Quantitative literature review: Minority attitudes toward the police and public perceptionsIntroduction-Background-ProblemIndividuals who appear to be most dissatisfied with the police are Afro- Americans. But there are few, if any, factors that truly determine citizens' opinions of the police. Brown and Benedict (2002). The specific sections on attitudes are reliable, but the literature seems to lead to mixed signals based on other variables Weitzer and Tuch (2002). Perceptions of the police include factors such as personal experience, vicarious experience and the media. For example, the public's experiences with the police, what individuals learn from friends and/or acquaintances, and what the media have learned Gallagher et al. (2001).Definitions of TermsThe following three studies looked at racial profiling - which is defined as police using race as a factor - as well as an accumulation of other factors (cooperation) in which an officer reacts with suspicion and takes action. In other words, police cannot use racial or ethical stereotypes as factors in selecting people to stop and search and police cannot use race or ethnicity to choose whether a person fits a description specific to a particular individual and/or suspect. VariablesThe independent variable will relate to African Americans being stopped by police due to racial profiling and the dependent variable relating to African Americans' cooperation with police. Research Question African Americans who are victims of racial profiling are expected to be less likely to be willing to cooperate with the police. To investigate this, the following research question was created: "Is there a relationship between the number of times in the past year, (as an African...... middle of paper . .....policing." Policing 25: 543-580.-Weitzer, Ronald and Steven Tuch 2002 “Perceptions of racial profiling: race, class, and personal experience." Criminology 40: 435-456.-Gallahher, Catherine, Edward Maguire, Stephen Mastrofski and Michael Reisig 2001 The Public Image of the VA Police: International Association of Chiefs of Police.-Ramirez, et al., opt cit., p 59.-Policies for data collection on Traffic Stops for State Police, 1999. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs.-Akers, R. and Sellers, C. Criminological Theories: Introduction, Evaluation, and Application (5th ed.) New York, NY : Oxford University Press.-Ramirez, D., McDevitt, J., & Farrell, A. (2000) A Resource Guide to Racial Profiling Data Collection Systems: Promising Practices and Lessons Learned Washington, DC: Department. American Justice..