinsic bias among its members.
Mayer (2011) stated that meaningful learning occurs when new information integrates with
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 41
existing information. Without the foundation of understanding and interpreting the information
of past situations and relationships among police and citizens, the officers are vulnerable to
continued poor relationships with underrepresented groups, further resulting in more police
stops, arrest, and deaths of minoritized people. Furthermore, based on the policy or current
criteria, police officers may be unable to view the issues concerning bias in an appropriate
manner. Without police officer understanding of what the disproportionate traffic stops and
arrest rates of Black and Hispanics imply, biases can undermine research, evidence, and
mindfulness.
Knowledge Influence. Police officers need to know how to incorporate implicit bias
training to improve relationships with underrepresented groups. Former President Barack
Obama stated, “When any part of the American family does not feel like it is being treated fairly,
that’s a problem for all of us” (President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, 2015). The
report discussed the issues of declining confidence between law enforcement and communities.
It also mentioned that effective and safe policing is integral to democracy and community trust
and stability. The recommendations listed in the report touched on inadequate practices to
improve trust and safety. Although it is the police department’s intention to resolve the concerns
of their department, it is important to devise effective measures to insure accountability.
Moreover, clarity of understanding procedures better connects police officers to the network of
the organization. Employees who have knowledge of organizational procedures are better
informed, have shared consideration for its goals and needs, and can better identify with the
organization (Schappe, 1996).
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 42
Procedural Knowledge
While it is advantageous for stakeholders to have conceptual knowledge to understanding
the purpose and principles of the goal, the process and steps to achieve the objective is
challenging. Therefore, Rueda (2011) included procedural knowledge, which examines knowing
how to incorporate specific skill, methods and techniques. The creation of the processes for
implicit bias training with effective clear steps for implementation is important for officer clarity.
Methods help to expand the efficacy of the police officers and improve community relations
between officers and targeted citizens. Espinoza (2007) stated that procedural knowledge
considers the rules and criteria to improve outcomes, and evaluates consistency of action with
the exclusion of individual biases.
Knowledge Influence. Police officers require reflection of individual effectiveness and
how their knowledge influences change among officers and minoritized groups. Metacognition
refers to a person’s understanding of how to cultivate their own learning (Mayer, 2011). In that
sense, it is imperative that the police officers recognize the vital role they play as individuals. An
understanding of who they are, how they process information, and how it connects to the large-
scale decisions will help the officer’s monitor their learning and facilitate improved outcomes.
Metacognitive Knowledge
Metacognitive awareness is significant in understanding individual processes and the
ability to reflect on personal understanding; it considers when it is appropriate to take certain
action (Rueda, 2011). Therefore, information can provide a deeper perception of equity, how it
affects the police officers and their personal decisions, which connects to their relationships with
the out-group. Mayer (2011) wrote that there are two elements of metacognition to consider,
awareness of how one learns and how to measure and regulate personal learning. Research has
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 43
found that training and education are appropriate because if individuals do not know what they
do not know, they will struggle to accomplish their objectives (Rueda, 2011). The police officers
should consider their role in facilitating change. Conley and French (2014) argue that people
must take personal responsibility for their own learning. Therefore, personal reflection, a
realistic view of individual biases, and the knowledge of how the biases influence encounters
with underrepresented groups will help the police department achieve the desired outcomes.
There is a detailed description of the relevant knowledge types and a categorization of influences
effecting stakeholder goals in Table.

Table 2.
Knowledge Influence Table
Knowledge Influence Knowledge Type Knowledge Influence
Assessment
Police officers need to understand
how implicit bias influence police
and minoritized individual’s
interactions.

Declarative
(Conceptual)
Police were asked to
communicate their interactions
when they stopped Black or
Hispanic people in comparison
to White individuals during
traffic stops.
Police officers need to know how
to incorporate implicit bias
training to decrease adverse
encounters with underrepresented
minority groups.
Procedural Police were asked to provide
recommendations to contribute
to better awareness to show
knowledge of implicit biases and
how it correlates with the
inconsistent traffic stops and
arrest of targeted groups.
Police officers need to reflect on
individual effectiveness and how
their knowledge of personal
implicit biases influence
encounters with underrepresented
minority groups.
Metacognitive Police were asked to discuss
their effectiveness as officers in
regard to how their personal
biases influence their encounters
with marginalized individuals.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 44
Motivation
Clark and Estes (2011, p. 80) contend, that “motivation gets us going, keeps us moving,
and tells us how much effort to spend on task.” The authors also mention the need to look for
three familiar indicators that influence motivation: intentions, persistence, and the effort required
to complete a task. Notably, motivation connects to every decision, action, and follow-through a
person considers and completes. The relationship of motivation and learner engagement is
linked to emotions, goals, attributions, interest, value and self-efficacy, choice, persistence, and
mental effort (Rueda, 2011). Additionally, when considering motivation, it is wise to reflect on
other variables such as self-efficacy, a person’s reason for their success or failure, the value the
task, and goals or objectives a person or group wants to achieve.
An understanding of how individuals commit to the task and the values connected to the
outcome (goal orientation) allows for increased motivation and better attaches the person to the
goal. This section focuses on utility value theory and goal orientation as they relate to the
motivation of the police officer goals. Eccles (2006) described utility value as how useful one
believes an undertaking fits into their goals and future plans. While goal orientation examines
why people engage in their work (Yough & Anderman, 2006), once police officers are aware of
their bias, is there enough value to adjust behavior?
Although understanding motivational variables are significant, motivation is
characteristic to a culture (Rueda, 2011). Therefore, understanding the ethos of the stakeholders
is paramount. Police officers do not have mandated cultural or diversity sensitivity training.
Utility value and goal orientation theory provides a framework to understand the correlations of
stakeholders’ motivation to change behavior and improve encounters with targeted groups based
on race or skin color.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 45
Utility Value Theory. This evaluation attempts to examine stakeholder utility value
when challenged with conflicting matters of group bias and to decrease officer bias of
underrepresented people. Utility value requires individuals to focus on the benefit of finishing
the task (Clark & Estes, 2007). Additionally, utility value theory allows parties to justify
enduring something they do not like, for the benefit of the end goal. An individual’s values
connect to their rationale of the objective. Furthermore, it is important to assess the officer’s
internal beliefs and how they relate to the goal. With that understanding, Rueda (2011)
described utility value as how useful one believes an undertaking is for attaining their goal.
Therefore, police need to see the personal value of developing strategic solutions to police
implicit bias. Additionally, if identifying intrinsic biases in terms of motivation has personal
benefits assigned, Salomone (1981) stated that it ensures that the stakeholders have deeper and
stronger motivation, which increases personal rewards.
Police Utility Value Theory. Police need to understand the value of implicit bias
awareness to decrease police biases of minoritized groups. Capital Police Department
recognizes that trust issues among minority groups in the community, but their perception of the
problem and questions guide their motivation. Therefore, pertinent questions to consider are
whether or not training is instrumental in meeting the goal, is it worth it compared to more
pressing matters, and what will it cost to meet the goal (Eccles, 2006). Understanding the
importance of personal investment for their future, personal safety, and success as officers who
are integral to the vitality of the police department and community, is significant to their
motivation. With that said, Bensimon (2004) discussed the importance of certain factors which
contribute to personal motivation. When investigating officer encounters with underrepresented
citizens, impartiality and diversity awareness are influences to bear in mind. Bensimon (2004)
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 46
further stated that individuals must recognize their level of biases. Therefore, better awareness
supports understanding of what it means personally and professionally for the officers.
Equally important, the stakeholders need to see the value in the big picture of achieving
the goal. Unless people see the purpose and trust they can get the desired effects; they have little
motivation to change (Bandura, 2000). Pajares (2009) asserted that people choose undertakings
where they feel competent and confident while avoiding those that challenge their ability and
convictions. To accomplish the objective, evaluation of individual investment is a consideration;
furthermore, the objective must fit into individual goals and expected outcomes need to align
with personal goals (Eccles, 2006).
Goal and Goal Orientation Theory. When considering goal orientation theory, the
context of the environment is unique to each situation. Goals can change across different social
context and the environment in which we learn (Anderman, 2015). Goal orientation is a pattern
of beliefs that represents multiple ways to consider, connect, and accomplish a targeted outcome
(Rueda, 2011).
It is essential to take an objective view of police’s goal and their personal values to see if
they align. There are important characteristics of goals to consider; they are specific,
measurable, action-oriented, realistic, and timely (Doran, 1981). Likewise, organizational
success is the result of shared purpose, knowledge, and skills of its members, but also considers
the interactive, synchronized, and interdependent subtleties of their communication (Bandura,
2001). The ability to accomplish shared goals is dependent on how comfortable individuals are
with their personal knowledge and mastery of the goal. Are the stakeholders intrinsically
interested in the goal, and are they avoiding the task due to limited knowledge (Anderman,
2015)?
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 47
Police Goal Orientation Theory. Police should want to do more to increase
effectiveness with the underrepresented population and go beyond traditional ways of interacting
with underrepresented population, which limits inclusion and increases adverse behavior discord
among the minoritized community members and police officers. The atmosphere in which a
person receives knowledge influences their goal orientation (Yough and Anderman, 2006). They
must consider the options and consequences of investigating implicit bias. Goal orientation is
significant when adjusting one’s mindset to reach a group goal. Among other concerns is the
inadequate exposure to various cultures and lack of diversity among the police and the
organization which influence goal orientation. Although race is a consideration among the
frontline officers, Bandura (1986) states that cultural beliefs develop from perceptions, and a
person’s environment influences their decisions.
Acceptance of diverse people and cultures among police and decision-makers, is one of
the concerns at CPD. The point of view of perceived understanding resides in the mind of the
group (Bandura, 2011), therefore implicit bias is not apparent without awareness, although the
organization culture is based on the apparent ideas of the leaders. Alternatively, motivation
issues are not simplistic and can be due to multiple causes (Rueda, 2011).
Moreover, the stakeholder’s purpose and reasons for the intended goal provides insight
into their desire and ability to achieve the objective (Pintrich, 2003). Goal orientation considers
the question of how stakeholder motivation contributes to the problem of completing the
objective (Bensimon, 2004). Motivation literature discusses multiple contributing factors: goal
content and goal orientation. Motivational goals usually emphasize mastery goal orientation and
performance goal orientation (Rueda, 2011). The two approaches can lead to attempting or
avoiding the objective. In the case of the police, their history and current status as police officers
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 48
influences their interpretation of the goal. Bensimon (2004) argued that change is ineffective if
individuals are not receptive to meet the objectives. Consequently, the goal to increase implicit
bias awareness and de-escalation training is difficult to obtain without stakeholder buy-in and
personal motivation to acquire new knowledge. Individual and collective assessment of abilities
and the group’s competence measures effectiveness in meeting the goal (Bandura, 2000).
Further research regarding goal orientation requires further assessment of a comprehensive
understanding of the police departments’ motivation related to understanding their intrinsic
biases and incorporating awareness training. Scholars recommend choosing between
performance goal orientation or mastery goal orientation. Rueda (2011) describes mastery goal
orientation as a way to, “approach a task in order to learn, gain new competencies, and to
accomplish challenging activities” (p.44). Therefore, it is important for police to consider
mastery goal orientation. Table 3 details relevant assumed influence.

Table 3.
Motivational Influence Table
Assumed Motivation Influences

Motivational Influence Assessment

Utility Value – Police officers need to
understand the value of awareness of implicit
bias and de-escalation strategies to improve
officer mindfulness and communication with
underrepresented minorities.
Interview question that elicit feedback about
officer’s views regarding the importance to
communicate the purpose and goals of
implicit bias and de-escalation strategies.

Goal Orientation – Police officers should want
to do more to increase awareness of intrinsic
biases of underrepresented population and
improve relationships with all citizens, which
increases positive interactions, decrease
conflict and creates peace in the community.
Interview questions that reveals their value
of the importance to increase their
knowledge of implicit biases of
underrepresented groups. “Share your goals
about bringing awareness to CPD regarding
biases of underrepresented population.”
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 49
Organizational Influences
Organizations may have the knowledge and motivating factors in place to make
improvements, but organizational influences that contribute to institution deficiencies such as
policies, procedures, and organizational culture also contribute to organizational performance
gaps. Clark and Estes (2008) discussed how inadequate performance and limited knowledge of
organizational culture hinders performance goals. Recognition of biases in the workforce is
gaining traction throughout corporations and government agencies (Correll et al. 2007). It is
important to examine the cultural model and setting at Capital Police Department (CPD) to
distinguish any factors that may contribute to organizational gaps in reaching the organizational
goal.
That being said, individuals form their biases through unconscious attitudes, stereotypes,
and beliefs that influence comprehension, a person’s actions and how they make decisions
unintentionally (Kirwan Institute, 2016). Therefore, willingness to explore biases is
contradictory when investigating it through the lens of organizational culture. If implicit bias
further perpetuates an already negative stereotype of the police department, it becomes a
reluctant issue to address. Organizational influences are important to consider when setting or
assessing organizational outcomes (Rueda, 2011). When investigating the goals of implicit bias
awareness for the leadership, administration, and police officers, an understanding of the
department culture provides insight into organizational barriers. Clark and Estes (2008) stated
that “all organizations are systems that have their own culture” (p. 107), thereby reiterating the
importance of understanding Capital Police Department’s culture.
Consequently, the social aspects of an organizations establish culture which
subconsciously develops biases (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). An example of this would be
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 50
how organizations support diversity but administration comprise typically the same race, similar
age group, and gender. Bias is an internal issue transferred by individuals into work culture,
creating pervasive issues which are difficult to change. With better awareness, change requires
special attention that can turn into performance improvement resulting from the change process
(Clark & Estes, 2008). Acknowledging the culture of the workplace guides this process.
Cultural Model Influences
Cultural models depict collective environmental interpretations of what is valuable and
important, what is important to create or circumvent, who should participate, the rules of
communication, and the purpose of the collaborations (D’Andrade, 1995; Holland & Quinn,
1987; Shore, 1996; Weisner, 1984). The police department should distinguish each division’s
belief and where they fit with the cultural model of the entire organization to increase
communication and to improve effectiveness towards achieving the organizational objective.
The process and procedures in law enforcement uniquely shape multiple layers of hierarchal
standards tied to specific practices and resources. The varying designs reveal how organizations
have a multifaceted scheme where each system ties to another (Bell, Schargel, & Thacker, 2013).
Therefore, clarity is necessary between front line officers and police department leaders, which
can assist in improving awareness.
Moreover, worker misconceptions run throughout all facets of organizations. Gallimore and
Goldenberg (2001) defined cultural models as shared thoughts people believe of how the world
around us works or should work. With that in mind, the framework of a police department’s
misconceptions and biases may be invisible to employees due to the invisible organizational
culture that exists. Moreover, the cultural model of an institution stems from obscure behaviors,
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 51
beliefs, and shared mentalities expressed through cultural practices within the organization
(Rueda, 2011).
Cultural Setting Influence
Cultural settings exist when two or more individuals collaborate to accomplish something
they value (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). Capital Police Department is inexperienced
regarding current objectives of improved implicit bias training. Without organizational buy-in,
the goal is unsupported and difficult to reach. Cultural settings are delicate and intricate. They
unfold in everyday life in trivial encounters in families, community, and work lives (Tharp &
Gallimore, 1988). The CPD cultural setting is currently not conducive to creating an
environment of support. Rueda (2011) stated that there are complex systems and certain factors
regarding the organization that impede performance and how people interact with one another.
Therefore, the police department should consider that investigating implicit and
environmental biases may not be socially acceptable. Social acceptance considers a potential
source of bias in many measures of subjective occurrences which could be a source of prejudice
in leadership behavior (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Lee, & Podsakoff, 2003). The cultural setting is
currently not conducive to creating an environment of support. Responsibility often has no
immediate benefit, mainly when leadership is unaware of changing influences or if there are
deficiencies regarding knowledge or needed training to identify and modify processes or
procedures (Jost et al., 2009). Moreover, in addition to leaderships influence, there are multiple
factors at play in the cultural setting of organizations.
As the police department moves forward with the organizational goal, their recognition
that culture is not blatantly visible and that value systems are relative (Rueda, 2011) will better
prepare them for transition and change within the framework of the police department. The
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 52
clarity with which police personnel understand the basic premise of how procedure, process, and
resources work with an institution improves success toward closing the organizational gap.
Table 4 features the assumed cultural models and settings related to the Capital Police
Department stakeholder objectives.

Table 4
Organizational Influences
Assumed Organizational Influences Organization Influence Assessment
Cultural Model Influence 1:
There is a general misconception by the
police of the issues of racism and bias toward
certain groups.

Interview question that elicit feedback about
officer’s opinions regarding encounters with
underrepresented groups, or observations of
bias or discrimination toward minoritized
people.

Cultural Model Influence 2:
There is a culture of limited communication
between police and administration, hindering
the organizational goal to increase law
enforcement awareness of implicit biases
toward certain groups.

Interview question that draw out police
views on the structure of communication and
support with administration.

Cultural Setting Influence 1:
There is a lack of structural organization
awareness to support the need for training
among police officer.

Interview questions about the need for
training in the organization willing to support
training for officers.

Cultural Setting Influence 2:
Officers are unprepared for difficult
engagement with marginalized groups.
There is a lack of training in the organization
developed to effectively integrate bias
awareness training.

Data collection from CPD Training
Department based on requirements from the
Commission on Peace Officer Standards &
Training (POST) to discover how they
developed and incorporated novel programs
and training in the organization.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 53
Conclusion
Chapter 1 discussed the implicit bias of law enforcement and the effects that may
contribute to encounters with minoritized groups. The information in Chapter 2 takes an in-
depth look at implicit bias, defining implicit bias and how it stems from implicit social cognition.
The chapter investigates implicit racial bias from adverse exposure with other racial groups, as
well as bias in society and work, and how all can contribute to implicit biases in law enforcement
officers. The research also considers cultural competencies, implications for adjusting inherent
biases in people, and the criticisms some theorist have regarding bias, attitudes, and unconscious
behavior. Chapter 2 concludes with a reflection on the role of implicit bias among decision-
makers in higher education. It also studies how knowledge, motivational, and organizational
structure influences officer’s behavior and the ability to make changes as individuals and within
the police department.
There is a preponderance of research suggesting the effects of implicit bias is worth
considering. Although attributing implicit biases to professional decisions of police officers is
evolving, it is a problematic area for most individuals to understand, discuss, or recognize how to
change. Chapter 3 discusses the possible causes that may contribute to officer implicit biases
and the imbalance of arrest rates and racial encounters with underrepresented minorities. The
chapter investigates police perceptions of specific groups by using interviews, surveys, and
documentation to evaluate the root cause of implicit biases among law enforcement officers.

POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 54
Table 5
Summary of Assumed Needs for KMO Issues
Summary of Assumed Needs for Knowledge, Motivational, and Organizational Issues
Assumed Needs
Sources Knowledge Motivation Organization

Learning
and
Motivation
Theory

• Police officer do not
know how implicit bias
influence police and
minoritized group
interactions.

