Police recruiting efforts can raise interest for humanization officers

Many U.S. police departments are facing serious recruitment and staffing crisis that has spurred a rethinking of recruitment methods. In the new study, researchers analyzed how police are portrayed in recruitment materials based on the field of intergroup communication to determine whether humanization efforts would make a difference. This study found that presenting officers in human terms increased career interest in policing by participants.

This study was conducted by researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), Texas State University (TXST), Arizona State University, and the University of Texas at Austin. It appears in criminology and public policy.

“Applying principles from intergroup communications helps law enforcement develop recruitment materials that humanize police and promote shared identity with police officers, which says Sean L. Hill, a graduate student at communications at UCSB who led the research.

Previous research suggests how an organization describes it affects how people adapt themselves to the organization and their intention to apply for jobs in that organization. Therefore, one way to reach groups that do not easily identify with police officers is to introduce a more human aspect of police into their recruitment efforts.

In this study, using randomized research experiments and a social identity approach, researchers tested the effect of humanizing how executives are portrayed in recruitment videos on more traditional and behavioural oriented portrayals.

In March and April 2024, researchers showed that they would employ video to more than 300 undergraduates in criminal justice and psychology classes at large public universities in the southwestern United States. Participants were primarily women and represented a wide range of races and ethnicities. The video was different depending on how the female police officer described her career and personal life. The researchers then measured the extent to which each approach influenced participants’ general attitudes towards police and specific attitudes towards working in policing.

Revelation to humanization videos had a significant positive effect on respondents’ shared identity with police, but not in institutional trust in police. Both shared identity and institutional trust had a significant positive impact on respondents’ interest in policing careers.

These findings suggest that when humanizing police officers who humanize material employing police, they increase the degree to which potential candidates recognize a shared sense of identity with police officers, not only as criminal fighters but also as people who serve the community and are interested in a rewarding, balanced personal life. That shared sense of identity in turn promotes greater interest in policing careers.

“Focusing on shared identities with community members can make police officers look more personal and approachable. This could help counter the negative effects of traditional stereotypes,” says Laure Brimbal, assistant professor of criminal justice and criminology at TXST.

Within the limitations of the study, the authors note that criminal justice students may have existing interests in police or related occupations, which may affect responses to recruitment materials used in the study. Furthermore, the tested approach included a video featuring one officer and one institution, which prevented the author from inferring how the results would differ in studies involving other officers and institutions.