"Race, Civilian Complaint, and Police Retaliation" with Benjamin J. Newman

Center for Public Policy Research Political Science Seminar Series 

Each semester, the Center for Public Policy Research and the Tulane Political Science Department invite leading political scientists to campus to share cutting-edge research while engaging with faculty and graduate students. Research presented covers all aspects of contemporary politics science, including comparative politics, international relations, American politics, and normative theory. 

Benjamin Newman is a social scientist conducting research on American politics with a focus on mass shootings and firearms regulation, race and ethnic politics, and class and economic inequality. His research utilizes quantitative methods, including survey research and the design and analysis of original laboratory, survey, and field experiments. Dr. Newman is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Policy and Department of Political Science at the University of California, Riverside. He is also a Faculty Affiliate at the ​Robert Presley Center for Crime and Justice Studies. 

In the area of race and ethnic politics, Newman' research focuses on the political consequences of demographic change, and explores this theme within the topical areas of immigration policy and public opinion on immigration, as well as gentrification and its impact on majority-minority communities. Dr. Newman is also interested in the racial politics of policing in the U.S., and race- and class-based inequality in the criminal justice system. In the area of class and inequality, his research explores the effects of local income inequality on citizens’ support for redistributive policies. His work in this area also explores the effects of growing economic inequality on public support for labor unions and labor politics more generally. 

Newman's work has been published in a wide range of journals, including the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, British Journal of Political Science, Public Opinion Quarterly, Research & Politics, American Politics Research, Political Behavior, Political Psychology, Political Research Quarterly, International Journal of Public Opinion Research, and State Politics and Policy Quarterly. 

ABSTRACT:

Existing literature examines the effectiveness of civilian oversight in reducing police misconduct. However, little-to-no quantitative research explores possible adverse consequences of this accountability mechanism. Utilizing time series analysis of administrative data on aggregate monthly civilian complaints and police behavior in the largest American city, this study offers evidence of racial inequality in police response to civilian complaints. For White civilians, complaint against the police abates subsequent police stops. For Black civilians, complaint is associated with subsequent intensification of police stops. This intensification only follows complaints against White officers, is conditional upon officer knowledge of the complaint, is confined to stops involving greater officer discretion to perform the stop, and is only observed in police precincts with large Black populations.

 For more information, contact the Department of Political Science at polisci@tulane.edu.