Undue Police Violence Toward African Americans: An Analysis of Professional Counselors' Training and Perceptions.

There has been increasing attention on excessive force by law enforcement because of the disproportionate impact on African Americans compared with other races. Undue police violence (UPV) is described as the use of force by the police resulting in physical, psychological, or emotional harm. This cross‐sectional study used descriptive and correlational analyses to explore the beliefs, knowledge, and skills of counselors associated with UPV. A sample of 112 individuals completed the Awareness of Undue Police Violence Survey, Attitudes Towards Police Legitimacy Scale (Reynolds et al., 2018), and Perceived Racism Scale (McNeilly, Anderson, Armstead, et al., 1996). Results showed that although 68% of counselors have worked with clients with UPV experiences, most have not engaged in advocacy efforts. Results also showed that beliefs held about UPV have a negative relationship with beliefs about officer legitimacy and a positive relationship with perceived racism. Recommendations for researchers and counselors are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]