Replication Data for: Why Do Citizens Support Ineffective Military Policing Policies? Evidence from Field and Survey Experiments in Colombia

Abstract

Governments across the Global South increasingly rely on their militaries to conduct domestic policing operations. Despite recent evidence that military policing does not reduce crime, most Latin Americans still endorse it. What explains persistent support for this apparently ineffective practice? We propose two mechanisms — blame misattribution and disconfirmation bias — that could account for these patterns. Results from a survey experiment of 7,858 respondents in Cali, Colombia, support the blame misattribution but not the disconfirmation bias mechanism. We complement the survey experiment with evidence from a real-world, randomized military policing intervention that did not reduce crime. In line with our survey experimental results, civilians living on or near blocks randomly assigned to military patrols in 2019 support the practice less than those living on control blocks even three years later. We discuss the implications of our findings for policing and democratic responsiveness in countries beset by crime.