• Officers do not know how
to incorporate an encounter
protocol plan to decrease
adverse encounters with
underrepresented
minorities.

• Officers do not know how
to reflect on individual
effectiveness.

• Officers do not know how
their knowledge of
personal implicit biases
influence encounters with
underrepresented minority
groups.

• Officers need to
understand the value
of an encounter
protocol plan to
improve officer
awareness and
communication with
underrepresented
minorities.

• Officers need desire
to do more to increase
awareness of intrinsic
biases of
underrepresented
population.

• Police need clearly
defined training for
officers on the issues of
racism and bias toward
certain groups.

• The police department
needs a cultural model
that supports
communication between
officers and
administration

• There is a lack of
structural organization
assistance and resources
to support the need for
training among officers.

• The police department
needs exemplars to help
develop bias awareness
and de-escalation
training.
Assumed Needs
Sources Knowledge Motivation Organization
Related
Literature

• Police need clear
definition of intrinsic bias
• Police needs knowledge
of intrinsic bias in relation
to underrepresented
minority groups.

• Police need skills to
develop and integrate
encounter protocol plan.

• Officers need to see
value in understanding
personal bias toward
other groups.

• Police officers need
support to develop
encounter protocol plan.

POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 55

Conceptual Framework: The Interaction of Stakeholders’ Knowledge and Motivation and
the Organizational Context
Conceptual framework for this paper provides a roadmap of the concepts, theories,
assumptions, and beliefs that substantiates the inquiry (Maxwell, 2013) into the implicit bias of
law enforcement officers. The research questions address the knowledge, motivational, and
organizational elements that prevent police officers from recognizing implicit biases in relation
to minoritized citizens. While the knowledge, motivational, and organizational gaps contribute
to officer bias, they are not independent of one another. As discussed previously, all humans
have inherent biases, and they are active in human behavior as they connect and communicate
within their environments. Therefore, the implicit bias of a police officer is not in isolation unto
itself. It continues to form and develop with every encounter. Knowledge and organizational
culture shape officer awareness of implicit bias by providing an environment for knowledge
transfer and a culture to support or oppose the objective. Without awareness and structural
support, there is no rationale for officer motivation.
The rationale for implicit bias awareness and improved encounters with
underrepresented minoritized groups strengthen the knowledge, motivation and organization
influences construct detailed by Clark and Estes (2008). Correspondingly, Merriam and Tisdell
(2016) discussed how the findings from empirical research provide information to construct the
problem. The conceptual framework demonstrates how the concepts connect the various
elements of the underlying problem of implicit bias among law enforcement and
underrepresented groups.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 56
UNDERREPRESENTED
MINORITIZED GROUPS

Studies of implicit bias from the past, originated as implicit social cognition (Brownstein,
2016). It has increased traction with attention considering various forms of bias, such as implicit
racial bias, and implicit law enforcement bias. Original concepts lay the groundwork for novel
inquiry, which relates to Maxwell’s (2013) statement of how empirical research supports unique
solutions to current problems. Whereas, the purpose of looking at theoretical framework
identifies specific aspects of the study, such as undiscovered and important findings that
contribute to a particular rationale of the research (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The conceptual
framework for implicit bias is important, as authors Miles and Huberman (1994) and Robinson
(2011) discovered that the significant aspects are the principles and concepts which, substantiate
and cultivate research. The contextual framework provides relevance to the concepts which
influence the police officer’s awareness, motivation to change, and organizational constructs to
make changes.
Figure 1. Implicit Bias of Law Enforcement Officers

Knowledge
Influence officer relations
Knowledge of personal
bias effect minority
encounter
Organization
Misconception of bias toward
minority groups
Lack of organizational support
Individual Motivation to
follow Protocol
Officers value encounter
protocol plan
Officer awareness and willing
to incorporate protocol plan
Organizational Motivation to offer
Implicit Bias Training
Org. value encounter protocol plan
Org. willing to incorporate protocol
plan
IMPLICIT BIAS TRAINING
Implicit
Bias
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 57
Contributing Influences of Officer Implicit Bias
The figure above is a design of the conceptual framework regarding implicit biases of
police officers toward minoritized groups. The model outlines the rationale of the knowledge,
motivational, and organizational gaps that play a role in the implicit bias of officers. Moreover,
it considers the influences that impact the overarching goal to develop a plan to increase officer
awareness of implicit biases and de-escalation proficiencies among officers and similar groups.
Implicit bias is the cornerstone of the framework, and how biases influence officer
interactions with minoritized groups is the central focus of this research. Therefore, the Clark
and Estes (2008) gap analysis details the importance of knowledge influences, the usefulness of
functional procedures, and the significance of mindful reflection. Before stakeholders can
change, they must be aware there is a need for the change. Devine et al. (2012) asserted that it is
essential that individuals are conscious of their biases. For this purpose, the officer’s lack of
awareness of personal bias affects interactions with unrepresented individuals. Clarity of
individual bias better necessitates acceptance of the goal, and the steps to increase favorable
outcomes when engaged with underrepresented groups. Therefore, metacognition is central to
officer development and their gaps in knowledge of implicit bias. Their mindfulness of implicit
bias allows for clarity to recognize individual deficiencies in serving minoritized groups.
For that cause, knowledge is fundamental to the stakeholder goal. Although law
enforcement’s understanding of implicit bias is important, Clark and Estes (2008) described a
person’s intentions, effort, and persistence as essential indicators to motivation. Therefore,
motivating factors which contribute to the officer’s willingness to accept and incorporate implicit
bias awareness and a de-escalation plan depends on how much they understand the value and
purpose of improving awareness and engagement with underrepresented minorities. Bandura
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 58
(1997) stressed how this fundamental belief is the foundation of human motivation and
performance accomplishments.
Intrinsic motivation influences a person’s actions, choices, and desires to complete tasks.
For individuals to connect to a goal, it requires adjustment of a current mindset to better achieve
a group purpose. In this scenario, an officer’s desire to increase personal awareness of biases is
essential to decrease ineffective engagement. Pajares (2006), discussed the importance of an
individual’s confidence to accomplish the anticipated goal and whether or not the objective
supported the desired outcome. As such, implicit bias is an elusive cognitive process (Staats &
Patton, 2013) connected to a person’s emotions, interest, values, and tenacity, among other things
(Rueda, 2011). Therefore, the stakeholder’s motivation to improve self-awareness of intrinsic
biases of underrepresented groups provides an opportunity to achieve the stakeholder goal.
Together, with recognizing the purpose of knowledge and motivation variances among
officers, the stakeholder goal requires institutional support. Organizational culture is a
fundamental aspect to development and performance (Clark and Estes, 2008). Capital Police
Department and the institutional awareness of organizational culture affects the stakeholder
objective. Segregated professional networks and limited advocacy influence organizational
decisions to support training (Jackson and Callaghan, 2009). The current culture of
communication among departments, misconceptions of officers regarding racism, lack of an
established structure, along with inadequate resource and integral leadership influence
implementation of the stakeholder goals. It is imperative to have organizational support to reach
stakeholder objectives. Moreover, the framework does not work without the organization’s
willingness to train and encourage officers.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 59
To that end, the above figure is an illustration of the knowledge, motivational, and
organizational influences which affect the goal of implementing implicit bias training and de-
escalation strategies for law enforcement officers.

POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 60
CHAPTER THREE: METHODS
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter
Martin Luther King, 1965

Implicit bias is embedded in the fabric of human DNA; therefore, police officers are not
absent of bias while on duty. The practice of equitable treatment of citizens brings into question
the innate behavior, experience, exposure, and pressure faced while on duty. Thus, the influence
of the organization, demographics of the community and crime rate affect their decisions, while
the consistent words “come back safe” affect officer response to a multitude of situations where
split-second life or death decisions are made.
This study explores the influence of implicit biases among police officers by
investigating the factors that contribute to police behavior during encounters with minoritized
groups. Dovidio, Gaertner, Kawakami, and Hodson (2002) believed that modern day influences
and bias interfere with communication and trust between White and Black people, which is
important to how they perceive, feel about, and respond to individuals positively in other groups.
Therefore, this study’s approach focuses on the ideologies that influence officer reactions and
communication with minoritized groups. Moreover, the study centers on police officers’
perceptions and awareness of implicit biases that might impact officer responses during
interactions with minoritized individuals.
Participating Stakeholders
The primary stakeholders for the research consist of sworn law enforcement officers from
the Capital Police Department, the Sheriff’s Department, and Highway Patrol serving the Capital
City area. Also of note, the Capital Police Department (CPD) employs close to eight-hundred
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 61
police officers, and the CPD works in conjunction with law enforcement agencies that serve the
community members within the Capital City boundaries. The law enforcement agencies offered
a rich stakeholder base. Additionally, the secondary contributions consisted of 7,917 law
enforcement officers throughout United States’ police departments with over 100 sworn officers
from the National Police Research Platform (2016).
Purpose of the Project and Research Questions
The purpose of this research is to examine the implicit bias of law enforcement officers
and those working with the local police department that serves the community of Capital City.
The study investigates the factors that contribute to police behavior during adverse encounters
with minoritized groups. Additionally, public records, official reports, and demographics of
police encounters and arrest offers details and timelines related to police stop and arrest rates.
Interviews disclosed the knowledge, attitudes, and opinions of seven Capital City law
enforcement officers.
1. What are the knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences that affect officers
when interacting with minoritized groups?
2. How does implicit bias shape the decision making of officers when involved in
encounters with underrepresented minorities?
3. What are police officers’ recommendations for knowledge, motivational, and
organizational supports to address/reduce police officer implicit biases?
Interview Rationale and Strategy
Purposeful sampling was used to gain participants for the interviews. The sampling was
beneficial for interviewing active duty officers. Random sampling is a suitable form of
purposeful sampling (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). A Center for Peacemaking and Conflict Studies
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 62
representative initiated a request to three surrounding law enforcement agencies for volunteers to
participate in individual interviews with active officers serving the Capital City community. The
email provided the purpose and rationale for the interview and instructions for voluntary
interviews for implicit bias research. The email provided a link for officers to enter preliminary
demographic information, a pseudonym, email address, and phone number for the researcher to
contact the participant. Interviews were scheduled within five days of communication with the
officer. Interviews were scheduled off site during off duty hours, in an undisclosed location
convenient to the officers. It followed the example noted by Rubin and Rubin (2012), which
discussed protecting the confidentiality of interviewees and being mindful of the circumstances
surrounding volunteers in regard to the Internal Review Board guidelines.
It was the intent of the sampling process to have a subset of volunteers to select from in a
stratified random sampling to ensure a fair number of officers who are representative of the
demographics of Capital City regional law enforcement. Consideration of their gender, race,
age, and years as a police officer were a part of the rational for their selection. The objective was
to have a varying number of officers based on age range, race, gender, and time served as an
officer. The purposeful selection of candidates minimizes bias as not to limit interviews to
certain demographics and enhances the validity and reliability of the study. Therefore, the
research can better reflect the population of officers working in the region. However, only seven
officers volunteered to participate in the interviews. With that understanding, the officers willing
to volunteer indicated partiality in support of the study.
Data Collection and Instrumentation
The data collection design of the study was a qualitative method approach utilizing three
means of data collection to triangulate the information and strengthen the analysis. Merriam and
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 63
Tisdell’s (2016) framework was useful as it supports reliability through triangulation. The
modalities consisted of open ended interviews, surveys, and document collection. Volunteer
requests for interviews were distributed electronically through email to law enforcement officers
serving in CPD community. Open-ended interviews were conducted face-to-face. Document
collection from public records provided by the Capital Police Department and the Department of
Justice were suitable for background information on law enforcement patterns and statistics
related to police officer traffic stops, arrests, and deaths by race. Data collected from the
National Survey of Law Enforcement Officers conducted by the National Police Research
Platform provided national statistics on law enforcement officer views and response to citizens,
media behavior and organization support, along with the information about the local Capital City
community determine any connections related to disproportionate treatment and arrest of
minoritized groups in comparison to other groups.
The methods and data collection for this research were complex regarding availability
and access to the police department personnel, making it problematic to conduct a large number
of interviews. Parameters distinguishing participation of officers currently working for law
enforcement departments were selected from officers who responded to the email. The
participants who completed the preliminary survey questions were called to schedule an
interview. The researcher reviewed the purpose of the interview with the officer and scheduled a
time to conduct the interview at a local college where the Director of Operations was granted
permission to use an open classroom. Participants created their own alias, and all volunteers
received a copy of the Informed Consent, which the researcher read audibly. After reading, the
participant was asked if they had any questions and if they understood their rights to participate
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 64
in the interview. Once the officer signed the Informed Consent form, they were asked for
permission to record the interview.
Additionally, the collection of documentation of police encounters was used to
contextualize and triangulate with participant interviews. Documents indicating the
demographics of arrest rates and police involved shootings from the Department of Justice (who
collects crime data from United States Police Departments) along with the Department of Justice,
city public records, official reports, and the demography of police encounters and arrest rates
strengthen the validity of the data.
Although additional methods of data gathering like observation would have improved the
reliability and validity of the study, observations were not feasible for this study. Schensul and
LeCompte (2013) stated that curiosity initiates the observation, although continuous time,
questions and defining meaning of patterns, behaviors, and relationships help to clarify the
events. Also, surveys at the local level were not feasible in such a polarizing and complex
subject within the limited timeframe of this study; therefore, the data gathered by the National
Police Research Platform were useful. With that being said, multiple methods allow for better
investigation of the strengths and limitations of the study, and better substantiate the findings
(Maxwell, 2013).
Interviews
The interview protocol was a standardized open-ended interview, which asked the same
questions of all volunteers. Standardized open-ended interviews illustrates the importance of
asking respondents consistent questions to safeguard the reliability of the interviews (Patton,
2002). It is important to do qualitative interviews to allow for deeper understanding of the police
officers’ backgrounds and family lives to better assess where their biases stem from, and if they
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 65
are expressed on the job during encounters with minoritized citizens. Therefore, the interview
design offers a structure for interviewees to “express their own understanding in their own
terms” (Patton, p. 348, 2002) reflecting on their knowledge and motivation.
For the purpose of this study, standardized, open-ended interviews through random
sampling was utilized. Standardized, open-ended interviews allow for continuity and
consistency with multiple interviewers (Patton, 2002). Additionally, Merriam and Tisdell (2016)
described random sampling as a common form of purposeful sampling. Rubin and Rubin (2012)
mentioned that including referral of similar people may yield results. The participants were
selected from the information provided from emails disseminated to area agencies.
Only one interview was administered for each participant, which was conducted during
off-duty hours in an undisclosed central location to provide privacy and confidentiality. Along
with the volunteers provided from the survey, the researcher accepted suggested participants
from officers in preparation of the interview process to strengthen the quantity and diversity of
the interviewees. It follows the example noted by Rubin and Rubin (2012), which discussed the
use of referrals and being mindful of the circumstances surrounding the sampling.
As mentioned earlier, the interview inquiries were structured predominantly with open-
ended questions, allowing for the volunteer to share their feelings and thoughts regarding the
subject matter. Additionally, the standardized, open-ended interviews have carefully worded
questions, allowing continuity among individual respondents (Patton, 2002). The interview was
recorded once permission was granted, and instructions regarding participation were read prior to
starting the interview, allowing the participant to ask any question or decline any aspects of the
interview. After the volunteers agree to the terms, the interview lasted 30-45 minutes and was
comprised of fourteen questions, which were broken down into three segments. The sections
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 66
shifted from their background to family and work life and concluded with scenarios of situations
which touch on the influence of media, inherent biases, and organizational support of training.
The objective of the interviews was to explore their feelings and behavior in relation to the
subject matter providing useful information involving organizational influences, personal
perceptions, and decision-making.
Documents and Artifacts
Documentation of police performance and interactions with minoritized citizens was an
integral part of the data collection. It aided in assessing documented accounts of police and
underrepresented individuals’ interaction. The material disclosed past occurrences and factors
that were unobservable (Patton, 2015), which tell a story utilizing records and provide minimized
biased data. Considering online documentation, Merriam and Tisdell (2016) ascertained that
biases can be subtle and more challenging to identify or describe.
Documents for the research were retrieved from the Capital Police Department quarterly
report. The report outlined the demographics of neighborhoods divided into precincts, along
with the race and gender of citizens based on the city population. Furthermore, public records
from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice supported the study,
presenting additional statistics of police involved activities by race.
Data Analysis
The data analysis process consists of three phases; the initial phase was conducting
analysis of descriptive statistics from survey results. A second phase of analysis was conducted
where empirical and a priori codes are aggregated into analytic/axial codes (Merriam & Tisdell,
2016). In the third phase of data analysis, I identified pattern codes and themes that emerged in
relation to the conceptual framework and research questions.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 67
An account of the instruments and how each was analyzed is detailed in order of
dissemination and collection. The analysis was conducted with the assistance of four reviewers
to strengthen the interpretation of the discoveries and mitigate biases. This collective analysis is
a form of “member checking” which uses participants who have a vested interest in the findings
and belong to one or more of the sub-groups; this process allows for better accuracy in
deciphering the outcomes (Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña, 2014). Furthermore, the survey data
was assessed by the National Police Research Platform (2016). Once the steps were complete,
the researcher and a team of reviewers checked the findings for relevance and alignment with the
research questions.
Additionally, for the interviews, data analysis began during data collection as individual
interviews were completed. Immediately following the interviews, the investigator recorded
their findings based on reflective questions the team developed. This step provided additional
details relevant to the interviews. Analytic memos were written immediately following the
interviews which included personal opinions and behaviors patterns unrecognizable through
audio recordings. Personal thoughts, concerns, and initial conclusions about the data in relation
to the conceptual framework and research questions were documented. The recordings were
immediately sent for transcription to a third party.
Additionally, in the first phase of analysis, I used open coding, looking for empirical
codes and applying a priori codes from the conceptual framework. The review team assisted in
the initial analysis to recognize and unpack any biases that emerged during the coding process.
Discussion regarding themes were noted, and key concerns were addressed for transparency.
The final phase of the data analysis was an examination of the documents included in the
study. This addition to the triangulation of the findings allowed for reliability and authenticity of
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 68
the research (Miles et al., 2014). The researcher analyzed documents and artifacts for evidence
consistent with the concepts in the conceptual framework that connected to the research
questions, which validated and challenged the causes in relation to implicit bias. Along with the
evidence that confirms the study, relevant documentation that opposes the findings and offers
rival explanations helped to clarify meaning to “test and strengthen the basic findings... and
protect against self-selecting biases” (Miles et al., 2014, p. 301).
Credibility and Trustworthiness
The qualitative aspects of the paper require trustworthiness of the researcher’s evidence;
therefore, triangulation, exhaustive inquiry of any validity threats, and addressing the reactivity
of the researcher and the biases of the respondents was necessary. Seven officers that currently
work as active law enforcement officers in the Capital City community gave detailed interviews.
The introductory section of the survey allowed for respondents to list their age, race, years as a
police officer, and position. The precise details of the initial findings from the survey allowed
participants to volunteer for the interview process. The deciding factors were based on targeting
a variety of participants and removing the bias of choosing a particular race or precinct that may
have skewed the data and biased the research. At the conclusion of the survey, there was a
section requesting volunteers for an in-depth interview. Officers willing to participate were lead
to a page to enter relevant demographic data to assist with representative sampling, contact
information, and a pseudonym. It was recommended that each respondent created a pseudonym
to protect their privacy.
Together with information from the initial surveys, the interviewer contacted the
participants to conduct the interviews. It was the original intention of the researcher not to
participate as the interviewer, as not to influence the findings and reduce participant bias. The
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 69
sensitivity of the subject matter in regard to bias is subjective. The researcher is an African-
American female; Krueger and Casey (2009) assert how race and gender can influence
interviews. However, removing myself from this phase of the process was not possible;
therefore, in consideration of what Maxwell (2014) described, that additional collaboration to
review the data collections methods and analysis will reduce researcher bias and reactivity, I
conducted the interview but reviewed transcripts with a team. Maxwell (2014) also stated that in
qualitative research it is not plausible to remove influence, but to understand it and use it
effectively. To that end, awareness of personal bias was recognized when the request for officer
participation was distributed. A detailed note explaining the purpose of the research along with a
family picture was included in the email and the flier. Respondents were able to read the form
and complete a paper, demographic survey with specific details prior to the start of each
interview. In conclusion, the triangulation and phases described above increased the credibility
of the findings and helped prevent validity threats (Maxwell, 2014).
Trustworthiness
The information collected and analyzed holds no value if the procedures and steps taken
to conduct the study do not use reliable sources and multiple methods are not thoroughly
outlined to ensure its trustworthiness. To safeguard personal credibility, the findings were
analyzed among a team of four reviewers to substantiate the findings. Although, in the end,
Patton (2015) determined that ultimately the trustworthiness of data connects directly to the
honesty of the people who collect and analyze the information. It was, therefore, a personal
objective to utilize the checklist outlined by Patton (2015); this discussion continues in the
Ethical section of the paper. Furthermore, to ensure the trustworthiness and credibility of the
study requires a researcher of integrity, willing to complete the study as ethically as possible
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 70
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Considering the recommendations, it is important to be accountable
to peers in the field to analyze the researcher’s data to preserve trustworthiness.
To ensure the validity of the research and measure what I intend to evaluate (Salkin, n.d.),
I used the strategies Maxwell (2013) described, such as rich data, differing findings, and
triangulation. Furthermore, he described negative evidence as a major part of the logic when
testing validity. To that end, triangulating the data was an important contribution to the study.
Diverse methods decreased bias and strengthened the legitimacy of the findings (Maxwell,
2013).
For the purpose of this research, internal and external validity threats were assessed and
the researcher initiated appropriate steps to alleviate them. Creswell (2014) described internal
validity threats as forms of procedures and experiences of participants that hinder the
investigator’s ability to extract accurate implications from the figures. In such a case, all officers
willing to participate were selected, without learning additional details that may have threatened
the internal validity. Additionally, there was a consideration of external threats. Creswell (2014)
stated that these types of threats occur when the researcher has incorrect assumptions from the
sample figures to other people and settings. In this study, it was feasible for external threats to
occur because all participants were police officers; therefore, as described by the author, the
investigator limited assertions about the group that could be taken out of context.
Furthermore, to safeguard the accuracy and reliability of the findings from the completed
survey and interviews, the researcher was detailed in documenting the steps and procedures
taken throughout the process (Yen, 2009). The strategy served to construct validity, which aims
to focus on the results to see if they serve a useful purpose when used in practice (Humbley &
Zumbo, 1996).
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 71
Moreover, an evaluation of the researcher’s inherent biases was measured. Addressing
this matter aids in clarifying the bias, which is accomplished through self-reflection, allowing for
personal interpretation of the findings, which were shaped by researcher background, gender,
culture, and history (Creswell, 2014).
Equally important to consistency in the research is how the information was
disseminated. Salkin (n.d.) emphasized the importance of confirming that directions are
consistent and well-defined in all locations where the analysis was administered. Additionally,
the author recommended to distance the scheduled surveys away from any major events. For this
study, any major events surrounding the police department were considered when scheduling the
interviews. The questions were approved by a retired police captain, and a practice interview
was conducted to assess the questions and make appropriate adjustments. Once modifications
were made, the instrument went through addition review with a former officer working with law
enforcement agencies. Analysis of the questions from independent authorities with experience
with law enforcement officers allowed for consistency. If the measurement is not consistent, it is
not reliable (Salkin, n.d.).
Ethics
This research study was achieved with the intention to protect confidentiality and respect
the human subjects. Investigators need to safeguard, develop trust with participants, sponsor the
integrity of the research, and manage the ongoing challenges of ethical research (Israel & Hay,
2006). This call was answered by written and verbal acknowledgment of the respondent’s’ rights
and the researchers’ responsibility to safeguard the information and confidentiality of the
participant. An informed consent was written and signed that acknowledges and protect the
rights of the respondents which may include, but are not limited to the identification of the
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 72
researcher, purpose of the study, any risk to the participant, agreement that participants can leave
at any time, and information about who to contact for questions (Sarantakos, 2005).
Additionally, the investigator reviewed the informed consent form with the volunteers prior to
starting the interview. The participants signed the form along with giving verbal acceptance.
Participation was voluntary, and the informed consent detailed the rights of the volunteer. A
copy of the consent was provided to the participant.
Additionally, interviews were recorded, but only with the signed permission of the
interviewee after the instructions were verbally read and the participant provided verbal and
written consent to record the interview. The informed consent listed the details of how the data
is secured in a locked file cabinet with access limited to the researcher. Moreover, the audio data
was transcribed by a reputable company removing all key markers of the person interviewed to
protect the identity of the subjects.
The researcher was not directly affiliated with anyone employed as an officer for any of
the law enforcement agencies working in the Capital City area. Access to interviews was created
through respondents from the surveys and communication through the office of Peacemaking
with individuals who were associated with Capital City Law enforcement officers. It is
important to obtain essential authorization prior to the study to acquire approval of the research
locations (Creswell, 2014). Guided protocols for access to the police department are public
domain. The researcher acquired support to gain access to the police department. The
preliminary surveys were distributed through email, and reminders were sent out on two
occasions, providing the police officers additional opportunities to participate in the survey. The
law enforcement agencies were selected based on location only; no additional factors contributed
to the selection of the departments or officers or the implicit biases of police officers in relation
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 73
to minoritized groups. Therefore, if needed, a statement indicating there was no conflict of
interest could be added to the documentation (Creswell, 2014).
The researcher created the surveys through Qualtrics to distribute via an email link as to
limit prejudice and allow for anonymity among volunteers. Although, as discussed earlier, to
retain true to the integrity of the project, transparency of personal bias was integral to the
trustworthiness of the study. The researcher was the only presenter; therefore, reflexivity, as
Creswell (2014) described was created by a detailed description of the researcher including
upbringing, race, and personal experience in relation to the topic discussed. Due to my personal
interest as a Black woman who is a wife and mother of Black men, I have a vested interest in the
subject matter. Merriam and Tisdell, (2016) discussed how ethical dilemmas of a relational or
situational nature are established based on the researcher’s personal values and sensitivity. With
that in mind, I am aware of my inherent biases regarding police officers, and exercised
mindfulness, reflection, and accountability throughout the study.
In accordance with the ethical considerations, documentation and research of opposing
views are included in the data, as Creswell (2014) warned researchers to stay away from
disclosing only positive or negative findings. In conclusion, the research was reviewed by the
Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB requires the investigator to exam the potential risk to
participants, which considers any physical, social, mental, legal, or financial harm (Sieber, 1998).
To that end, the researcher carefully considered the ethical issues checklist outlined by Merriam
and Tisdell (2016): remember the purpose of the study, be careful of promises, respect
confidentiality, have detailed informed consent, have access to the date, and apply ethical advice
to protect the integrity of the research.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 74
Limitations and Delimitations
Limitations connected to the study relate to the subjectivity and interpretation of implicit
bias as police officers respond to the survey and interview questions. Implicit bias can blur the
line between explicit bias and prejudice. The interview questions were not accusatory or blatant
as not to offend or restrict responses or participation. Therefore, the inquiries offered reflection
and thought to asses assumed implicit biases of officers as they relate to marginalized people.
Additionally, analysis and individual understanding of the assumed causes are restricted to, as
Creswell described, (2014) the honesty of the participants. Likewise, volunteer responses may
conflict with what they hoped to be true in juxtaposition to their actual internal decisions during
encounters with minoritized people while on duty.
Multiple procedures were put in place to reduce errors, although human aspects are
imperfect, leaving room for insufficiencies in the study. Moreover, the surveys and interviews
were only distributed within the regional area, and interviews were offered to law enforcement
officers only. Given that, the findings cannot be generalized and can only be evaluated within
the parameters of the regional area and the population of Capital City. My participation in
interviews contributes to bias. However, it also allows for interpretation of the non-verbal cues
of the interview participants (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016), which can be lost in translation through
the limitations of audio recording.
Conclusion
The mixed methods study is the most appropriate for the overarching goal of the study—
to serve the community in the most effective way possible. The surveys, interviews, and
documents used to reach and examine the objectives effectively are the most appropriate and
efficient way to find what knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences may affect
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 75
officer’s interactions with minoritized groups. They are also used to find out how implicit bias
shapes decisions made during encounters with minoritized groups and in what manners the
organization addresses the implicit bias of police officers.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 76
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND FINDINGS
The difference between someone guided by principle and someone driven by bias: a
person who is guided by principle will stand up to his allies and side with his "opponents"
of truth and morality dictates it. A person who is driven by bias will go to war against
reality in order to defend the identity of the herd.
-Unknown

