Date

4-18-2025

Department

Helms School of Government

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Criminal Justice (PhD)

Chair

Vincent Giordano

Keywords

de-policing, proactive policing, community engagement, police accountability, anti-police rhetoric, scrutiny, qualitative, phenomenological

Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative and descriptive phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of law enforcement officers in relation to how the de-policing movement may have constrained their ability to proactively enforce the law and interact with the citizens they serve in Connecticut. This study employed Fritz Heider’s attribution theory as a theoretical framework. Data was collected through a series of semi-structured interviews conducted online via Zoom with 10 participants who were employed as police officers or sergeants for a municipal law enforcement agency in the State of Connecticut. These participants were selected through purposive and snowball sampling methods. Through data analysis, a wealth of information was uncovered related to two research questions: (1) How do law enforcement officers describe their lived experiences with how the de-policing movement may constrain their ability to enforce the law proactively?, and (2) how do law enforcement officers describe their lived experiences with how the de-policing movement may hamper their ability to interact with the citizens they serve?

Seven themes central to the research questions under investigation were identified: (1) changes in legislation and policy, (2) community dynamics and perception of law enforcement, (3) community engagement trends in policing, (4) morale in law enforcement, (5) race and community engagement, (6) race and proactive policing practices, and (7) trends in proactive law enforcement practices.

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