Prior research has consistently demonstrated the role of race in understanding racial and ethnic differences in perceptions of the police. This research has overwhelmingly shown that Blacks and Latinos hold lower levels of trust and confidence in the police than do Whites and other racial minorities. The increased skepticism of the police expressed by minority citizens is commonly associated with racial profiling and documented racial disparities in police behavior. Although policing research has empirically demonstrated the influence of race on perceptions of the police, few studies have explored police perceptions from a rural context. By employing the Citizen's Attitudes Towards Police measure used by Frank, Smith, & Novak (2005), the purpose of this study is to examine whether rural context in evaluating police behavior diverges from what the urban context suggests. The results suggest that similar to Blacks in urban areas, lower-income Blacks hold negative views of police in general. This study also incorporates an intersectional analysis by interrogating the role of gender, age, and neighborhood context in influencing the Black's perceptions of police.
","abstract_html":"<p>Prior research has consistently demonstrated the role of race in understanding racial and ethnic differences in perceptions of the police. This research has overwhelmingly shown that Blacks and Latinos hold lower levels of trust and confidence in the police than do Whites and other racial minorities. The increased skepticism of the police expressed by minority citizens is commonly associated with racial profiling and documented racial disparities in police behavior. Although policing research has empirically demonstrated the influence of race on perceptions of the police, few studies have explored police perceptions from a rural context. By employing the Citizen's Attitudes Towards Police measure used by Frank, Smith, & Novak (2005), the purpose of this study is to examine whether rural context in evaluating police behavior diverges from what the urban context suggests. The results suggest that similar to Blacks in urban areas, lower-income Blacks hold negative views of police in general. This study also incorporates an intersectional analysis by interrogating the role of gender, age, and neighborhood context in influencing the Black's perceptions of police. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Blackhurst, Paul Maxwell"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"Justice Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:19Z","subjects":["perceptions of police","Race","Gender","Class","rural minorities","Criminology and Criminal Justice","Law Enforcement and Corrections"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2013 Paul Maxwell Blackhurst"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/151","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Blackhurst, Paul Maxwell"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Justice Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["perceptions of police","Race","Gender","Class","rural minorities","Criminology and Criminal Justice","Law Enforcement and Corrections"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2013 Paul Maxwell Blackhurst"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/151"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Prior research has consistently demonstrated the role of race in understanding racial and ethnic differences in perceptions of the police. This research has overwhelmingly shown that Blacks and Latinos hold lower levels of trust and confidence in the police than do Whites and other racial minorities. The increased skepticism of the police expressed by minority citizens is commonly associated with racial profiling and documented racial disparities in police behavior. Although policing research has empirically demonstrated the influence of race on perceptions of the police, few studies have explored police perceptions from a rural context. By employing the Citizen's Attitudes Towards Police measure used by Frank, Smith, & Novak (2005), the purpose of this study is to examine whether rural context in evaluating police behavior diverges from what the urban context suggests. The results suggest that similar to Blacks in urban areas, lower-income Blacks hold negative views of police in general. This study also incorporates an intersectional analysis by interrogating the role of gender, age, and neighborhood context in influencing the Black's perceptions of police.
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"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/151"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2013 Paul Maxwell Blackhurst"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["perceptions of police","Race","Gender","Class","rural minorities","Criminology and Criminal Justice","Law Enforcement and Corrections"],"dc:title":["Examining the Role of Race, Gender, and Class in African-American Police Perceptions in Rural Kentucky"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Justice Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:19Z"}