Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Banner vs. the Baton: Explaining Protest Policing in the U.S., 1960-1980

University Of Arizona, Tucson AZ

Investigators

Abstract

This project uses a "three study" design to examine the response of police to protests in the United States more generally and New York State more specifically during the years from 1960-1980. The first study uses an existing protest data set and statistical methods to evaluate explanations of the presence of police at protest actions, their use of force, the number of arrests, and the number of deaths. The explanations focus on the threat and power of the protesters, but also consider the socio-legal environment in which the protests and police action take place. The second study uses the same data, but different statistical methods, to examine the effects of protest timing on the several components of police response. The third study collects original data on protest policing policies, legal decisions, and police training practices to understand the context of police decisions. By combining the quantitative results from the first two studies with the qualitative results from the last study, the project provides information on how both characteristics of the protests and the organizational environment shape efforts by police to repress social movements.