Date of Award

4-24-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Criminal Justice

First Advisor

Robert Lytle

Abstract

Hate crimes are likely underreported due to victim’s understanding and reluctance to reporting hate crimes. Few studies have looked at how police attitudes and experiences can affect the way officers report incidents, especially for hate crimes. This Thesis explored police definitions and perceptions of hate crime to ascertain the degree to which these experiences might affect police responses to hate crime (e.g., reporting, investigation, protective actions for victims) and their interactions with victims. A thematic content analysis identified patterns in the definitions and experiences police officers from Pulaski County (AR) have regarding hate crimes. A snowball sampling technique resulted in interviews with seven active-duty police officers from agencies in Pulaski county (AR). The thematic content analysis produced several key characteristics about police definitions and experiences with hate crime, which all tied into one emergent theme called Formalized Professionalism. Namely, officers’ narratives about hate crime definitions and experiences stayed rooted in a shared, formalized knowledge base produced from a combination of academy, in-service training, and departmental procedures. The formalized knowledge base translates into a generalized response to hate crimes which deviated little from other forms of crime. The uniformity of responses to crime adhered to the officers’ commitment to professionalism as dictated by the formalized knowledge base. This study provides a foundation for future research to further explore police officers’ formalized knowledge of and experiences with hate crimes, including comparisons of these knowledge bases across agencies.

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