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Undue Police Violence Toward African Americans: An Analysis of Professional Counselors' Training and Perceptions
Author(s) -
Green Darius A.,
Evans Amanda M.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of counseling and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.805
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1556-6676
pISSN - 0748-9633
DOI - 10.1002/jcad.12389
Subject(s) - psychology , officer , harm , use of force , law enforcement , legitimacy , social psychology , racism , perception , criminology , political science , law , international law , neuroscience , politics
There has been increasing attention on excessive force by law enforcement because of the disproportionate impact on African Americans compared with other races. Undue police violence (UPV) is described as the use of force by the police resulting in physical, psychological, or emotional harm. This cross‐sectional study used descriptive and correlational analyses to explore the beliefs, knowledge, and skills of counselors associated with UPV. A sample of 112 individuals completed the Awareness of Undue Police Violence Survey, Attitudes Towards Police Legitimacy Scale (Reynolds et al., 2018), and Perceived Racism Scale (McNeilly, Anderson, Armstead, et al., 1996). Results showed that although 68% of counselors have worked with clients with UPV experiences, most have not engaged in advocacy efforts. Results also showed that beliefs held about UPV have a negative relationship with beliefs about officer legitimacy and a positive relationship with perceived racism. Recommendations for researchers and counselors are provided.