Perp Walks and Prejudice

This study is a qualitative analysis that makes use of Rick Williams’ Personal Impact Assessment (PIA) to gauge the feelings, narratives, and intuitions that people receive when they view photographs of criminal defendants being made to do a “perp walk.” Participants gave their impressions, which were then categorized and analyzed, along with other statements that they made during an interview outside of the PIA. This study attempted to understand better the received messages of the common media practice of spreading images of perp walks.