Ethnicity,Concentrated Minority Disadvantage,and Perceived Risk of Victimization

Abstract

There has been little systematic research on how the characteristics of locales condition the relationship of ethnicity to crime-related attitudes, and none of it has examined southwestern Hispanics. Addressing these issues, this investigation examines the effects of ethnicity and concentrated minority disadvantage on confidence in the police and perceived risk of victimization. Data collected in telephone and personal interviews in El Paso, Texas, were analyzed using OLS multiple regression. The analyses show that Hispanics residing in the locales with the greatest concentrated minority disadvantage expressed less confidence in the police than did Hispanics residing in other areas and, irrespective of locale, Anglos. People residing in areas of concentrated disadvantage perceived greater risk of victimization than did those who resided elsewhere. In addition, confidence in the police was related negatively to perceived risk of victimization. These findings indicate that concentrated minority disadvantage has an important influence on crime-related attitudes.