The purpose of this research was to examine the implicit bias of law enforcement officers
and those now working with the local police department that serves the community of Capital
City. The study included an investigation of the factors that contribute to police behavior during
adverse encounters with minoritized groups. Three research questions were used to guide the
study, including:
1. What are the knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences that affect
officers when interacting with minoritized groups?
2. How does implicit bias shape the decision making of officers when involved in
encounters with underrepresented minorities?
3. What are police officers’ recommendations for knowledge, motivational, and
organizational supports to address/reduce police officer implicit biases?
Standardized open-ended interviews were conducted with seven active duty law
enforcement officers of the Capital Police Department. The interviews were audio-recorded, and
the recordings were transcribed verbatim. The transcriptions were uploaded into NVivo 11
software and analyzed using open coding, looking for empirical codes and applying a priori
codes from the conceptual framework. Chapter 4 includes a description of the seven participants
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 77
with whom interviews were conducted, followed by a presentation of the results of the study.
The chapter concludes with a summary of the results.
Participating Stakeholders
A request for interviews was emailed to three regional police captains, who forwarded it
to active duty officers. Seven officers responded to the request and were included in the study.
Table 6 indicates the relevant demographic characteristics of the seven interview participants.
Table 6
Participant Stakeholder Demographics
Officer
Name*
Years
on the
force
Age
Range
Gender Race
Racial composition of division in
which participant works
Jer 8 25-30 M White 60% Hispanic| 30% White|10%
Black
Darius 18 40-49 M Black 48% White |46% Hispanic |6% Other
Rob 20 40-49 M Hispanic 50% Hispanic |30% White |
10%Black |10% Other
David 11 40-49 M German/Bl
ack
65% Hispanic|15% White|15% Black|
5%Other
Penelope 6 50-59 F Hispanic 60% Hispanic|30% White|5%
Black|5% Other
Ray 20 40-49 M White 70% Hispanic|5% White|5% Other
Rose 16 31-39 F Hispanic 53% Hispanic|20% Asian|10% White|
7% Other| 5% Black
*all names are pseudonyms
Findings
This presentation of the findings of the study is organized by research question. Findings
related to research question 1 indicated the knowledge, motivational, and organizational
influences that affected officers when interacting with minoritized groups. In relation to research
question 2, findings indicated how intrinsic bias shaped the decision-making of officers when
they were involved in encounters with underrepresented minorities. Findings associated with
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 78
research question 3 indicated police officers’ recommendations for knowledge, motivational, and
organizational supports to address and reduce police officer implicit biases.
Research Question 1
Research question 1 was: What are the knowledge, motivational, and organizational
influences that affect officers when interacting with minoritized groups? Sub-sections in the
following presentation of findings include knowledge, motivational, and organizational
influences.

