Retributive Attitudes and Perceptions of Police Use of Excessive Force

Public opinions of police use of force vary widely. Previous studies, however, have framed their examinations around the factors that influence support of police use of force in general, as compared to a focus on excessive force. This study utilized linear regression to examine the relationship between perceptions of police use of excessive force and retributive attitudes. The study employed a sample of 5,527 respondents from the American National Election Studies (ANES) 2020 Time Series Survey. Findings indicated that respondents’ perceptions of the frequency of police use of excessive force depend on their retributive attitudes. The more retributive one’s attitude, the less often they perceived the police to use too much force. Similarly, the more conservative one’s political ideology, the less frequently they perceived police used excessive force. Perceptions of police excessive force also vary across demographics. KEYWORDS: Retributiveness; Death Penalty; Police Use of Force; Police Excessive Force