Occupational Prestige of Law Enforcement Officers: Quantifying Self and Public Perceptions of Prestige.

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Title: Occupational Prestige of Law Enforcement Officers: Quantifying Self and Public Perceptions of Prestige.
Authors: Alfaro Hudak, Katelin M. (AUTHOR), Combs, Aidan (AUTHOR), Freeland, Robert E. (AUTHOR), Mumford, Elizabeth A. (AUTHOR)
Source: Social Science Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell). Jul2025, Vol. 106 Issue 4, p1-11. 11p.
Subjects: Public opinion, Killings by police, Public officers, Social processes, Police, Occupational prestige
Abstract: Objective: Perceptions of occupational prestige are commonly associated with job satisfaction and job turnover intentions, but little is known about how law enforcement officers (LEOs) view the prestige of policing. We quantify how LEOs rate the prestige of policing and how they think their communities view policing. We evaluate the extent to which LEO understandings of public perceptions match actual public perceptions. Methods: We estimated occupational prestige using traditional and multidimensional measures in a nationally representative sample of LEOs. Results: Officers view their occupation as more prestigious, morally good, and active, but less powerful than they believe the public sees it. Officers' understandings of public view of policing are more pessimistic than warranted by the public's actual views. Officers viewed their occupations as less prestigious and believed the public's perceptions of the prestige and "goodness" of policing were significantly lower following the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic and George Floyd's murder. Conclusions: Our results highlight the need to study social psychological processes involved in officer self‐perceptions and their understanding of the communities with which they interact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Social Science Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell) is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Occupational Prestige of Law Enforcement Officers: Quantifying Self and Public Perceptions of Prestige.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Alfaro+Hudak%2C+Katelin+M%2E%22">Alfaro Hudak, Katelin M.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Combs%2C+Aidan%22">Combs, Aidan</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Freeland%2C+Robert+E%2E%22">Freeland, Robert E.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mumford%2C+Elizabeth+A%2E%22">Mumford, Elizabeth A.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Social+Science+Quarterly+%28Wiley-Blackwell%29%22">Social Science Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell)</searchLink>. Jul2025, Vol. 106 Issue 4, p1-11. 11p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Public+opinion%22">Public opinion</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Killings+by+police%22">Killings by police</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Public+officers%22">Public officers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+processes%22">Social processes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Police%22">Police</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Occupational+prestige%22">Occupational prestige</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Objective: Perceptions of occupational prestige are commonly associated with job satisfaction and job turnover intentions, but little is known about how law enforcement officers (LEOs) view the prestige of policing. We quantify how LEOs rate the prestige of policing and how they think their communities view policing. We evaluate the extent to which LEO understandings of public perceptions match actual public perceptions. Methods: We estimated occupational prestige using traditional and multidimensional measures in a nationally representative sample of LEOs. Results: Officers view their occupation as more prestigious, morally good, and active, but less powerful than they believe the public sees it. Officers' understandings of public view of policing are more pessimistic than warranted by the public's actual views. Officers viewed their occupations as less prestigious and believed the public's perceptions of the prestige and "goodness" of policing were significantly lower following the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic and George Floyd's murder. Conclusions: Our results highlight the need to study social psychological processes involved in officer self‐perceptions and their understanding of the communities with which they interact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Social Science Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell) is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1111/ssqu.70062
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 11
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    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Public opinion
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Killings by police
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Public officers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social processes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Police
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Occupational prestige
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Occupational Prestige of Law Enforcement Officers: Quantifying Self and Public Perceptions of Prestige.
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            NameFull: Alfaro Hudak, Katelin M.
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            NameFull: Combs, Aidan
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            NameFull: Freeland, Robert E.
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            NameFull: Mumford, Elizabeth A.
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            – D: 01
              M: 07
              Text: Jul2025
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
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