Knowledge
Findings indicated that conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive knowledge affected
officers when they interacted with minoritized groups.
Conceptual knowledge. Asked to describe their perception of the reason why Black
people and Hispanics are pulled over at higher rates than Whites, seven out of seven participants
expressed the belief that the disparity was a result of the demographic characteristics of the
communities in which the statistics were gathered. This finding was consistent with that of
Mayer (2011), who indicated that police officers may not have an adequate understanding of the
biases the disproportionate traffic-stop rates of Black people and Hispanics imply. Officer
Darius stated:
If you were to go to say south LA, Compton and those different things where it's mostly
Black, you're going to pull over more Black people because it's more Black people there.
That's who lives in the neighborhood. You go to East LA, you're going to be pulling over
Hispanics because that's who lives there...It all depends on where you're at, and where
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 79
your statistics come from...here in the Central Valley, they'd even say you pull over a lot
of Hispanics. Okay, who lives here? Hispanics do. I can't pull over a Russian albino.
Officer David offered an opinion similar to that of Officer Darius:
I think [the racial disparity in traffic-stop rates is] the case, number one, when you have a
community that is largely Hispanic. The large number of traffic stops are going to be
Hispanic drivers. That's math, that's the laws of probability, that's the way that's going to
happen. I think in inner cities...the majority of stops and police contacts were made on
African Americans. Because a majority of the population, upwards of 80% of the
population of those places is African American. So, it stands to reason.
Officer David also attributed the racial disparity in traffic-stop rates to heightened police
presence in high-crime communities, which he perceived as being minority communities:
Why is there such a high concentration of law enforcement in this African American
community that perpetuates the contacts with African Americans? Why aren't you in
upstate New York, or in the suburbs where it's largely Caucasian? And I think the reason
is this. Because when you get into lower income neighborhoods, whether it's Hispanic,
Puerto Rican, African American or whatever, there's a greater police presence needed
wherever the crime rate's the highest. And so, there's a larger concentration of law
enforcement in these communities, because the crime rate's higher in these communities.
Officer Penelope joined Officers Darius and David in attributing the racial disparity in traffic-
stop rates to the demographic characteristics of communities, stating, “in this [area], we're
probably going to stop more Hispanics in this part of this beat. That's where they live.” Officers
Rob and Rose also attributed the disparity to the demographics of the communities in which the
statistics were gathered. Officer Jer attributed the disparity to poverty rather than race, stating,
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 80
“it could be tracked to race, probably, but I think a lot of it has to do with income status too.”
Officer Ray also believed that the proximate cause of different traffic-stop rates was poverty, and
that the racial disparity appeared only as a result of the correlation between poverty and minority
status. Five out of seven participants attributed the racial disparity in traffic-stop rates to
sampling bias, and two participants attributed the disparity to an effect of poverty that was only
incidentally related to race, a result of the correlation between poverty and minority status. No
participants mentioned police bias as an explanation for the disparity. This supported Mayer’s
(2011) finding, because participants did not have an understanding of the biases implied by the
racial disparities in traffic-stop rates.
Procedural knowledge. Seven out of seven participants indicated that when they were
deciding how to address a violation for which they had stopped an apparent offender, they
considered the citizen as an individual in circumstances unique to him- or herself, rather than as
a member of any group to which implicit biases might apply. This was consistent with
Espinoza’s (2007) finding that procedural knowledge involves the rules and criteria to improve
outcomes and evaluates consistency of action with the exclusion of individual biases. Officer
David stated emphatically that when he stopped a vehicle and addressed the driver,
I think I treat people one way. I treat them like human beings. And there was nothing that
ever happened that I saw in the media, or that I heard about, that would ever change the
way I treated anybody. We are humans, that's the way I was brought up, that's what I
believe. And we all deserve to be treated with respect, until proven otherwise. And that's
how I did it.
Officer Penelope, who described herself as “a woman of small stature,” stated that her habitually
high level of vigilance was not increased by the race of the person she had stopped:
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 81
I don't know that it prejudices me to say, "Oh, this is a gang banger, Hispanic gang
banger with tattoos all over himself. I better talk to him with some authority or he's going
to step all over me" or, "This is a 6"3' African American man who obviously played
football all his life, and he's going to just attack me." That's not how I work. I can't say
for anyone else, but I think I assess the danger every time I approach either a car, or a
person that has the potential to be dangerous.
Officer Rob stated that a veteran officer’s familiarity with a repeat offender was more likely to
result in a stop than the driver’s apparent race:
Some people think they [the police officer] just made a u-turn because he saw it was a
Hispanic or a Black guy or an Asian guy in that car. No, it's that an officer recognized
that he's arrested them three or four times for stealing cars and he's heard from other
officers that this guy might have a stolen car, it has nothing to do with race…[The
suspect is] on probation for car theft and he's driving around here at 2 or 3 o'clock in the
morning, maybe that's a stolen car he's driving. So, they turn around on him so they can
get the license plate, and sure enough yeah it was a stolen car.
The remaining four participants also stated that, in following their conception of police
procedure as well as their own inclination, they considered the circumstances of everyone they
stopped on a case-by-case basis, regarding the driver and passengers as individuals rather than as
members of groups to which implicit biases might apply. No participants indicated that their
understanding of correct procedure involved heightened or lowered vigilance or more or less
stringent responses according to the race of the stopped driver. These self-perceptions support
Espinoza’s (2007) finding, because participants’ knowledge of the procedures for engaging with
citizens involved an evaluation that excluded individual biases.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 82
Metacognitive knowledge. Seven out of seven participants deliberately refrained from
forming judgments about reports in the media of police violence against minorities, believing
these reports could be an effect of media bias (three participants) or that the reports could not be
evaluated without an exhaustive knowledge of the context of each incident (six participants). To
emphasize, participants used their metacognitive knowledge of when it was appropriate to
withhold judgment (i.e., when lacking context or when suspecting bias in the report) as a
rationale for declining to condemn fellow officers or to consider that some police violence may
have resulted at least in part from the implicit biases of the officers involved. Consistent with
Rueda’s (2011) finding that metacognitive awareness is significant in understanding individual
processes and the ability to reflect on personal understanding, participants’ descriptions of their
metacognitive process in evaluating media reports suggested that metacognitive awareness might
be used to rationalize effects of implicit bias. Participants’ perception of bias in the media was
also consistent with the results of the National Police Research Platform (2016) which, in a
survey of 7,917 sworn law enforcement officers, found that 81% agreed or strongly agreed that,
in general, the media treat the police unfairly, and that 67% believed that deaths of African
Americans in encounters with police were “isolated incidents” rather than “signs of a broader
problem.” Officer Rose, for example, suspected that media bias was the cause of the “uproar”
about police violence, with sensationalist media depriving viewers of adequate context in order
to make events appear more shocking:
With TV and media they're in it for the money and viewers. I don't think their primary
focus is to report the truth. A lot of things on social media, you know, they'll just report
or show a clip of like the ending, or an officer assaulting somebody to try and get them
under arrest or whatever, but they don't show the whole thing. That sways people's
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 83
thinking of law enforcement, and so, then it starts this big uproar. It's like, well, you guys
are basing your information off of not the whole situation.
Officer David spoke of the importance of contextual knowledge in making accurate judgments:
I reserve all judgment until I have all the facts. Which is not what I can say for the
majority of people. We just don't know; we just don't know. And it's very easy for us to
sit and look at our cell phones and watch television and see what the media wants us to
see, and then pass judgment without knowing what it's like to have to make a split-second
decision that took another person's life. We don't know.
In describing how she responded to the questions of children who asked her about reports in the
media of police violence, Officer Penelope referred both to the need for context and to media
bias:
First thing I do when I see something on the news, I absolutely understand that we're only
seeing a snippet of what has happened. Being someone who is the first person on any
scene, I know that there's more to it than that...I literally said that to some children in a
low income housing the other day, 'cause they asked me this question. They said to me,
“What do you think about that shooting that was on the news the other day?” I said, “This
is what I want you to get from that. I want you to understand that you saw 20 seconds of
an entire video, and you should be frustrated that the media thinks that you are not smart
enough to understand that, and they are trying to give you thoughts. You have the
strength and ability to have your own thoughts, and you should be able to make up your
own mind, as opposed to being swayed by the media in one way or the other.”
Officer Ray disapproved of forming judgments without adequate context:
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 84
For me to speculate on any investigation [of police violence], I mean, all you can judge is
based on the clip that you see, but you don't know what happened minutes prior or
minutes after. All you could do is form an opinion based on that little segment that is
shown at that particular time.
No participants indicated that police violence may in some instances be a result of implicit bias
on the part of the officers involved. Instead, participants reflected on how judgments were
formed and indicated that a responsible evaluation of a media report required extensive
contextual knowledge and an awareness of probable media bias. This supported Rueda’s (2011)
finding that metacognitive awareness is significant in understanding individual processes and the
ability to reflect on personal understanding, including consideration of when it is appropriate to
take certain actions. Participants used their metacognitive awareness to decide when it was
appropriate to formulate judgments about reports of police violence, and they determined that
judging the officers involved on the basis of media reports was at best premature and at worst
irresponsible. In this way, participants avoided acknowledging the possible influence of implicit
biases on police violence. This supported the results of the National Police Research Platform
(2016), because officers believed that reports of police violence in the media referred to isolated
incidents and were results of media bias, and that the reports were not signs of a broader problem
in the law enforcement community.
Motivation
Findings indicated that participants’ motivations included enforcing the law, helping
people, conflict avoidance, and safety and survival.
Enforcing the law. Five out of seven participants indicated that they were motivated at
least in part by the goal of enforcing the law, and that they occasionally had to engage in
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 85
behaviors they disliked in order to achieve this goal. This was consistent with the finding of
Clark and Estes (2007), that values can determine goals, and that goals can allow individuals to
justify engaging in actions or events participants do not like. This was also consistent with the
result of National Police Research Platform (2016), that 70% of the officers surveyed saw
themselves either solely as enforcers of the law (8%) or as both enforcers and protectors (62%).
Officer Jer disliked making arrests, but he made them in the interest of enforcing the law; he
stated that this condition of the work of law enforcement made the job unpopular: “you have to
do a job that not a lot of people want to do. And you have to make decisions even though they're
in accordance with the law, they're not the easiest decisions to make, like arrests.” Officer
Penelope had given an apparently troubled and inebriated man in a parked car the chance to
leave the vehicle and have it picked up by a sober driver. When she caught this man driving
away a few moments later, she felt compelled to make an arrest in the interest of enforcing the
law:
We have the ability to determine the letter of the law and the spirit of the law, but not in
everything. Like, when I allowed that gentleman to stay in the park. The spirit of law says
give him a chance. He agreed to call somebody, and then he didn't. So now I don't have a
choice.
Officer Rob, a supervisor, often had to remind the officers under his supervision to write tickets
for traffic offenses in the interest of enforcing the law and promoting public safety:
A lot of our officers hate writing tickets...Unfortunately sometimes we do have to take
action, we see that car speeding at night and as an officer you got to make a conscious
choice, am I going to let that guy go or am I going to try to stop him because maybe five
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 86
miles down the road he's going to kill somebody. Maybe that speeding car is a drunk
driver.
Therefore, law enforcement officers occasionally disliked having to enforce the law, out of
sympathy for the citizens who might have violated it. However, participants reported that they
believed in the value of upholding the law, and that valuing the goal of law enforcement enabled
them to undertake unpleasant tasks. This supported the finding of Clark and Estes (2007), who
found that values can determine goals, and that goals can allow individuals to engage in actions
they dislike. Participants enforced the law even when they disliked doing so, because their
values made law enforcement an important goal.
Helping people. Four out of seven participants indicated that they were motivated at
least in part by a desire to help people, and that they had chosen to become law enforcement
officers because they perceived an alignment between law enforcement objectives and this
personal goal. This was consistent with Eccles’ (2006) finding that, in order to serve as
motivation, an objective must fit into individual goals, and expected outcomes need to align with
personal goals. This was also consistent with the result of National Police Research Platform
(2016), that 93% of the officers surveyed saw themselves either solely as protectors (31%) or as
both enforcers and protectors (62%). Officer David stated,
I've always seen myself as someone whose main purpose is to provide a service to others.
That's just why I'm here. That's why I'm on this Earth, and I know that. In whatever
capacity, or in multiple capacities, because that's what I do know, in all different respects.
But my purpose is to help people. And that's never changed; that's why I got in; that's
why I filled out the application [to enter law enforcement].
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 87
Rose stated, “My teachers always called me a mother hen, always worried about everybody
else.” Accordingly, she worked in campus law enforcement, because this allowed her to serve as
a caregiver to students: “We're more of like an educational role there than taking people to jail.”
This supported Eccles’ (2006) finding, because participants saw the objectives of law
enforcement as aligning with the personal goal of helping people.
Conflict avoidance. Four out of seven participants indicated that they tried to avoid or
avert situations involving confrontation and conflict, because antagonistic interactions with
citizens went against their convictions. This was consistent with the finding of Pajares (2009),
that people avoid undertakings that challenge their convictions. Officer David recounted an
incident when a driver whom he had pulled over for a cracked windshield accused him of racism.
This accusation from an African American offended Officer David deeply (his father is African
American), but he forced himself not to violate his own values by engaging in a gratuitous
confrontation with a civilian:
I can see how it can escalate and turn into something that could ultimately resort to
violence, excessive use of force. I can see that. I don't condone it. I understand why and
how it happens. It's not acceptable, but that was the first time where I thought, because I
had to restrain myself, I'm thinking, hold on a second, I can't get into an argument with
this guy.
Officer Rose reported that she tried to avert conflicts because she believed in treating people
with respect whenever possible:
I think I kind of have that gift of talking to people, and being able to calm a situation
down without having to get into any fights or anything like that. The few fights that I
have gotten into it's kind of like, okay, I gotta make sure I always keep my guard up, but
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 88
treat people with respect as well because if that's my parents or my sister or somebody on
the other side, I would want them to be treated that way.
Participants indicated that they tried as a matter of principle to avert unnecessary conflicts, even
though they expressed confidence that their training enabled them to deal successfully with
unavoidable confrontations. This finding supported the finding of Pajares (2009), that people
can be motivated by a desire to avoid undertakings that challenge their convictions.
Safety and survival. Four out of seven participants indicated that they were motivated at
least in part by a desire to ensure their own safety and survival. This was consistent with the
finding of Salomone (1981), that personal benefits enhance motivation. Officer Darius stated
that safety and survival were ingrained in new officers as paramount concerns:
If you ask any police officer what they first learned in the academy they'll tell you, you
go home at the end of the night. No matter what, you go home. So right there that
survival instinct is put in you. That's what you go with.
Officer Rob reported that he had started his career in law enforcement “thinking I was
invincible,” but that witnessing the death of an officer he knew had caused him to change the
way he approached his job:
I'm putting myself in danger and [could] leave my wife without a husband and kids
without a father. [The death of the fellow officer] affected me for a little bit, I still went
on and did my job but not as hard; I wasn't a hard charger anymore. Because I was the
second officer on scene when that call came out, and so I saw him dying on the sidewalk.
It affected me, so it took me awhile to re-engage, and so I don't think I'm invincible no
more out here.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 89
Similarly, four participants indicated that ensuring their own safety and survival was a strong
motivation. This supported Salomone’s (1981) finding, that personal benefits lead to stronger
motivation.
Organizational Influence
Five out of seven participants stated that adequate training in how to approach adverse
encounters with minoritized groups did not exist at the departmental level; a sixth participant
believed that his department had adequate training in diversity awareness and cultural sensitivity,
but stated that other departments with which he was familiar lacked this training. This lack of
attention to the problem of implicit bias helped to create a culture in which implicit biases
remained unexamined, because the knowledge and motivation needed to examine them was
neither given nor encouraged. This was consistent with the finding of Jost et al. (2009), that
responsibility may have no immediate benefit when there are deficiencies in leadership regarding
knowledge or needed training to identify and modify processes or procedures. The finding in the
present study also supported the result of the National Police Research Platform (2016)
indicating that a majority of officers (59%) had received fewer than four hours of training in the
area of bias and fairness. Officer David described how, in his perception, lack of department-
level training in how to correct implicit biases created a culture in which those biases were more
likely to be expressed in discriminatory law enforcement practices:
Typically, if we see a Black male walking, and they've got their pants sagging, a do-rag
on or corn rows, we're going to look, we're going to say, “Oh, hmm. I might want to …”
you know?... And we don't even recognize that that's not okay, we're not trained on that.
We're not trained to say, “Everybody has a story, and everybody deserves a clean slate,
regardless.”
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 90
Officer Ray described an incident in which training in cultural sensitivity would have made him
more effective in his duties:
I investigated a domestic violence incident with Asian ethnicity, went to the house to
interview the individual in question, and because I did not speak to the most eldest in the
home, everybody shut down, wouldn't talk to me, and I basically had to leave without an
interview because I didn't know the customs and traditions of entering into a different
cultural diversity type atmosphere, so [I] had to learn the hard way.
Officer Rose described the very limited training on police bias that had been made available to
her:
With the sheriff's office, the lack of training obviously was there. I think the only training
I got there was probably during the academy, and then maybe, they call it POST, Peace
Officer Standards and Training, would put out like a small video or something on ethics
and racial profiling.
Like Officer Rose, Officer Jay reported that limited training was available online, but that no
training was offered at the departmental level: “They have online trainings you can do such as
communication and things like that, which touch on a variety of situations. But at a department
level, we don't really have any diversity training or anything.” Participants reported that training
in how to become aware of or modify police bias had not been made available to them at the
departmental level, suggesting a lack of awareness of the importance of such training on the part
of departmental leadership. This supported the finding of Jost et al. (2009), because deficiencies
in knowledge and training at the leadership level created a culture in which awareness of implicit
biases appeared to have no immediate benefit. This also supported the result of the National
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 91
Police Research Platform (2016), because participants had not received adequate training in the
area of bias and fairness.
Research Question 2
Research question 2 was: How does implicit bias shape the decision-making of officers
when involved in encounters with underrepresented minorities? Findings indicated that implicit
biases created an expectation of violence, resistance, or non-compliance in police officers when
they encountered members of minoritized groups, and that this influenced police decision-
making by causing officers to approach members of minoritized groups with a heightened level
of readiness for aggressive confrontation. Participants’ reports that their perceptions of the
possibility of violence had made them vigilant and concerned for their own safety expressed
reasonable attitudes, given the dangers law enforcement officers actually face (Casey et al.,
2012). These perceptions were also consistent with the result of the National Police Research
Platform (2016), that 85% of law enforcement officers at least sometimes have serious concerns
for their physical safety while they are at work. However, the ways in which race entered into
participants’ descriptions of the persons and situations that caused them to heighten their
vigilance may be seen as evidence of implicit biases. This supported the finding of Jost (2009),
that biases may be unconscious, and the finding of Casey et al. (2012), that implicit biases
influence police decision-making. This was also consistent with results of the National Police
Research Platform (2016) indicating that, in the perception of the officers surveyed, relations
between law enforcement personnel and Whites were significantly better than the relationships
between law enforcement personnel and Black or Hispanic people. Specifically, 21% of
surveyed officers described relations with Whites as “excellent,” 66% as “good,” and only 1% as
“poor,” while relations with Hispanics seemed excellent to 10%, good to 57%, and poor to 7%.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 92
Relations with Black people seemed excellent to only 8%, good to 46%, and poor to 18%.
Officer Darius had become aware of his implicit bias against Hispanics during an encounter that
disconfirmed it:
I pulled this car over. And at this time, I had maybe 10 years on. I pull this car over for
either speed or something along those lines. And right off the bat I'm thinking okay,
here's a Baja plate, car load of Hispanic folks, and because of my interaction in the past
with Hispanic folks, most didn't have licenses, most didn't have insurance, they drove
raggedy cars and whatnot. And when I pulled this person over and I asked for the license,
registration, proof of insurance, they gave me all three. And when I went back to my car I
was stunned by my bias.
However, Officer Darius (who identified as African American) also described his perception that
African Americans were depressingly defiant:
The hardest time I've had on traffic stops is with other Black people. They give me the
blues. And the older they are, the worse they are. Not all of them. But I've had two or
three instants where I had an elder at church, he wanted to make sure [I] knew it, and he
visited my church before. Took me to court, called me a liar in the courtroom, talking
about he going to pray for me. I know what that means. I don't want you praying for me.
Then there was another Black guy, he was driving a car that needed some repair. Pulled
him over, and he gave me attitude the entire time. He never got the car though, but he
gave me attitude. And I had another lady was singing gospel tunes to me when I was
trying to talk to her.
Officer Darius suggested that his perception of how defiant or cooperative a citizen would be
exerted an influence on his decision-making by determining how respectfully he would treat that
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 93
citizen, such that his perception of African Americans as defiant and Hispanics as non-compliant
may have had an effect on how confrontationally he approached members of those groups: “you
want me to treat you a certain way, well, you got to treat me a certain way too. That type of deal,
an unspoken social contract between people. You got to treat each other right if you want to be
treated that way.”
Other participants described persons and situations that caused them to heighten their
vigilance. Officer Jer revealed implicit biases in other members (retired and current) of his
department in the course of denying that such biases existed:
From what I heard, from people who are now retired, they used to work at, it was like a
predominantly Black community. And it was like bar fights every night. Like it was
craziness. They were like, “Oh you don't mess with [name of community] people
because they'll get you.” But it wasn't anything derogatory...then the more Hispanic
deputies, or those deputies that they speak Spanish English, they might...because they're
part of the culture, they know. So, they might be harder [on Hispanic violators] because
they feel like those are their group of people, and they want them to succeed.
Consequently, implicit biases were consciously understood as the lessons of experience (the
perceived “craziness” of the “predominantly Black community”) or as an illogical form of
solidarity (“they want them to succeed”), and were seen to influence police decision-making,
either by making the police neglectful of a minoritized community (“Don’t mess with
[community’s name] people”) or stricter with members of a minoritized group (“they might be
harder”).
Officer Penelope explained that she was more vigilant when she encountered people who
appeared to be gang-members, regardless of their race:
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 94
When you see someone who's a little more rough, compared to someone who doesn't look
like they've been in jail before, and you can tell by just your basic life experience. If they
have gang markings on their body, then you're like, “Okay, this person may be somebody
I have to be a little more heightened alert on.” Personally, it has never been about color.
At a different point in her interview, however, Officer Penelope drew a strong connection
between gang-membership, minoritized status, and her own heightened vigilance, saying:
In this community, it's the Hispanic gang members. We do have African American gang
members that are either part of the Hispanic culture here, or we have experience with
some Bloods or even Crips...if I pull up on a vehicle that has four or five Hispanic gang-
bangers that I can see are wearing affiliated clothing, or African Americans, or even
Asians, Laotians, Hmongs, or Mien...I might call for someone to back me up, because I'm
outnumbered, or I realize the objective signs of a possible gun in the car or anything like
that.
Thus, an implicit association between gang-membership and minoritized status had influenced
Officer Penelope’s decision-making in a tangible way (i.e., by causing her to call for backup,
therefore escalating the encounter). Officer Ray explicitly linked the race of the person he
encountered with his readiness to react to violence:
The incarceration rate of individuals, the highest incarceration rate is Hispanic in regards
to crimes that have been committed and following second with African American. Not
knowing the exact statistics and numbers anytime there is an encounter [with a Hispanic
or an African American], it does heighten [my concern for my own safety] a little bit.
Consequently, for Officer Ray, the conscious bias against Hispanics and African Americans was
based on an implicit association between minoritized status and criminality, and this implicit bias
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 95
influenced his decision-making by heightening his level of alert. Officer Rose indicated that her
decision-making was influenced by the number and gender of persons in a vehicle she might
wish to stop, and she included race among the factors that heightened her level of vigilance:
We always worked by ourselves, so for [name of neighborhood], it's going to be
primarily Hispanic. If I see a vehicle that has four or five Hispanic males in it, I'm going
to think twice about am I really going to stop these guys? If something happens, and I'm
by myself, or what I'm going to do.
Therefore, participants’ responses indicated that implicit biases created in police officers an
expectation of violence, resistance, or non-compliance when they encountered members of
minoritized groups, and that this influenced police decision-making by causing officers to
approach members of minoritized groups with a heightened expectation of defiance,
confrontation, and violence. Specific decisions that resulted from this heightened vigilance
included calling for backup, declining to stop citizens of races that were perceived as threatening,
and confronting minoritized citizens more aggressively. This supported the finding of Jost
(2009), because the biases were unconscious (often to the point of being explicitly rejected), and
the finding of Casey et al. (2012), because the biases influenced police decision-making during
adverse encounters.
Research Question 3
Research question 3 was: What are police officers’ recommendations for knowledge,
motivational, and organizational supports to address/reduce police officer implicit biases? The
presentation of findings related to this research question is organized into three sub-sections,
including: recommended knowledge supports, recommended motivational supports, and
recommended organizational supports.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 96
Recommended Knowledge Supports
Recommended knowledge supports included increased community policing and
increased awareness of police bias. This was consistent with Taylor’s (2008) finding, that it is
essential for officers to have knowledge of the people in the community they serve, cultural
competency, and an awareness of any personal biases to safeguard against unfavorable behavior.
This also supported the result of the National Police Research Platform (2016), that 98% of
officers surveyed believed it was “important” or “very important” for law enforcement officers
to have detailed knowledge of the people, places, and culture in the areas where they routinely
work in order to be effective at their jobs. Five out of seven participants recommended
strengthening the ties between communities and the law enforcement officers who served them.
Officer Penelope recommended community policing specifically, as a way to increase the
community’s knowledge of the officers who served it, as well as the officers’ knowledge of the
community they served: “I think that honestly, I think that we need to go back to a community
policing. Get out of your car. Talk to the people in your community.” Officer Jer perceived
police violence as a cause of communities’ alienation from the officers who served them, and he
saw increased community policing as a potential means of strengthening knowledge and bonds
between communities and police:
Know your local stores, and your shop owners and people in the community so that when
there's a problem, you can go to this person because maybe they have the window repair
shop and someone broke a window to someone's business. You know, things like that to
solve problems. And I think it's gotten to [where] police violence is on the rise and it
makes people really nervous.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 97
Officer Darius spoke of getting to know members of the community outside of the context of
crises as a way to reduce implicit biases:
Let people know, “Hey, this is where we're at.” Talk about things more open, not just the
emergency situations. Have scenarios to where, instead of maybe have to pull the gun on
someone, have scenarios where you just compensate the person. How do you talk to a
person that [has] tattoos on their face? When you see that, “Oh there's a criminal.” Not
necessarily. Or, they may have been a criminal in their past life, but at this point that
initial contact, none of that means nothing because you're not contacting them on their
past, you're contacting them right now.
Officer David recommended that officers be made aware of their biases:
We need to educate people on what a bias is, because I think when we say, “Officer
Jones, are you biased? Do you have any biases towards any group? Any race, religion,
color, creed, gender?” “Absolutely not,” Officer Jones says. Okay, and then you follow
that officer out on duty, and you could tally him up, and they don't even realize it. They
just don't realize it. But they'll discount it.
As a result, participants recommended that officers increase their knowledge of the communities
they serve and of their own biases as means of reducing police officer implicit biases. This
supported the finding of Taylor (2008), because officers’ knowledge of the people in the
community they serve and awareness of their own personal biases were perceived as safeguards
against unfavorable behavior. This finding also agreed with the result of the National Police
Research Platform (2016), because participants believed it was important for law enforcement
officers to have detailed knowledge of the people, places, and culture in the areas where they
routinely work.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 98
Recommended Motivational Supports
Participants recommended linking community policing to the officer motivations safety
and survival and enforcing the law as a means of motivating officers to engage in the practice.
This supported Rueda’s (2011) finding that individuals are more motivated to engage in tasks
that contribute to a valued goal. Officer Darius linked community policing or “talking with
folks” to the officer motivation safety and survival:
You have to be able to talk with folks, because believe it or not, having a relationship
with someone will keep you from using those survival skills. But most thing you hear is,
you go home at night. You don't die on the side of a dirty freeway. And we need to hear
that.
Officer Penelope linked community policing to enforcing the law via the intermediate goal of
gaining the assistance and cooperation of citizens:
I think community policing is the right way to do it. It used to be in the old days, like you
can see on television where officers would get out and they would talk to everyone in
their beat. Everyone. Not just the nice people who live in the three story homes. You go
down to the projects...you go down to the Hmong community, whomever lives in your
beat, and you walk, and you talk to the young people. If they don't trust you, then they're
not going to help you.
Along these lines, participants recommended that officers be motivated to engage in community
policing by reframing community policing as a way to achieve the valued goals of safety and
survival and enforcing the law. This supported Rueda’s (2011) finding regarding motivation,
because participants believed that officers would be more motivated to engage in community
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 99
policing (reduce their biases) if the practice was understood in terms of its utility in achieving
valued objectives.
Recommended Organizational Supports
Five out of seven participants recommended increased department-level training in bias
awareness and cultural sensitivity as an organizational support for reducing police officer
implicit bias. This supported the finding of Jackson and Callaghan (2009), that it is imperative to
have organizational support to reach a stakeholder objective, including organizational
willingness to train and encourage officers. Officer Darius specifically recommended training in
social relations as a way to help officers engage in more effective encounters; he also
recommended the creation of a task force dedicated to community relations:
We have a SWAT team that specialize[s] in mitigating emergencies, we should also have
a team that is specially trained to conversate [sic] and get along with the public. And in
the middle, because everyone can't be highly trained; it's too expensive. But in the
middle, everyone should be taught some type of social skills.
Officer Jer agreed that more training was needed, and he noted the current absence from training
of any explicit treatment of the topic of race. When asked for his recommendation on how to
reduce officer bias, Officer Jer stated, “Probably more training...when we're training, you focus
on the situation's officer safety first. And you don't really consider race.” Officer Ray pointed
out the influence of training on officers’ behavior, saying, “I think that with anything, training
the way that they instill in us is you're going to act the way that you train. I think that training in
cultural diversity, bias, racial profiling, needs to be on a continuous basis.” Officer Rob
recommended field training in cultural sensitivity and gradual exposure for new officers who had
not previously been acquainted with the groups they would be serving:
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 100
You kind of slowly bring [the new officer] along. But you expose him a little bit at a
time, hey it's a different culture, just people coming from different background and
cultures, it's a culture shock to different people. And as a department and supervisors we
just need to recognize that.
To that end, participants recommended department-level training as a way to address and reduce
police officer implicit bias. This supported Jackson and Callaghan’s (2009) finding, because
participants believed in the need for organizational willingness to train and encourage officers as
a means of reducing implicit bias.

