AUSTIN, Texas — A new University of Texas at Austin study suggests it is more difficult for empathetic police officers to deal with public criticism, so much so, that it affects their work.

In response to a series of high-profile officer involved shootings, the Pew Research Center asked 8,000 officers how they viewed their jobs. Officers said it is not getting easier and 86 percent believe the public does not understand the risks they face. The report unit takes that research a step further, and asks how does perception affect performance.

“It is negatively affecting the performance of a certain of officers that agencies might want to kind of retain,” said Shefali Patil, an assistant professor of management at UT. 

The study, published in Administrative Science Quarterly, is based on interviews, independent expert analysis of body camera footage, and supervisor ratings from six different police departments across the country. Patil found that liberal-leaning officers who focused on a more rehabilitative approach experiencing lower performance ratings in the face of public criticism about their work, compared to their conservative counterparts. 

“When they think that those people who they want to reach out to, don’t understand them and are criticizing them without being sympathetic to their own jobs, they hurt more, they’re more frustrated,” Patil said. “Conservative officers though, believe in keeping more distance from the citizens.”

Officers favoring a more punitive approach to policing scored better in competence and use of tactical practicals. 

“In all jobs, you have to be a little bit more authoritarian but you also also have to be a little bit more empathetic, so I think it’s important for these agencies to have that,” Patil said. 

UT researchers said agencies need to examine the ways to make officers feel more appreciated in their communities, as well as policies to decrease the stress officers may be feeling. One solution Patil is studying is the implementation of standard protocols. 

“When they’re people you know that are video recording them, as long as officers have their mind, ‘OK, these the standard protocols that I need to follow,’ they actually are a lot calmer, less anxious and are able to kind of put blindfolds on,” Patil said.