Dissertation

Social Equity: A Study of Politics, Management, and the Equal Protection of the Law

McCandless, Sean Andrew

2017

Overview

Social equity, a pillar of public administration alongside efficiency, effectiveness, and economy, is one of the least understood and studied concepts in the literature. There is a dearth of research despite the importance of understanding how public administration and public policy differentially affect groups, particularly minorities. To scholars like Gooden (2015a), research is needed on several questions: “What is the extent of inequity”, “Why does inequity persist”, and “How do public agencies achieve accountability for social equity”. However, numerous calls for social equity research have been largely unmet. A social equity issue that calls for more research concerns the extent to which police are fair in their interactions with minorities, especially African Americans. The literature addressing two of Gooden’s questions, namely “What is the extent of inequity” and “Why does inequity persist”, is growing. However, few studies have examined the third question, or how police agencies achieve accountability for social equity and, in turn, how agencies’ actions affect citizens’ perceptions of how socially equitable departments are. As such, this study asks two questions: 1) what political, managerial, and legal factors affect citizen perceptions of social equity in policing; and 2) how do these factors affect citizen perceptions of social equity in policing? To address these questions, a cross-case comparison of 11 purposively selected U.S. cities (“locales”) was conducted. Local newspapers, city council meeting minutes, legislative agenda, police agencies’ websites, and law enforcement statistics were examined to understand each locale’s history of community-police relations and agency practices related to social equity. Next, 55 semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of citizen groups, state- and v local-level political leaders, and police agency representatives to ascertain how agencies achieve accountability for social equity and how these strategies influence citizens’ perceptions of social equity. Data were iteratively coded, and cross-case analysis was performed using meta-matrices. Findings reveal that several factors affect citizens’ perceptions of social equity, namely the extent to which: a) citizen groups, political leaders, and police agencies cooperate to define social equity outcomes; b) these different groups agree on how best to pursue social equity; c) agencies involve community leaders to obtain buy-in when dealing with criminal and social issues popularly related to race; d) there have been recent shootings of unarmed minorities; e) departments foster more one-on-one engagement with citizens; f) departments employ community policing and social equity performance measurement to shape practice; g) agencies try to achieve racial parity; and h) agencies require trainings on community engagement. As citizens feel that agencies more actively involve community groups and employ the strategies above, perceptions of social equity are more positive. A theory of accountability for social equity emerged. This theory is captured in a systems model, which highlights the environmental, input, black box, output, and feedback factors that appear linked to citizen perceptions of social equity. Three broad conclusions emerge: 1) discourses lead to policing practices and perceptions; 2) “fit” (i.e., openness to and feasibility of social equity programs), chiefs’ reinforcement, and officer buy-in affect how departments try to achieve social equity; and 3) there are at least three approaches to accountability for social equity. After the discussion of this theory, limitations and future studies are discussed.

• Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
• Subject: Public administration / Public policy
• ISBN: 9781369757828, 1369757824