Summary
The purpose of this research was to examine the implicit bias of law enforcement officers
and those now working with the local police department that serves the community of Capital
City. The study included an investigation of the factors that contribute to police behavior during
adverse encounters with minoritized groups. Three research questions were used to guide the
study.
The first research question was: What are the knowledge, motivational, and
organizational influences that affect officers when interacting with minoritized groups? Findings
indicated that conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive knowledge affected officers when they
interacted with minoritized groups. Conceptual belief included the belief that the disparity was a
result of the demographic characteristics of the communities in which the statistics were
gathered. Procedural knowledge included a conception of police procedure in which participants
considered the circumstances of everyone they stopped on a case-by-case basis, regarding the
driver and passengers as individuals rather than as members of groups to which implicit biases
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 101
might apply. Metacognitive knowledge included deliberately refraining from forming judgments
about reports in the media of police violence against minorities, believing these reports could be
an effect of media bias or that the reports could not be evaluated without an exhaustive
knowledge of the context of each incident. Also, findings indicated that participants’
motivations included enforcing the law, helping people, conflict avoidance, and safety and
survival. Regarding organizational influence, most participants stated that adequate training in
how to approach adverse encounters with members of minoritized groups did not exist at the
departmental level.
The second research question was: How does implicit bias shape the decision making of
officers when involved in encounters with underrepresented minorities? Results indicated that
implicit biases created an expectation of violence, resistance, or non-compliance in police
officers when they encountered members of minoritized groups, and that this influenced police
decision-making by causing officers to approach members of minoritized groups with a
heightened level of readiness for aggressive confrontation. Specific decisions that resulted from
this increased vigilance included calling for backup, declining to stop citizens of races that were
perceived as threatening, and confronting minoritized citizens more aggressively.
The third research question was: What are police officers’ recommendations for
knowledge, motivational, and organizational supports to address/reduce police officer implicit
biases? Recommended knowledge supports included increased community policing and
increased awareness of police bias. The volunteers recommended linking community policing to
the officer motivations safety and survival and enforcing the law as a means of motivating
officers to engage in the practice. Lastly, participants recommended increased department-level
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 102
training in bias awareness and cultural sensitivity as an organizational support for reducing
police officer implicit bias.
Chapter 5 includes an interpretation and some implications of these results.

POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 103
CHAPTER FIVE RECOMMENDATIONS

The call to peacemaking is universal and timeless since conflict is always with us. Its
shadow is found in all cultures in all times beckoning for response. When constructive, it
leads to better understanding and deeper relationships. When destructive, it tends toward
confusion and separation.
Fresno Pacific University, 2016

Clark and Estes (2008) discussed the importance of providing learners with instruction
when problems are new or different from the norm. Also, implicit bias in policing is still
advancing in law enforcement to forge positive diversity relations among minoritized groups. As
this concept progresses, it is important for officers to recognize the connection of implicit bias
and how it may influence decisions affecting underrepresented groups. Without the foundation
of understanding and interpreting the information of past situations and relationships between
police and citizens, the officers are vulnerable to continued poor relationships with
underrepresented groups, further resulting in more police stops, arrest, and deaths of minoritized
people. James, Fridell, and Straub (2016) explained that fear and misinterpretation of a situation
lead to shooting deaths of unarmed Black men. Furthermore, based on current guidelines or
criteria, police officers are, at times, unable to view the problems concerning bias in a suitable
manner (Plant & Peruche, 2005). Without providing information to police officer and citizens on
what the disproportionate traffic stops and arrest rates of Black and Hispanic people imply,
biases will continue to diminish research, evidence, and mindfulness. Research indicates a
disproportionate representation of minoritized groups who are ticketed and arrested by law
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 104
enforcement officers (Eith, & Durose, 2011; Gelman, Fagan, & Kiss, 2007; Walker, Spohn, &
DeLone, 2012) across the United States. The data suggest bias, prejudice, or discrimination,
although other indicators, through interviews from CPD (2016) reports, reveal impoverished
neighborhoods, along with gangs and gun violence. These additional factors influence the
recommendations.
This review will examine the knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences
Clark and Estes (2008) describe that enhance stakeholder goals.

Knowledge Influences of Officer Implicit Bias
The data from the police department suggest police officers have limited understanding in
conceptual knowledge of implicit bias and how the basic principles and ideas surrounding
implicit bias influence their interactions and behaviors. Conceptual knowledge is comprehension
of the principle concepts and theories; therefore, it takes place when smaller concepts unite and
individuals understand how all elements function together (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001). Gaps
in law enforcement officer’s conceptual knowledge may increase until they understand how
implicit bias influences officer interaction with minoritized individuals.
Understanding and defining the information early, pertaining to a skill, (such as implicit
bias) is essential for effective procedural knowledge (Clark et al., 2008). This recognition also
enables them to develop strategies to forge positive diversity relations among minoritized
groups. Although, when learning takes place, important real-world connection does not always
occur (Anderson and Krathwohl, 2001). This recognition enables trainers to develop novel
strategies to decrease the conceptual knowledge gap among officers.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 105
While it is advantageous for stakeholders to have conceptual knowledge to understanding
the purpose and principles of the goals, the process and steps to achieve the objective is
challenging. Rueda (2011) discussed procedural knowledge, stating the importance of
specifically knowing how to integrate explicit skill, methods, and techniques. The Capital Police
training facility utilizes the constructs of procedural knowledge, but not as it applies to
something as novel as implicit bias awareness. Law enforcement agencies require perishable
skills training every two years through the Commission of Peace Officer Standards and Training
(POST). Moreover, this form of training includes a multitude of perishable skills within a four-
hour period. The result is a training in which implicit bias and de-escalation training are reduced
to less than one hour. The department lacks procedural knowledge specific to implementing an
implicit bias and de-escalation protocol. The officers require detailed practice and repetition of
procedures during adverse encounters with minoritized groups. The creation of processes for
implicit bias training with effective clear steps for implementation is important for officer
clarity. Methods help to expand the efficacy of the police officers and improve community
relations between officers and affected citizens. Espinoza (2007) stated that procedural
knowledge considers the rules and criteria to improve outcomes and evaluates consistency of
action to the exclusion of individual biases.
Police officers need to know how to incorporate implicit bias training to improve
relationships with underrepresented groups. Although it is the police department’s intention to
resolve the concerns of their department, it is important to devise effective measures to insure
accountability. Fridell (2016) discussed Fair and Impartial Policing© which trains officers on
the impacts of implicit bias and provides useful information and specific skills to reduce and
manage bias. Moreover, clarity of understanding procedures better connects police officers to
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 106
the network of the organization. Employees who have knowledge of organizational procedures
are better informed, have shared consideration for an organization’s goals and needs, and can
better identify with the organization (Schappe, 1996).
While Rueda (2011) stated that people gain improved understanding and learn what to
do, the steps needed to accomplish their goal and reflect on behavior and beliefs involve
assessing distinct challenges in relation to the set goals of the organization. Furthermore,
metacognition is more attainable when individuals connect ideas to what they nominally know
about the issue prior to learning (Mayer, 2011) which improves knowledge transfer.

Motivation Influences of Officer Implicit Bias
The motivation influences discussed represent assumed motivation influences and their
probability of validation based on the most frequently mentioned motivation influences
according to interviews and supported by the literature, the National Police Research Platform
survey, and the review of motivation theory. Clark and Estes contend, that “motivation gets us
going, keeps us moving, and tells us how much effort to spend on task” (2008, p. 80). An
understanding of how individuals commit to the task and the values connected to the outcome
allows for increased motivation and better attaches the person to the goal (Anderman, 2016).
Police officers have a duty to understand the value of implicit bias awareness and de-
escalation strategies to improve officer responsiveness and communication with
underrepresented minorities. As Eccles (2009) pointed out, individuals are more easily engaged
in an endeavor when that endeavor provides value to them. Police officers better connect to an
objective, such as the value of understanding implicit bias, when they find personal meaning and
importance in a task or outcome.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 107
Utility Value. Utility value helps individuals to focus on the benefit of finishing a task
and allows parties to justify enduring something they do not like for the benefit of the end goal
(Clark & Estes, 2008). An individual’s values construct their rationale for putting forth the effort
to complete a task or for committing to certain objectives. In the case of police officers, it is
important to assess their internal beliefs and how those beliefs influence their goals. With that
understanding, Rueda (2011) described utility value as how useful individuals believe an
undertaking is for attaining a goal(s). Therefore, police officers may assign personal benefits to
identify intrinsic biases, and Salomone (1981) aargued that doing so deepens and strengthens
stakeholders' motivation, which increases personal rewards. Police officers, therefore, need to
see the personal value of developing strategic solutions to police implicit bias.
The Capital Police Department recognizes that trust issues among minoritized groups in
the community, but their perception of the problem and questions guide their
motivation. Understanding the importance of personal investment for their future, personal
safety, and success, as officers are integral to the vitality of the police department and
community, is significant to their motivation. With that said, Bensimon (2004) discussed the
importance of certain factors which contribute to personal motivation. When investigating
officer encounters with underrepresented citizens, impartiality and diversity awareness are
influencers to bear in mind. Bensimon stated that individuals must recognize the level of
inequities (2004). Therefore, better awareness supports understanding of what it means
personally and professionally for the officers.
Equally important, the officers need to see the value in achieving the recommended
objective. Individuals have minimal motivation without knowing they will get the anticipated
outcome (Bandura, 2000). As mentioned before, Pajares (2009) asserted that people choose
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 108
undertakings where they feel competent and confident while avoiding those that challenge their
ability and convictions. To accomplish the objective, each department can provide training
where respected captains and lieutenant’s model enthusiasm for implicit bias and conduct session
in a manner where officers can self- reflect and attach personal value to positive behavior.
Furthermore, the objective must fit into individual goals and expected outcomes need to align
with an individual’s personal goals (Eccles, 2006).
Goal Orientation. In goal orientation theory, expectations and outcomes need to connect
to an individual's personal goals (Eccles, 2006). As described in goal orientation, police officers
should want to do more to increase the effectiveness of their training with the underrepresented
population and go beyond traditional ways of interacting with underrepresented populations,
which limits inclusion and increases adverse behavior and discord between minoritized
community members and police officers. Moreover, the atmosphere in which a person gains
knowledge influences their goal orientation (Yough, & Anderman, 2006). The overarching
objective of improving relationships with minoritized groups are less likely to occur without
routinely investigating and understanding implicit bias influence on officer behavior. Police
officers’ awareness of the consequences regarding inadequate knowledge of implicit bias may
promote support for additional training. For example, news reports of a Black male shot twenty
times in his grandparent’s backyard by police officers (Del Real, 2018) is reflective of
inadequate training and fear, among many other factors that contributed to the shooting and death
of the unarmed male.
In addition, goal orientation is significant when adjusting one’s mindset to reach a group
goal (Bandura, 2011). Among other concerns is an inadequate exposure to various cultures and a
lack of diversity among officers and the police organization as a whole, both which influence
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 109
goal orientation. Although race is a consideration among the frontline officers, Bandura (1986)
stated that cultural beliefs develop from perceptions, and a person’s environment influences their
decisions. Therefore, community policing promotes cultural sensitivity and diversity awareness.
Allowing officers to personally connect to the people in the communities they serve. An
improved connection to the citizens reduces bias and promotes motivation for officers to reach
the new objective. The motivation literature discussed multiple contributing factors: goal content
and goal orientation. The two approaches can lead to attempting or avoiding the objective. In
the case of the police, their history and current status as police officers influences their
interpretation of the goal.
Additional research regarding goal orientation requires further assessment of a
comprehensive understanding of the police departments’ motivation related to accepting their
intrinsic biases and incorporating awareness training. Eccles (2006) mentioned how the
principal objective and expected results need to align with the person’s individual goals. It is
recommended that the department provides training that connects to officer's personal safety and
awareness to increase motivation to learn new behaviors, which improves interactions, decreases
conflict, and fosters a more peaceful community environment. This form of goal orientation
allows for proficiency. Police need to see the value in achieving the goal. Officers will continue
to have little motivation to change, as Bandura (2000) stated, people need to see the purpose and
believe they can get the desired effects.
Organization Influences of Officer Implicit Bias
These recommendations represent a list of organizational influences, and their probability
of validity is based on the most frequently mentioned organizational influences to achieving
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 110
officer goals during interviews. Additionally, these recommendations are supported by the
literature review, the review of the department, and culture theory.
Organizations may have the knowledge and motivating factors in place to make
improvements, but organizational influences that contribute to institutional deficiencies such as
policies, procedures, and organizational culture also contribute to organizational performance
gaps. One example of an organizational culture influence, the recognition of biases in the
workforce, is gaining traction throughout corporations and government agencies (Correll et al.,
2007). It is important to examine the cultural model and settings at the police department to
distinguish any factors that may contribute to recognizing biases. Likewise, organizational
influences have a high probability of being validated and have a high priority for achieving the
overarching goal.
Cultural Model. There is a general misconception within the organization, and by the
police on the issues of racism and bias toward certain groups. Organizations construct their own
distinctive convictions and attitudes for employees through a shared cultural model (Gallimore &
Goldenberg, 2001; Rueda, 2011). The recommendation is that the lead officers communicate to
others the importance of diversity and inclusion during weekly shift change in a short
information session. Using diverse, supportive groups fosters collective interaction, in addition
to using an individual's personal work to express progress (Yough & Anderman, 2006). For
example, a review by Gill, Weisburd, Telep, Vitter, and Bennett (2014) of law enforcement
agencies using Community Based Policing (CBP) to reduce crime indicated this form of policing
improved citizens’ satisfaction with police officers. The study also noted that trust and respect
improved, and CBP reduced perceptions and community disorder. Understanding and
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 111
incorporating a model appropriate to the organizational structure and culture increases awareness
and effectiveness.
There is a culture of limited communication between police and administration, hindering
the organizational goal of increasing law enforcement awareness of implicit biases toward
certain groups. Organizational performance increases when individuals communicate constantly
and candidly with others about plans and processes (Clark & Estes, 2008). This finding suggests
that more consistent communication during shift change will increase effective communication
strategies to engage police officers in the change process.
The framework of the police department’s misconceptions and biases may be invisible as
Clark and Estes (2008) described due to the unseen organizational culture that exists. Individual
departments and precincts have their own set of unwritten, rules, regulations, and behaviors.
While somewhat compartmentalized, CPD captains frequently meet with the chief of police and
deputy chiefs to discuss pressing issues regarding community safety, gang violence, and drug
enforcement. These meetings present the major stakeholders an opportunity to discuss and train
department captains and initiate a new culture within the organization. “All organizations are
systems that have their own culture” (Clark and Estes, p. 107, 2008); therefore, it is important to
understand the Capital Police Department’s culture and how decisions are reflective of the
leader’s culture, for change to occur.
Cultural Settings. There is a lack of structural organization awareness to support the
need for training among police officers. Job satisfaction increases when all organization
stakeholders agree on culture, mission, goals, and resources required to achieve goals (Clark &
Estes, 2008). Therefore, the literature recommends enlisting leaders’ support to evaluate policies
and procedures for bias. Although CPD officers receive perishable training through POST, the
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 112
training is not effective based on feedback from officer interviews. Therefore, additional
assistance to have leadership revise policies and procedures to support institutional implicit bias
awareness and training provides authentication to supporting change.
Also, a lack of leader models in the organization have developed and integrated bias
awareness and de-escalation training. Organizational performance increases when top
management is continually involved in the improvement process (Clark & Estes, 2008). The
current captain of one of the highest crime areas invested in training officer in Community Based
Policing. The training was an individual undertaking the captain recognized as a need to better
serve the community.
Leaders demonstrate the value of diversity and inclusion through modeling behavior to
cultivate a changing atmosphere. Change is achieved through training like that of implicit bias
awareness. Social psychology reveals that motivation and training-controlled behavior can
override automatic bias suggestions (Fridell, 2017). Leader modeling helps this type of
awareness be an asset to the police department.
Cultural settings exist when two or more individuals collaborate to accomplish something
they value (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). The Capital Police Department is inexperienced
regarding current objectives of improved implicit bias training. Without organizational buy-in,
the goal is unsupported and difficult to reach (Rueda, 2011). Cultural settings are delicate and
intricate. They evolve in everyday life in small encounters in families, society, and work lives
(Tharp and Gallimore, 1988). The CPD cultural setting is currently not conducive to creating an
environment of support. Rueda (2011) stated that there are complex systems and particular
factors regarding the organization that impede performance and influences how people interact
with one another.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 113
Therefore, the police department should consider that investigating implicit and
environmental bias may not be socially acceptable. Responsibility often has no immediate
benefit, mainly when leadership is unaware of changing influences or if there are deficiencies
regarding knowledge or needed training to identify and modify process or procedures (Jost et al.,
2009). Moreover, in addition to leadership's influence, there are multiple factors at play in the
cultural setting of organizations (Clark & Estes, 2008).
As the police department moves forward with their organizational goals, their recognition
that culture is not blatantly visible and that value systems are relative (Rueda, 2011) will better
prepare them for transition and change within the framework of the police department. The
clarity with which police personnel understand the basic premise of how procedure, process, and
resources work with an institution works toward closing the organizational gap.
Consequently, the social aspects of an organization establish culture which
subconsciously develops biases (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). An example of this would be
how organizations support diversity, but administration comprises of typically the same race, a
similar age group, and one gender. Bias is an internal issue transferred by individuals into work
culture, creating pervasive issues which are difficult to change. Therefore, processes and
procedures, along with cultural models and settings, need to align throughout the police
department to achieve the mission to enhance safety service and trust (Capital Police
Department, 2016).
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan
Police officer implicit bias awareness training, de-escalation protocol, and Community
Based Policing utilizes the New World Kirkpatrick Model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). As
such, facilitation of the training and subsequent behaviors is initiated with the end goal
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 114
considered (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Once the specific objectives for the plan are
established, the Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) four levels are applied to recognize important
indicators that connect solutions to the organization objectives. Furthermore, working
backwards allows for solution development to assess officer behavior. The process thusly
identifies specific markers that learning occurred during officer implementation of new behaviors
and procedures. Lastly, the Kirkpatrick Model helps police department facilitators determine if
officers are satisfied with the execution of the new training. Police officers are mandated to
complete 24 hours of training annually. The Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) evaluation
process connects the training to faster solutions, reaching the organization's overarching goal,
and effecting positive support to guarantee favorable outcomes.
Organizational Purpose Need and Expectations
The Capital Police Department's mission is to serve the community with honesty,
courtesy, and respect (Capital Police Department, 2016). In conjunction with the mission, it is
the goal of the police department to lower disproportionate police stops and arrests of Black and
Hispanic men. There is a stigma among local and national law enforcement agencies which
highlights altercations between officers and underrepresented groups. Therefore, implicit bias
awareness and de-escalation training will improve relations between the police department and
the community they serve. The recommended solution entails simulation training along with job
aids and weekly communications with shift supervisors through modeling and motivation.
Additionally, incentives and drawbacks such as “comp-time” for completing annual training and
loss of priority during shift selection if training is incomplete should aid in the desired
outcomes. CPD quarterly reports will provide data on the number of traffic stops and arrests.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 115
Results and Leading Indicators
Table 4 shows the proposed Level 4: Results and “Leading Indicators” in the form of
outcomes, metrics, and methods for both external and internal outcomes for Capital Police
Department implicit bias awareness and de-escalation training. If the internal outcomes are met,
as expected, as a result of the training and organizational support for the frontline officer, then
the external outcomes should also be realized.
Table 7
Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes
Outcome Metric(s) Method(s)
External Outcomes
1. Decrease the number of
Black and Hispanic traffic
tickets.

