Angry bourgeoisie, antifa, yellow vests: police officers in democratic societies are facing growing hostility. A research team led by Chilean psychologist Monica Gerber Plüss has now dissected popular attitudes towards the police – in Chile, where the carbineros has a particularly ambivalent image due to its repressive use during the military dictatorship from 1973 to 1990. Almost 2,000 women and men between the ages of 14 and 65 took part in the two online surveys. The team came across five emotional attitude clusters (motivational postures), which had already been determined in Anglo-Saxon studies, plus a sixth factor.
1. Confession
People with this attitude are called commitment Police officers are well disposed. They feel a small distance between themselves and the police and other representatives of state power and usually follow their announcements and orders willingly. They accept and support their social mission and feel an ethical obligation to support them in this. They are also emotionally attached to people in police uniforms and do not find them intimidating. According to the research team, this allows relaxed encounters between civilians and police forces and strengthens social cohesion. Typical statements for this attitude include: “You should obey the police of your own free will.” “I feel a moral obligation to support the police.” “I feel a strong connection to the police.”
2. Pragmatics
This attitude, which statistically overlaps strongly with the former attitude, was surprisingly given the label capitulation provided. But citizens with this mindset do not surrender to state power because they see no reason to do so. On the contrary, they feel close to the police, often have benevolent and rarely hostile feelings towards them and accept their role in society. However, when it comes to their day-to-day dealings with law enforcement, they are rather pragmatic: they follow police instructions neither reluctantly nor particularly euphorically and are careful to avoid any trouble with the police. They keep it with the statement: “It is an advantage to cooperate with the police, because then they will also cooperate with you.” And they explain matter-of-factly: “To avoid problems, it’s better to do what the police tell you.”
3. Resistance
People with this attitude (resistance) feel a strong sense of distance, even opposition, to police forces and they are not afraid to express this unequivocally wherever necessary. They show little willingness to follow police instructions and instructions per se and protest loudly when they think it is appropriate. Sometimes they even offer active resistance. However, as Gerber Plüss and her fellow researchers note, “this is not necessarily linked to the attitude of wanting to destabilize the system.” Often the protest is not directed against the police as an institution, but against specific grievances such as arbitrariness, excessive harshness or worse (in this country, think of right-wing extremist chat groups within the police). Typical statements: “If police officers become abusive, you should resist.” “When the police treat us badly, it is necessary to confront them.” “If police officers mistreat you, you have to defend yourself.” The research team speaks of a “vicious circle of police repression, negative attitudes among citizens towards the police and violence in response”.
4. Distancing
The inner break with state power is expressed in people with this basic attitude (disengagement) rather passive. They do not protest or rebel actively and loudly, but rather try their best to ignore police orders. They have “inwardly left the system,” as the writing team puts it. They say, “I don’t care if I do something illegal in the eyes of the police.” Or: “It leaves me cold when I run into a police officer on the street.” However, this displayed indifference may just be a pretense. Because, as the data shows, people with this attitude towards the police actually hold more resentment than people who actively resist, and they also have higher levels of aggression.
5. Games
People of the type game playing assume that they can outsmart the law enforcement and play their game with them, and that’s exactly what they’re trying to do. They deceive and obscure. For example, they pretend to cooperate, but then interpret the rules as they see fit or turn them on their head. Although they don’t fundamentally question the legitimacy of the police, they obviously act according to the cynical motto: legal, illegal – it doesn’t matter. Typical statements: “It’s okay to flatter a police officer if it saves me a ticket.” “The best way to avoid trouble with police officers is to listen to them.” People with this Machiavellian attitude are hanging their flags to the wind – and according to the findings, they have more (hidden) aggressiveness than any other group.
6. Avoidance
The attitude called avoidance At first glance, it is similar to distancing – but the data analysis showed it to be a separate factor. The research team’s explanation: “Unlike distancing, avoidance suggests an attitude that does not completely disqualify authority.” The researchers suspect that the reasons why these people prefer to keep their distance from those in uniform are fear or mistrust. This is supported by statements such as: “I prefer to avoid the police, even when I need their help.” Or: “The less I have to know about the police, the better for me.”
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