Police Station Design and Public Perceptions of Policing
Background
Research on how the design of justice buildings affects the public has largely focused on prisons, with limited attention to police stations. Architectural design may influence how community members feel about and interact with police, shaping emotions and perceptions tied to legitimacy and service delivery.
Purpose
This study uses a survey experiment to examine how welcoming versus hostile police station designs influence public affect and behaviorally relevant perceptions. It also explores whether these effects vary across racial and ethnic groups.
Outcome
The findings show that hostile police station designs are associated with lower positive affect overall. However, Black and Latino respondents report greater positive emotional responses to hostile designs compared to welcoming ones, highlighting important variation across racial and ethnic groups. While building design did not affect negative affect or willingness to report crime, the results suggest that police architecture can shape emotional responses in complex and unexpected ways, with implications for how police facilities are designed to support positive public experiences.