The most recent report of
Black and Hispanic traffic
tickets
Solicit data from traffic stop
quarterly demographic report.
2. Decrease the number of
Black and Hispanic arrests.
The most recent report of
Black and Hispanic arrest
Solicit annual demographic
arrest report from the
Department of Justice
3. Improved relationships
with minoritized community
members.
3a. The number of written
complaints made by
citizens and local
politicians.
3a. Quarterly check in with city
council representatives

3b. The frequency CPD is
mentioned in the press
regarding minoritized
individuals

3b. Track frequency Capital
Police Department is mentioned
in the press.
Internal Outcomes
4. Increase bias awareness
and community policing.
The decrease in the number
of community complains.
Aggregate data (Level 3.1) from
shift captains and reviewers
(self-report and supervisor
confirmation collected via
survey)
5. Increased officer
motivation,
confidence/satisfaction
5a. Police officer results on
key questions.
5a. Compare biannual survey
results.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 116

5b. Positive/negative from
shift captains
6b. Set aside regular times for
1:1 conversations between shift
captains and patrol officers.

Behavior
Critical behaviors. The stakeholders of focus are the patrol officers who serve the
community as a part of their daily duties. The first critical behavior is that patrol officers must
correctly assess their personal bias when encountering individuals during a traffic stop. The
second critical behavior is that officers must recognize if they are providing similar or different
treatment to the person based on bias awareness training. The third critical behavior is that they
must render service using the new skills and approach the situation using evidence-based
correctional practices and reduce the risk factors (Sedelmaier & Hipple, 2016) among
minoritized groups. The specific metrics, methods, and timing of each of these outcome
behaviors appear in Table 8.
Table 8
Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for New Reviewers
Critical Behavior Metric(s)
Method(s)
Timing
1.The first critical behavior
is that patrol officers must
correctly assess their
personal bias when
encountering individuals
during a traffic stop
The number of
tickets issued
based on
community
demographics
1a. The precinct captains
shall track the number of
tickets issue within their
department using the
quarterly report.
1a. During first
quarter and
thereafter
review the
quarterly
reports.

1b. Department captains
shall assign a lead shift
officers to do a monthly
review of officer progress
using new practices.
1b. Captain
report findings
every 60 days.
2. Recognize if they are
providing similar or
different treatment to the
The number of
major corrections
2a. Precinct captains shall
track behavior through
quarterly 1:1
2a. During
first quarter
and thereafter
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 117
person based on bias
awareness training.
made by shift
captains
communication with first
line officers and provide
feedback based on
quarterly reports.
review the
quarterly
reports.

2b. Department captains
shall assign a lead shift
officers to do a monthly
review of officer progress
using new practices.
2b. Captain
report findings
every 60
days.
3. Render service using the
new skills and approaches
developed using evidence-
based correctional practices
that reduce the risk factors
among minoritized groups
and between officers and
the group.
The number of
corrections made
by the shift
captain.

3a. Precinct captains shall
track behavior through
quarterly 1:1
communication with first
line officers and provide
feedback based on
quarterly report.

3a. During first
quarter and
thereafter
review the
quarterly
reports.

3b. Department captains
shall assign a lead shift
officers to do a monthly
review of officer progress
using new practices.
3b. Captain
report findings
every 60 days.

Required drivers. Officers require the support of their precinct, shift captains, and the
police department to reinforce what they learn in training and to motivate them to apply what
they garner from implicit bias awareness and Community Based Policing. This support allows
officers to achieve correct and consistent behavior. Incentives should be instituted for the
achievement of the performance objectives to enhance police department support of duty
officers.
Table 9
Required Drivers to Support New Reviewers’ Critical Behaviors
Method(s) Timing
Critical Behaviors
Supported
1, 2, 3 Etc.
Reinforcing

POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 118
Job Aid including material related to bias
awareness, de-escalation and community-
based policing
Ongoing 1, 2, 3
Job Aid including checklist for Frontline
officer performance.
Ongoing 1, 2, 3
Communication during shift change to
establish goals and time frames.
Weekly 1, 2, 3
Precinct captain’s meetings to troubleshoot
collaboratively and for additional training.
Every other month

1, 2, 3
Encouraging

Collaboration and leader modeling during shift
change.
Monthly 1, 2, 3
Feedback and coaching from Team Lead. Ongoing 1, 2, 3
Rewarding

Performance incentive when traffic stop data
shows improvements of disproportionate
police stops by demographics.
Quarterly, or
project-based
1, 2, 3
Public acknowledgement, such as a mention at
city council and local news paper
Quarterly 1, 2, 3
Monitoring

Supervisor can create opportunities at shift
change to share success stories
Quarterly 1, 2, 3
Captains can ask patrol officers to self-report
their confidence and self-efficacy in job-
related tasks
Two months after
training
1, 2, 3
Police Lead can assess the performance of the
patrol officers. Frequent, quick checks can
help the organization monitor progress and
make adjustments if results do not match
expectations at that time
Every 60 days 1, 2, 3

Organizational support. The Capital Police Department will provide the implicit bias
awareness and simulation training through the training department annually. This will lay the
foundation for continued training during shift change throughout the departments. The
organization will offer training to all captains annually on how to provide job aids, recognize key
stakeholders for modeling, and implement specific assessment models to monitor and achieve
the objective of lowering the disproportionate police traffic stops and arrests of minoritized
individuals. Much of the training will take place at the precincts during shift change. The
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 119
captains will utilize effective communication strategies to engage police officers in the change
process. The critical behaviors will be assessed through observations, directed interviews, and
feedback.
Learning Goals
Following completion of the recommended solutions, the police officers will have
awareness of implicit bias and the frontline officers will be able to:
1. recognize implicit bias and personal behaviors reflective of bias,
2. differentiate between personal bias and police behavior toward all individuals,
3. carry out implicit bias training procedures checklist when conducting traffic stops,
4. recognize if officers are providing similar or different treatment to a person based on bias
awareness training,
5. correctly demonstrate new skills and approaches developed using evidence-based
correctional practices,
6. create an appropriate timeline for assessing new bias interventions,
7. plan and monitor their work to follow community policing guidelines,
8. demonstrate confidence that they can accurately assess alternative actions,
9. apply alternative actions by the end of the quarter, and
10. value the purpose and benefits to citizens and officer safety.
Program. The learning objectives listed in the previous section will be achieved through
the Capital Police Department training and development office, which will use the framework
demonstrated through Fair and Impartial Policing© (FIP) using a science-based approach to
uncover biases while recognizing that the best-intentioned officers have biases that manifest
unconsciously (2016). Initial training of police commanders and captains will take place over 2
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 120
days, covering 16 hours at the CPD training facility. Their lessons will cover understanding what
implicit bias is and how it influences all humans in everyday decisions. Additionally, they will
learn how unbiased policing advances quality policing. The training provides the necessary tools
to recognize bias behavior and practice controlled behavioral responses (Fridell, 2017). The
specific stakeholders require additional hours to practice implementation in preparation of
continued training and monitoring of the officers located in the four precincts.
Furthermore, the frontline police officers will undergo a two-hour workshop at the CPD
training facility which includes a blended e-learning module and simulation that focuses on
implicit bias awareness, de-escalation procedures, and Community Based Policing. CBP teaches
strategies that promote and support problem solving and community support to address
community conditions in response to police, crime, and public safety (Community Oriented
Policing Service, 2014). Officers will undergo the training in succession. Firstly, the implicit
bias training will take place following an e-learning module of de-escalation and Community
Based Policing. The estimate time-frame of the last two modules is two-hours depending on the
time officers need to complete the modules successfully.
During the training, job aids will be provided as reference tools to reflect on when
officers return to their precincts. The job aids will be useful during shift change as captains do
weekly debriefings of the key terms and significant behaviors to practice. Trained police
captains will model positive actions regarding bias and community policing by promoting
positive and encouraging communication. Shift captains will encourage feedback of officer
experience in the field when they used the tools learned from the training along with weekly job
aids. Discussing the positive practices reinforces knowledge and supports correct performance.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 121
Components of learning. Understanding implicit bias as police officers requires
demonstrating declarative knowledge of the subject matter as a precursor to apply the knowledge
to better assess personal bias as a police officer. It is essential to evaluate what officers know
and how to effectively implement their new-found knowledge. Additionally, it is important for
officers to value the training as a condition to correctly use the information while on duty. Along
with valuing the information, police officers need to believe they can successfully apply the
knowledge and skills. Their confidence in applying the knowledge influences their commitment
to applying them while on duty. As such, Table 10 lists the evaluation methods and timing for
these components of learning.
Table 10
Components of Learning for Protocol
Method(s) or Activity(ies) Timing
Declarative Knowledge

Knowledge checks using multiple choice and fill in
the blank questions.
After two-hour implicit bias training.

Knowledge checks using open ended questions and
survey.
Periodically during the in-person
workshop and documented via
observation notes.
Knowledge checks using multiple choice and fill in
the blank questions.
In the asynchronous portions of the
course during and after video
demonstrations.
Procedural Skills

During the asynchronous portions of the course
using scenarios with multiple-choice items.
In the asynchronous portions of the
course at the end of each
module/lesson/unit
Demonstration in groups and separately of using the
job aids to successfully perform the skills.
During the workshop
Quality of the feedback from peers during group
sharing
During the workshops
Retrospective pre- and post-test assessment survey
asking participants about their level of proficiency
before and after the training. .
At the end of the workshop and at the
end of the simulation.
Attitude

POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 122
Instructor’s observation of participants’ statements
and actions demonstrating that they see the benefit
of what they are being asked to do on the job.
During the workshop
Discussions of the value of what they are being
asked to do on the job.
During the workshop
Retrospective pre- and post-test assessment item. After the course.
Confidence

Survey items using scaled items Following the two-hour training, the
asynchronous training and simulation.
Discussions following practice and feedback.

During the workshop.
Retrospective pre- and post-test assessment item. After the training and asynchronous
Commitment

Discussions following practice and feedback. During the workshop.
Create an individual action plan.

During the workshop and completed
with division captains.
Retrospective pre- and post-test assessment item. After the course.

Reaction
Understanding the reactions of the police officer’s aids in assessing their commitment to
the information and is pertinent to evaluating if the officers are satisfied with the training.
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) stated that the reaction of stakeholders is relevant, and it is an
area that requires the least amount of time and cost. However, it is necessary to measure the
quality and appropriateness of the program among the stakeholders. The reactions of police
officers measure their engagement, satisfaction, and their perceived importance of the
information during the training, a month after the training, and periodically for ongoing
effectiveness. Table 11 below lists the methods, tools, and timing used to measure how the
participants react to training and e-learning activities.
Table 11
Components to Measure Reactions to the Protocol.
Method(s) or Tool(s) Timing
Engagement

POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 123
Data analytics asynchronous e-learning and simulation training Ongoing during
asynchronous portion of
the course.
Completion of e-learning portion of the course Ongoing during
asynchronous portion of
the course.
Observation by lead officer During patrol, bi-annually
Attendance During the workshop
Course evaluation One month after the course
Relevance

Brief pulse-check with participants during training the instructor
will ask questions to make sure officers are applying the
information to real world experiences.
In between the lessons
during the workshop.
Brief pulse-check with participants via survey (online) During the e-learning
module
Satisfaction

Brief pulse-check with participants during training the instructor
will ask questions to make sure officers are engaged and
enjoying the process.
An hour into the training

Course evaluation One month after the
course.

