Assessing experiential, immigration and pandemic correlates to Asian Americans’ attitudes toward the police

Purpose The main purpose of this study is to assess whether experiential, immigration and pandemic factors are connected to Asian Americans' satisfaction with the police, distrust in the police and willingness to call the police. Design/methodology/approach Using more than 2,700 surveys collected by the 2020 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey, this study employed regression analysis to examine the relationships between experiential, immigration and pandemic factors and Asian Americans' attitudes toward the police, controlling for their background characteristics. Findings This study found that victimization, discrimination and police contact increase Asian Americans' distrust in the police, and discrimination also lowers their satisfaction with the police. A sense of belonging raises satisfaction and willingness to call and reduces distrust in the police, whereas a deportation threat decreases satisfaction and increases distrust. Those who viewed masking as important expressed lower satisfaction with the police but were more likely to be willing to call the police. Research limitations/implications The dependent variables were measured using a single item, which may not adequately reflect the complexities of people's attitudes toward the police. Future studies should continue to explore correlates of Asian Americans' views of legal authorities by using more refined survey instruments. Originality/value Although the past several decades have witnessed many studies on public attitudes toward the police, Asian Americans' views of the police remain severely under-researched in the policing literature. This study expands the current literature by including a more adequate collection of theoretically and contextually relevant predictors of Asian Americans' attitudes toward the police.