Police leaders’ support for civilian oversight and implicit bias training: assessing the influence of perceptions of systemic racism

This study uses a sample of police leaders from across the United States to explore the extent to which their support for civilian oversight boards and implicit bias training, as two aspects of police reform intended to improve racial injustices, relate to their belief that systemic racism is an issue in criminal justice. Presented in the context of symbolic racism theory, we assess how respondents' willingness to acknowledge systemic racism in criminal justice relates to more supportive perceptions of civilian oversight boards and implicit bias training. These relationships remain significant even when controlling for other individual and agency-level factors that are known to affect perceptions of systemic racism and support for public policies designed to improve racial justice. This study discusses the need for additional research and consideration of how police officers' racialized attitudes relate to their support for common reform recommendations.