Evaluation Tools
Immediately following the program implementation. Asynchronous training includes
live, face-to-face training along with e-learning and simulations. During the in-person training
session, a facilitator will collect data regarding the officer's experience specific to the start,
duration, and completion of the allotted section on implicit bias. Also, in the e-learning portion
of the training, the learning analytics tool in the learning management system (LMS) will collect
similar data at the completion of the modules by the officers. These data will indicate officer
engagement with the course material. The LMS will also administer brief surveys after each
module requesting that the participant indicate the relevance of the material to their job
performance as patrol officers and their overall satisfaction with the content and delivery of the
coursework.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 124
Thus, during the in-person workshop, the instructor will conduct periodic brief pulse-
checks by asking the officers about the relevance of the content to their duties and the
organization, delivery, and learning environment. Officer knowledge will include checks for
understanding using open ended questions and small group discussions based on their real-world
experience as officers along with responses to simulations that apply to the material.
Evaluation Instrument. Examples of Level 1, 2, 3, and 4 are provided in the Appendix.
The survey illustrates Level 1, employed to understand an officer’s response to their engagement,
relevance of the workshop information, and Level 2, used to understand officer knowledge and
attitudes. Additionally, Level 3 questions consider the officer's behavior in response to the new-
found knowledge, and Level 4 investigates how training influence connects to their duties as
officers and desired results.
Also, there will be a brief period of time for program implementation. Approximately
one month after the implementation of the training, and then again quarterly, department captains
will administer a survey containing open and scaled items using the Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick
(2016) blended evaluation approach to measure, from the officer's perspective, satisfaction in and
relevance of the training (Level 1), confidence and the value of applying their training (Level 2),
application of the training to the precinct captains and the officer's daily reports from traffic stop
demographics (Level 3). Lastly, the quarterly reports will provide details of officer performance
of the implicit bias awareness training and to evaluate the effectiveness of the community
policing efforts (Level 4). The evaluation instrument in Appendix A reflects Levels 1, 2, 3, and
4.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 125
Data Analysis and Reporting
Levels 3 and 4 goals are connected to shift captains’ desires to measure the response and
behavior of frontline officers when engaged with citizens during traffic stops. Officers are
required to enter demographic data for all individuals who are arrested, along with those who
receive citations and warnings during traffic stops. Additional questions will be added to the
report to measure the targeted outcomes. The police department’s Division of Records and
Reports will track and process the data. Each month precinct captains will have access to the
information online through the Records and Reports division website. Captains will be able to
review the demographic data and the answers to the targeted questions. The dashboard will
report the findings generated monthly by each precinct and the response rate of the behavior
patterns of the officers for levels 3 and 4; similar dashboards will be created to monitor levels 1
and 2. To aid in continuity, the figure below of sample CPD Monthly Data bar graph was
designed to be similar to the ones used for Capitol Police Department Quarterly Reports.

POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 126

Figure 2. Sample illustrating Capitol City Police Department Monthly Report of the population
by race, traffic stops, and the change in response bias of officers based on the data officers
entered after each traffic stop.
Summary
The New World Kirkpatrick Model supports the implementation and evaluation of the
strategic goal to begin with the end in mind. Implicit bias awareness, de-escalation training, and
community policing calls for a comprehensive approach beyond what Kirkpatrick and
Kirkpatrick (2016) described as a Level 1, where participants find the training engaging and
favorable. Variables beyond police officer control include police department behaviors for the
implementation to meet the intended expectations. Often, the CPD police shortage and increased
crime due to murders affect police ability to stay on track with evaluations and accountability.
Therefore, these recommendations have the potential for success if a designated staff member
monitors the protocol. If there is not an individual in a ranking position committed to supporting
Asian Black Hispanic White Other
Population 12.3% 7.7% 46.9% 30.0% 3.1%
Traffic Stops 5.4% 15.4% 48.7% 23.6% 6.9%
Reflection in Response Bias 0.0% 5.0% 3.0% 2.0% 1.0%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
CAPITOL CITY MONTHY REPORT
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 127
the changes and recommended solutions, the training and protocol will inevitably become
ineffective.
To that end, training has the potential to meet expectations if the practice is done
considering the leading indicators and desired outcomes (Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick, 2016).
The Capital Police Department’s culture is a major influencer on whether or not the department
will reach the intended goal. As discussed earlier, the best training and evaluation process is
continuous, and performance is evaluated based on officer response to interactions with citizens.
Data officers provide through their daily input allows for appropriate changes to be made in a
timely manner. Although, the department may put assessments in place, without analysis,
interpretation, and dependable feedback improvement based on assessment will not meet the
proposed purpose of the training. Therefore, for the training to be useful, it requires the police
captain's and department lieutenant’s commitment to communicating the training’s purpose
during briefings and individual assessments to reinforce the critical value of recognizing implicit
bias and working towards a more just and equitable law enforcement tradition.
Future Research
The study primarily investigated the influence of implicit bias of police offers when
interacting with minoritized groups. Based on the findings and relevant research in the study,
there are several recommendations for further research. Thusly, one of the limitations discussed
as the sole interviewer, was my race and gender as an African-American female. Moving forward
providing a diverse group of researchers more reflective of the demographics of the law
enforcement officers may facilitate openness. Krueger and Casey (2009) discussed the
importance of considering factors that influence participants level of comfort when disclosing
information essential to the interviews.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 128
Moreover, a larger sample size of law enforcement officers could offer a richer
examination of the police officers insight in comparison to the data from the Capitol Police
Department quarterly reports. Furthermore, additional surveys and interviews from of the White
and diverse community members may provide comparative data between law enforcement
officers and the community members they serve. This may also offer details of citizens views
regarding law enforcement and the medias influence on their personal opinions and interactions
with CPD officers.
Lastly, the research lends itself to more discussion of other aspects that contribute to
minoritized groups views, attitudes and behaviors involving police. Further research on topics
associated with minoritized populace interpretation and ideas can be connected to such issues as
privilege, colorblindness, Critical Race Theory, Post Traumatic Slave Disorder, and Black
hopelessness. Clarity regarding these topics and their influence may produce insight into the
trends which divide the groups and allow further discussion improved interaction and bias
reduction.
Conclusion
The Capitol Police Department is working toward separating itself from the local and
national stigma of the negative law enforcement agencies relationships and minoritized groups.
The law enforcement officers are the central stakeholders although minoritized community
members where central to understanding officer behavior during specific encounters. It is
important to continue to examine how implicit biases negatively influence interactions between
marginalized groups and law enforcement agents. While knowledge, motivational, and
organizational gaps contribute to police officer implicit bias, they are not independent of one
another. As discussed previously, all humans have inherent biases, and they are active in human
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 129
behavior as they connect and communicate within their environments. Therefore, the implicit
bias of a police officer is not in isolation unto itself. It continues to form and develop with every
encounter. Knowledge and organizational culture shape officer awareness of implicit bias by
providing an environment for knowledge transfer and a culture to support or oppose the
objective. There is a correlation between the professional behavior of police officers and their
interactions and arrest rates of each racial group. The data revealed an imbalanced proportion of
arrests per the respective populations and interviews of the law enforcement officers provided a
story behind the data. Racism and officer decision making continue to be contentious issues
constructed on media opinion and divisiveness. While there is cause for concern regarding law
enforcement, and the death of black men, inaccurate evidence breeds distrust and separation.
Promoting diversity and bias reduction closes the gap. Therefore continued community policing
and recommended protocols and evaluations discussed to mitigate implicit bias and deescalate
encounters could increase trust among both groups. To that end, this is a multifaceted problem
that calls for comprehensive solutions among a diverse group of stakeholders willing to have
difficult conversation and implement innovative solutions.

POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 130
Reference
American Values Institute. (2016). Black Male Re-Imagined II. Transforming perceptions of
black men and boys: executive summary. Retrieved from. https://equity.ucla.edu/wp-
content/uploads/2016/11/Transforming-Perceptions.pdf
Anderman, E. (2016). Goal Orientation Theory.
Anderman, E., & Anderman, L. (2006). Attributions. Retrieved from http://www.education.com
/reference/article/attribution-theory/.
Baker, L. (2006). Metacognition. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference
/article/metacognition/.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W.H. Freeman.
Bandura, A. (2000). Exercise of human agency through collective efficacy. Current Directions in
Psychological Science, 9(3), 75–78.
Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review of
Psychology, 52, 1-26.
Baron, A., & Banaji, M. (2006). The development of implicit attitudes: Evidence of race
evaluations from ages 6 and 10 and adulthood. Psychological Science, 17, 53-58.
Baur, D., & Schmitz, H. P. (2012). Corporations and NGOs: When accountability leads to co-
optation. Journal of Business Ethics, 106(1), 9-21.
Bell, J., Schargel, F. P., & Thacker, T. (2013). Creating school cultures that embrace learning:
What successful leaders do. Routledge.
Bensimon, E. M. (2004). The diversity scorecard: A learning approach to institutional
change. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 36(1), 44-52. doi:10.1080/00
091380409605083
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 131
Bogdan, R. C., & Biklen, S. K. (2007). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to
theories and methods (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Brown, B., & Benedict, W. R. (2002). Perceptions of the police: past findings, methodological
issues, conceptual issues and policy implications. Policing: An International Journal of
Police Strategies and Management, 25(3), 543-580.
Brownstein, Michael. (Spring 2016). "Implicit Bias", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Retrieved from. http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2016/entries/implicit-bias/
Bureau of Justice Statistics (2003). Prevalence of Imprisonment in the U.S. Population, 1974–
2001. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
Bureau of Justice Statistics (2001). Arrest Related Deaths 2003-2009, Table 3. Washington, DC:
U.S. Department of Justice.
California Department of Justice. (October 6, 2016). Attorney General Kamala D. Harris
Expands Implicit Bias and Procedural Justice Training to the California Highway Patrol.
Retrieved from. https://oag.ca.gov/new-press-categories/law-enforcement
Capital Police Department 2015 Annual Report. (2015). Retrieved from. https://www.fresno.gov
/police/records-reports/
Capital Police Department. (2016). Retrieved from. http://www.fresno.gov/Government/
DepartmentDirectory/Police/AboutFresnoPD/CrimeReportsandStatistics/TrafficStopsDe
mographicData.htm
Casey, P. M., Warren, R. K., & Elek, J. K. (2012). Helping courts address implicit bias:
Resources for education. National Center for State Courts.
Clark, R., & Estes, F. (2008). Turning research into results. Information Age Publishing.

POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 132
Community Oriented Policing Service, USDOJ. (2014). Community policing defined. Retrieved
from. https://ric-zai-inc.com/Publications/cops-p157-pub.pdf
Corey, Gerald. (2015). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. Canada:
Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning, 2013, pages 217-231.
Correll, J., Park, B., Judd, C., & Wittenbrink, B. (2002). The police officer’s dilemma: Using
ethnicity to disambiguate potentially threatening individuals. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 83, 1314–1329.
Correll, J., Park, B., Judd, C., Wittenbrink, B., Sadler, M. S., & Keesee, T. (2007). Across the
thin blue line: Police officers and racial bias in the decision to shoot. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 1006–1023.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods
approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Dasgupta, N., DeSteno, D., Williams, L., & Hunsinger, M. (2009). Fanning the flames of
prejudice: The influence of specific incidental emotions on implicit prejudice. Emotion,
9, 585-591.
D’Andrade, R. (1995). The development of cognitive anthropology. Cambridge, England:
Cambridge University Press.
Dejean, J. S. (2015). Synching the law to resolve the disconnection between awareness and
action in legally mandated diversity hiring practices in higher education institutions.
Journal of Research Administration, 46(2), 34.
Delgado, R., & Stefancic, J. (2017). Critical race theory: An introduction. NYU Press.
Del Real, J. (2018, March 28). 20 Shots in Sacramento: Stephon Clark Killing Reignites a Furor,
Retrieved from. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/28/us/sacramento-stephon-clark.html
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 133

Devine, P. (1989). Stereotypes and prejudice: Their automatic and controlled components.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 680-690.
Devine, P. G., Forscher, P. S., Austin, A. J., & Cox, W. T. (2012). Long-term reduction in implicit
race bias: A prejudice habit-breaking intervention. Journal of experimental social
psychology, 48(6), 1267-1278.
Doran, G. T. (1981). There’s a SMART way to write management’s goals and objectives.
Management review, 70(11), 35-36.
Dorobek, J. (1963). Los Angeles Police Department. Retrieved from.
http://www.lapdonline.org/history_of_the_lapd/content_basic_view/1128
Dovidio, J. F., Gaertner, S. E., Kawakami, K., & Hodson, G. (2002). Why can't we just get
along? Interpersonal biases and interracial distrust. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic
Minority Psychology, 8(2), 88.
Eberhardt, J. L., Goff, P. A., Purdie, V. J., & Davies, P. G. (2004). Seeing black: Race,
representation, and visual perception. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87,
876–893.
Eccles, J. (2006). Expectancy value motivational theory. Retrieved from http://www.education.
com/reference/article/expectancy-value-motivational-theory/.
Fink, A. (2013). How to conduct surveys: A step-by-step guide (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:
SAGE Publications.
Force, P. A. T. (2016). Recommendations for Reform: Restoring Trust between the Chicago
Police and the Communities They Serve. Chicago, IL: Police Accountability Task Force.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 134
https://chicagopatf. org/wpcontent/uploads/2016/04/P ATF_Final_Report_4_13_16-1.
pdf.
Eith, C., & Durose, M. R. (2011). Contacts between Police and the Public, 2008.Washington,
DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice.
Freud, S. (1915). The unconscious. Standard edition, 14(1957), 159-215.
Espinoza, O. (2007). Solving the equity-equality conceptual dilemma: A new model for analysis
of the educational process. Educational Research, 49(4), 343-363. doi:10.1080/0013
1880701717198
Fridell, L. (2017). Fair and impartial policing. Retrieved from. http://www.fairimpartial
policing.com/
Fridell, L. (2016). Can better training solve cops’ implicit biases? Point Five: The Democracy
Journal.
Fridell, L. A. (2017). The Science of Implicit Bias and Implications for Policing. In Producing
Bias-Free Policing (pp. 7-30). Springer International Publishing.
Gaertner, S. L., & Dovidio, J. F. (1986). The aversive form of racism. Academic Press.
Gallimore, R., & Goldenberg, C. (2001). Analyzing cultural models and settings to connect
minority achievement and school improvement research. Educational
Psychologist, 36(1), 45-56.
Gelman, A., Fagan, J., & Kiss, A. (2007). An analysis of the New York City police department's
“stop-and-frisk” policy in the context of claims of racial bias. Journal of the American
Statistical Association, 102(479), 813-823.
Gill, C., Weisburd, D., Telep, C. W., Vitter, Z., & Bennett, T. (2014). Community-oriented
policing to reduce crime, disorder and fear and increase satisfaction and legitimacy
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 135
among citizens: a systematic review. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 10(4), 399-
428.
Glaser, J. (2014). Suspect race: Causes and consequences of racial profiling. Oxford University
Press, USA.
Glesne, C. (2011). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction (4th ed.). Boston, MA:
Pearson.
Green, A. R., Carney, D. R., Pallin, D. J., Ngo, L. H., Raymond, K. L., Iezzoni, L. I., & Banaji,
M. R. (2007). Implicit bias among physicians and its prediction of thrombolysis decisions
for black and white patients. Journal of general internal medicine, 22(9), 1231-1238.
Greenwald, A. G., Poehlman, T. A., Uhlmann, E. L., & Banaji, M. R. (2009). Understanding and
using the Implicit Association Test: III. Meta-analysis of predictive validity. Journal of
personality and social psychology, 97(1), 17.
Gregory, B. T., Harris, S. G., Armenakis, A. A., & Shook, C. L. (2009). Organizational culture
and effectiveness: A study of values, attitudes, and organizational outcomes. Journal of
Business Research, 62(7), 673-679.
Harper, S., Patton, L., & Wooden, O. (2009). Access and equity for African American students in
higher education: A critical race historical analysis of policy efforts. The Journal of
Higher Education, 80(4), 389–414.
Holladay, J. R. (2000). White anti-racist activism: A personal roadmap. Roselle, NJ: Crandall,
Dostie & Douglas Books.
Holland, D., & Quinn, N. (Eds.). (1987). Cultural models in language and thought. Cambridge,
England: Cambridge University Press.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 136
Hubley, A. M., & Zumbo, B. D. (1996). A dialectic on validity: Where we have been and where
we are going. The Journal of General Psychology, 123(3), 207-215.
Isreal, M., & Hay, I. (2006). Research ethics for social scientists: Between ethical conduct and
regulatory compliance.
Jackson, J. F., & O’Callaghan, E. M. (2009). Ethnic and racial administrative diversity. ASHE
Higher Education Report, 35(3), 1-95.
James, L., Florida, S., & Straub Jr, F. (2016). Psychosocial Factors Impacting Officers’ Decisions
to Use Deadly Force. The Police Chief, 44-51.
James, L., Fridell, L., & Straub, F. (2016). Psychosocial Factors Impacting Officers’ Decisions to
Use Deadly Force. The Police Chief, 44-51.
Jost, J. T., Rudman, L. A., Blair, I. V ., Carney, D. R., Dasgupta, N., Glaser, J., & Hardin, C. D.
(2009). The existence of implicit bias is beyond reasonable doubt: A refutation of
ideological and methodological objections and executive summary of ten studies that no
manager should ignore. Research in organizational behavior, 29, 39-69.
King, M. L. (1963). Strength to love (V ol. 27). New York: Harper & Row.
King, M. L. (1963). I Have a Dream—Speech by the Rev. Martin Luther King at the ‘March on
Washington,'.
Kirwan Institute. (2016). Retrieved from. http://kirwaninstitute.osu.edu/research/understanding-
implicit-bias/
Krathwohl, D. R. (2002). A revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy: An overview.Theory Into Practice,
41(4), 212–218.
Krueger, R. A., & Casey, M. A. (2009). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied
research (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 137
Larrivee, B. (2008). Development of a tool to assess teachers’ level of reflective
practice. Reflective Practice: International and Multidisciplinary Perspectives, 9(3), 341–
360.
Leininger, M. and M. R. McFarland (2005) Transcultural nursing perspectives: Basic concepts,
principles, and culture care incidents. (2
nd
ed., pp 57-92). New York: McGraw Hill.
Livingston, D. A., Skolnick, J. H., & Fyfe, J. J. (1994). Brutality in Blue: Community, Authority,
and the Elusive Promise of Police Reform.
Mandelbaum, E. (2016). Attitude, inference, association: On the propositional structure of
implicit bias.
Mastrofski, S. D., Parks, R. B., Reiss Jr, A. J., Worden, R. E., DeJong, C., Snipes, J. B., & Terrill,
W. (1998). Systematic Observation of Public Police: Applying Field Research Methods to
Policy Issues. Series: Research Report. NCJ.
Maxwell, J. A. (2013). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (3rd ed.). Thousand
Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2016). Qualitative research: A guide to design and
implementation (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook.
Sage.
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods
sourcebook (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications
Morin, R., Parker, K., Stepler, R., & Mercer, A. (2017). Behind the badge. Pew Research, 11.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 138
Morin, R., Stepler, R. (2016). The racial confidence gap in police performance. Retrieved from.
http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2016/09/29/the-racial-confidence-gap-in-police-
performance/
Murphy, K. & Cherney, A. (2011). Understanding the contingency of procedural justice outcomes.
Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 5(3), 228-235.
Nosek, B. (2007). Implicit-explicit relations. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16,
65-69.
Oliveira, A., & Murphy, K. (2015). Race, social identity, and perceptions of police bias. Race
and Justice, 5(3), 259-277.
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:
SAGE Publications.
Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (4rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:
SAGE Publications.
Payne, B. K. (2001). Prejudice and perception: The role of automatic and controlling processes
in misperceiving a weapon. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 181–192.
Payne, B. K., & Gawronski, B. (2010). A history of implicit social cognition: Where is it coming
from? Where is it now? Where is it going. Handbook of implicit social cognition:
Measurement, theory, and applications, 1-15.
National Police Research Platform (2016). Retrieved from.
http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2017/01/11/behind-the-badge/
Pipher, M. (2005). Reviving ophelia. Penguin.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 139
Pintrich, P. R. (2003). A motivational science perspective on the role of student motivation in
learning and teaching contexts. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(4), 667-686.
doi:10.1037/0022-0663.95.4.667
Plant, E.A., & Peruche, B. M. (2005). The consequences of race for police officers’ responses to
criminal suspects. Psychological Science, 16, 180–183. Price-Waterhouse v. Hopkins,
109 S. Ct. 1775. (1989).
Podsakoff, P. M, MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y ., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method
biases in behavioural research: A critical review of the literature and recommended
remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879-903.
President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. (2015). Final Report of the President’s Task
Force on 21st Century Policing. Washington, DC: Office of Community Oriented
Policing Services. Retrieve from. https://cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/taskforce/taskforce_final
report.pdf
Project Implicit. (2011). Retrieved from. https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/aboutus.html
Robson, C. (2011). Real World Research: A resource for Users of Social Research Methods in
applied settings 3rd Edition.
Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2012). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data (3rd ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Rueda, R. (2011). The 3 dimensions of improving student performance. New York: Teachers
College Press.
Sadler, M. S., Correll, J., Park, B., & Judd, C. M. (2012). The world is not Black and White:
Racial bias in the decision to shoot in a multiethnic context. Journal of Social
Issues, 68(2), 286-313.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 140
Salkind, N. J. Statistics for people who (think they) hate statistics (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:
SAGE Publications.
Salomone, J. (1981) Equity from the sociologist’s perspective. Research and Development Series
No. 214L). Columbus, OH, Ohio State University, National Center for Research in
Vocational Education).
Sarros, J. C., Cooper, B. K., & Santora, J. C. (2008). Building a climate for innovation through
transformational leadership and organizational culture. Journal of Leadership &
Organizational Studies, 15(2), 145-158
Schappe, S. P. (1996). Bridging the gap between procedural knowledge and positive employee
attitudes: Procedural justice as keystone. Group & Organization Management,21(3), 337-
364. doi:10.1177/1059601196213005
Shore, B. (1996). Culture in mind: Cognition, culture, and the problem of meaning. Oxford,
England: Oxford University Press.
Schensul, S. L., Schensul, J. J., & LeCompte, M. D. (2013). Initiating ethnographic research: A
mixed methods approach (V ol. 2). Rowman & Littlefield.
Schwarz, N., & Clore, G. (1983). Mood, misattribution, and judgments of well-being:
Informative and directive functions of affective states. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 45, 513-523.
Sedelmaier, C. M., & Hipple, N. K. (2016). New Haven, Connecticut Smart Policing Initiative:
Employing Evidence-Based Policing Strategies to Engage the Community and Reduce
Crime. Smart Policing Initiative, Bureau of Justice Assistance.
Sheppard, B. (2016). Letter from the US: Why I reject a lesser evil. Green Left Weekly, (1106),
19.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 141
Shute, V . J. (2008). Focus on formative feedback. Review of Educational Research, 78(1), 153–
189.
Sieber, J. E. (1998). Planning ethically responsible research. Handbook of Applied Social
Research Methods. DJRL Bickman.
Smedley, B., Smith, A., & Nelson, A., (Eds.) (2002). Unequal treatment: Confronting racial and
ethnic disparities in health care. Washington DC: National Academic Press.
Srivastava R. H. (2007). The Healthcare Professional’s Guide to Clinical Cultural Competence.
Toronto, Canada: Mosby Elsevier Publishing.
Staats, C., & Patton, C. (2013). State of the science: Implicit bias review 2013. Kirwan Institute
for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, 14, 129-142.
Taylor, D. L. (2008). Factors that Motivate Faculty in Christian Postsecondary Institutions to
Adapt Their Behavior and Pedagogy to Become More Culturally Competent.
ProQuest.Tyler, T.R. & Huo, Y .H. (2002). Trust in the law. New York: Russell Sage
Foundation.
Tetlock, P. E.,&Mitchell, G. (2009). Implicit Bias and Accountability Systems: What Must
Organizations do to Prevent Discrimination? Research in
U.S. Census Bureau. (2016). Quick facts table. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov
/quickfacts/table/EDU635214/06039,06047,06019
U.S. Department of Justice (2001). Policing and homicide, 1976 – 98: Justifiable homicide by
police, police officers murdered by felons: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Walker, S., Spohn, C., & DeLone, M. (2012). The color of justice: Race, ethnicity, and crime in
America. Cengage Learning.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 142
Warren, P. Y . (2011). Perceptions of police disrespect during vehicle stops: a race-based
analysis. Crime and Delinquency, 57(3), 356-376.
Weisner, T. (1984). Ecocultural niches of middle childhood: Across-cultural perspective. In W. A.
Collins (Ed.), Development during middle childhood: The years from six to twelve (pp.
335–369). Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences Press.
Weitzer, R. (1999). Citizens' perceptions of police misconduct: Race and neighborhood context.
Justice Quarterly, 16(4), 819-846.
Weitzer, R. (2010). Race and policing in different ecological contexts. In S. Rice & M. White
(Eds.), Race, ethnicity, and policing: New and essential readings (pp. 118–139). New
York, NY: New York University Press.
Weitzer, R., & Tuch, S. A. (1999). Race, class and perceptions of bias by police. Crime and
Delinquency, 45(4), 494-507.
West, H. (2014). Tuskegee Syphilis Study.
Yancy, G., & Butler, J. (2015). What’s wrong with ‘all lives matter’?. New York Times, 12, 156.
Yough, M., & Anderman, E. (2006). Goal orientation theory. Retrieved from http://www.
education.com/reference/article/goal-orientation-theory/.

POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 143
APPENDIX A: Exploring the Influence of Implicit Bias Among Police Officers & Minority
Citizens
Request for Police Officer Interview Volunteers
I am in the process of writing a dissertation to explore the
experiences and history of people who share a common thread,
which is the safety of their loved ones and the concern for them
not returning home from their drive to school, from work, or from
their patrol duty. I am in search of finding ways to better build
relationships of understanding
of each other’s histories and stories, roles and duties.
This all came about in July of 2016; my husband and I were saddened by
the news of the death of a black male in an officer involved shooting that
occurred during a routine traffic stop. The next evening, we heard of
another black male in a similar circumstance. That night I went to
bed feeling helpless for my sons: both UC Berkeley graduates and former
collegiate football student-athletes standing at 6’3” and 6’8”, respectively. I was worried that they
would not make it safely home. While I was hurting for my sons, my coworker was worried for her
husband who is a local police officer. She mentioned all the hateful things on Facebook and the media
and she said, “I just want him to make it home at night safely.” I changed the direction of my
dissertation, not to deal with hate, racism or prejudice, but to explore the experiences and history of
people who share a common thread which is the safety of their loved ones. My goal is to create a dialog
among individuals, so they can connect and see the human side of people beyond badges and race.

There is a need for a variety of officers from various races, time as an officer, age groups and shifts.
• It is a confidential interview that will not reveal any personal or professional information, and held off site.
• The research will not list ANY identifying factors of the Police Department or the officers.
• Volunteers will have the opportunity to choose their own alias and review their responses.

1. How long have you been working as a police officer? __________________

2. What is your age range?  18-24,  25-30  31-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60

3. What is your Gender? 󠆿 󠆿 Male 󠆿 󠆿 Female

4. What is your race/ethnicity? 󠆿 󠆿 󠆿 White. 󠆿 󠆿 Hispanic or Latino. 󠆿 󠆿 Black or African American. 󠆿
󠆿 Native American or American Indian. 󠆿 󠆿 Asian / Pacific Islander. 󠆿 󠆿 Other: _______

5. What is the Race/Ethnicity of the community members you mostly meet while on duty?
Please place a percentage next to all that apply. (Example: White 50% Hispanic 30% Asian 20%)

󠆿 White___ 󠆿 󠆿 Hispanic or Latino___ 󠆿 󠆿 Black or African American____ 󠆿 󠆿 Native American or American
Indian____ 󠆿 󠆿 Asian / Pacific Islander___ 󠆿 󠆿 Other: (________).

6. What shift are you currently working? 󠆿 󠆿 Day Shift 󠆿 󠆿 Evening Shift 󠆿 󠆿 Graveyard/Morning Shift

If you are willing to volunteer, please fill in the information below.

Alias: Kris Phone# 555-555-5555 Email: Hope123@gmail.com
Alias: Phone#: Email:
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 144
APPENDIX B: Informed Consent

University of Southern California
Rossier School of Education
3470 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles. CA 90089

INFORMED CONSENT FOR NON-MEDICAL RESEARCH

Influence of Implicit Bias on Officers Behavior During Interactions with Minoritized Groups

You are invited to participate in a research study conducted by Nicole Cochran M.A. and Dr.
Jenifer Crawford Ph.D. at the University of Southern California, because you are law enforcement
officer. Your participation is voluntary. You should read the information below, and ask questions
about anything you do not understand, before deciding whether to participate. Please take as much
time as you need to read the consent form. You may also decide to discuss participation with your
family or friends. If you decide to participate, you will be asked to sign this form. You will be
given a copy of this form.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of the study is to investigate the influence of implicit bias on police officers regarding
minoritized individuals. The study evaluates officer knowledge, motivational, and organizational
influences to assess officer awareness of implicit biases and de-escalation training.

STUDY PROCEDURES
If you volunteer to participate in this study, you will be asked to participate in a one-on-one, face-
to-face interview. The interviews will be conducted in a safe undisclosed location. The interview
will be audio recorded and will take approximately 45 – 60 minutes. You do not have to answer
any questions you do not want to. No potential risks to participants have been identified; however,
you will have an on-going option to stop participating at any time.

POTENTIAL RISKS AND DISCOMFORTS
There are no potential risk associated with this study.

POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO PARTICIPANTS AND/OR TO SOCIETY
The potential benefit to participating in the study will provide an assessment of implicit bias
awareness of police officers. At the completion of the study, the evaluation will be available for
review or to construct and implement implicit bias awareness and de-escalation training to improve
officer and community relations.

CONFIDENTIALITY
You will not be asked to identify yourself in the survey, or interview. The interview will be
conducted by a trained volunteer who have no know affiliation with you or your organization in
the past. You will have the right to review the audio recordings or transcripts. Only the research
team patriating in the study will have access to the audio recordings, and surveys. The material
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 145
will be stored on password protected computers in a secure office by members of the study team,
and the paper copies will be destroyed.

We will keep your records for this study confidential as far as permitted by law. However, if we
are required to do so by law, we will disclose confidential information about you. The members
of the research team, the funding agency and the University of Southern California’s Human
Subjects Protection Program (HSPP) may access the data. The HSPP reviews and monitors
research studies to protect the rights and welfare of research subjects.

PARTICIPATION AND WITHDRAWAL
Your participation is voluntary. Your refusal to participate will involve no penalty or loss of
benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. You may withdraw your consent at any time and
discontinue participation without penalty. You are not waiving any legal claims, rights or remedies
because of your participation in this research study.

INVESTIGATOR’S CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions or concerns about the research, please feel free to contact the (identify
research personnel: Principal Investigator Nicole Cochran at ncochran@usc.edu or by phone at
713-545-1890, Faculty Advisor Dr. Jenifer Crawford at jenifer.crawford@usc.edu or 530-519-
4085.

RIGHTS OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANT – IRB CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have questions, concerns, or complaints about your rights as a research participant or the
research in general and are unable to contact the research team, or if you want to talk to someone
independent of the research team, please contact the University Park Institutional Review Board
(UPIRB), 3720 South Flower Street #301, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0702, (213) 821-5272 or
upirb@usc.edu

SIGNATURE OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANT
I have read the information provided above. I have been given a chance to ask questions. My
questions have been answered to my satisfaction, and I agree to participate in this study. I have
been given a copy of this form.

□ I agree to be audio-recorded

□ I do not want to be audio-recorded

Name of Participant

Signature of Participant Date

POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 146
SIGNATURE OF INVESTIGATOR

I have explained the research to the participant and answered all of his/her questions. I believe
that he/she understands the information described in this document and freely consents to
participate.

Name of Person Obtaining Consent

Signature of Person Obtaining Consent Date

POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 147
APPENDIX C: Interview Protocol
The interview protocol is a standard open-ended interview which illustrates the
importance of asking respondents the exact questions to ensure the reliability of the interviewers
and to limit personal judgments (Patton,2002). It is important to do qualitative interviews to
allow for deeper understanding of police officers background and family life to better assess
where their biases may stem from and if they are expressed on the job during encounters with
marginalized people. Therefore, the interview design offers a structure for interviewees to
“express their own understanding in their own terms” (Patton, p. 348, 2002).

Police Officer Interview Questions
Alias:
1. Tell me a little about yourself and why you became a police officer.
a. Where did you grow up?
2. Tell me a little bit about your family life growing up?
a. What was your family and community like?
b. What was the predominant culture?
c. Can you elaborate on the type of community?
d. Was there Diversity?
3. Can you provide 1 or 2 examples of events you have experienced as an officer that
changed your way of thinking about yourself as an officer or people in general? (provide
example if needed)
We discussed a little bit about growing up and why you became a police officer. Let’s
discuss current events and what it is like being a police officer.

POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 148
4. What is your opinion about the incidents in the media regarding police officer involved
shootings? Consider what you may have seen did you look at it tactically, consider their
training or why they responded in the manner they did?

a. Does it affect how you interact or approach certain individuals?
b. Probe: Does it affect what you think about when approaching certain individuals
in an escalated situation?

5. Statistics show a higher rate of traffic stops and arrest of Blacks and Hispanics in
comparison to white citizens. Why do you believe the statistics are so high for Fresno and
certain areas?

6. Describe how you think the public sees the police because of how they are received?
a. What do you want the public to know about being a police officer?
7. Based on your duties as an officer do you have concerns of safety during traffic stops or
situations involving Black or Hispanic males?

8. Based on your opinion of the police involved shooting in the media, do you think it has
influenced your behavior toward black males while on the job?

9. Based on your opinion of the police involved shooting in the media, do you think it has
influenced your feelings of safety when you have encounters with Black or Hispanic
males while on the job?

10. Based on your opinion do you believe the police department is doing an effective job of
training the officers on implicit bias? Can you provide an example?

11. As an officer what are your recommendations to reduce bias.
POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 149
12. Can you discuss how you think implicit bias training would be received in your
department?
a. Say more, or why or why not?
13. We discussed implicit bias and you serve a variety of people. What would you say your
bias is?

14. This is the first in a series of interviews we are doing. If you were doing this study, are
there any questions you think are important to ask, that I did not?
Thank you for participating in this interview. I would like to remind you that everything is
confidential and there will be no identifying factors related to the police department or you
as a participant in the interview. You are also able to review the transcript prior to the
completions of the dissertation. Your views and opinion are important to the process and
are greatly appreciated.

POLICE OFFICE IMPLICIT BIAS 150
APPENDIX D: Evaluation Instrument
Level 1
What I learned will help me do my job
Definitely
Yes
Probably
Yes

Probably
No
Definitely
No
I can easily apply what I learned to my job
as an officer
Definitely
Yes
Probably
Yes

Probably
No
Definitely
No
Level 2
In your group discussion please provide real
experience where this information could
have been demonstrated for a better
outcome.

How do you plan to apply what you learned
during future traffic stops?

Level 3
(After each traffic stop additional questions will be
inserted into the demographic report)
Did you think about implicit bias prior to
talking to the citizen? Please make a short
statement to explain.

Did you demonstrate the same response to
the citizen as if they were a different
ethnicity, race or gender? Provide a
comment to explain.

Level 4
I can already see positive results from the
training.
Strongly
Agree
Agree Neither
Agree or
Disagree
Disagree Strongly
Disagree
The training has positively impacted the
police relations with the community.
Strongly
Agree
Agree Neither
Agree or
Disagree
Disagree Strongly
Disagree

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Past and present turbulent events between the police and minoritized groups are at the forefront of society. The police are viewed as racist and prejudice with data revealing the overrepresentation of Black suspects who were shot and killed by police (Sadler, Correll, Park, & Judd, 2012). This study takes a closer look at law enforcement officers implicit bias and how it influences decision making during police stops of minoritized citizens. The research incorporates a gap analysis framework constructed by Clark and Estes (2008) to explore the possible knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences that contribute to the incongruent arrest rates of Black males. The model will focus on police officers’ perceptions and awareness of intrinsic biases that might impact officer responses during interactions with minoritized individuals. Moreover, the review explores several reports from researchers, which investigated the significant influences between negative attitudes of law enforcement officers regarding race and ethnicity (Brown & Benedict, 2002

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

Recruiting and hiring female police officers: an evaluative study

PDF

(Re)Imagining STEM instruction: an examination of culturally relevant andragogical practices to eradicate STEM inequities among racially minoritized students in community colleges

PDF

Increasing post-secondary education among police officers: an innovation study

PDF

Closing the school readiness gap: local governments and funding for pre-K access for minoritized children

PDF

Cybercrime at University X

PDF

The arc of students with disabilities in California Community College through the lens of the disabled student programs and services coordinators

PDF

Enhancing capacity to provide cultural relatability in the in-home mental health service experience for urbanized and minoritized youths through workforce development strategy: a promising practi...

PDF

The impact of teacher perceptions about underrepresented students

PDF

Increasing the number of minoritized teachers in the Apex public schools: an evaluation study

PDF

Supporting the equitable treatment of youth in the criminal justice system: an evaluation of a systematic decision-making process for a juvenile diversion program

PDF

Hail to the chief: an exploration of female chief executives’ successes

PDF

Police recruitment: finding a better way to hire tomorrow's finest

PDF

Nonprofit donor retention: a case study of Church of the West

PDF

Post-traumatic stress disorder in the military and the associated stigmas: a gap analysis

PDF

Pacific Coast University Police Department sworn officer staffing shortages: a gap analysis

PDF

Leveraging social-emotional learning to improve school climate, mental health, and student achievement in K-12 student populations

PDF

Applying best practices to optimize racial and ethnic diversity on nonprofit boards: an improvement study

PDF

The effects of being a voluntarily childless female educator

PDF

Instructional differentiation and accommodations to support student achievement in SLD and ADHD secondary school populations: an evaluation study

PDF

Closing academic achievement gap between economically advantaged and economically disadvantaged students: an improvement study

Asset Metadata

Creator Cochran, Nicole Campbell (author)

Core Title Exploring the influence of implicit bias among police officers and minoritized citizens

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Publication Date 08/05/2018

Defense Date 08/02/2018

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag implicit bias,Law enforcement,marginalize,minoritize,OAI-PMH Harvest,Police

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Crawford, Jenifer (committee chair), Green, Alan (committee member), Green, Brenda (committee member)

Creator Email nicolec.cochran@yahoo.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-52534

Unique identifier UC11669047

Identifier etd-CochranNic-6639.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-52534 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-CochranNic-6639.pdf

Dmrecord 52534

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Cochran, Nicole Campbell

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA