Citation

Weitzer R, Brunson RK. Sociol. Q. 2009; 50(2): 235-256.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Midwest Sociological Society, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1111/j.1533-8525.2009.01139.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Research on police–citizen relations is largely focused on how police officers treat citizens, with much less attention given to how citizens behave toward officers. Several studies report that citizens' demeanor affects the way they are treated by police, but researchers have neglected the larger question of how citizens manage their contacts with officers more generally, outside the parameters of face-to-face encounters. The question is particularly salient for young males living in high-crime, inner-city neighborhoods—many of whom have frequent, negative contacts with or observations of the police. This article examines the contours of the youths' strategic responses to the police, drawing on in-depth interviews conducted in disadvantaged neighborhoods in St. Louis. Our analysis draws on Hirschman's framework of exit, voice, and loyalty as options available to individuals when dealing with problematic organizations.