Lines and shadows: Perceptions of racial profiling and the Hispanic experience

Despite a longstanding research tradition examining the intersection of policing and race, extant research focused almost exclusively on race and ethnicity in Black and White terms. As such, academic knowledge of the Hispanic experience remained opaque. In this study, data from a random sample of New York City residents were used to compare the perceptions of racial profiling among Hispanic and non-Hispanic citizens. In particular, factors relating to the perception that racial profiling was widespread, justified, and personally experienced were examined. Findings were grounded within the literature on police-citizen relations and racial profiling.