Producing race disparities: A study of drug arrests across place and race*

In studies of race disparities in policing, scholars generally employ quantitative methodologies with the goal of determining whether race disparities exist or, in fewer instances, of ruling out correlates. Yet, lacking from theoretical and empirical efforts is an elucidation of how and why on‐the‐ground policing produces race disparities that are justified in legal, race‐neutral terms. To address this knowledge gap, I analyze officers’ self‐reported accounts of their enforcement activities, justifications, and decision‐making in a representative sample of 300 official reports of drug arrests made in St. Louis from 2009 to 2013. These accounts are analyzed across neighborhood racial contexts and arrestee race, revealing important differences that help illuminate the race disparity problem. Unlike drug arrests in White neighborhoods or of White citizens that primarily stem from reactive policing, drug arrests in Black and racially mixed neighborhoods and of Black citizens result from officers’ greater use of discretionary stops based on neighborhood conditions, suspicion of ambiguous demeanor, or minor infractions. During such stops, officers’ discovery of drug possession often results from discretionary Terry frisks or searches incident to arrests for outstanding bench warrants. These findings fill important theoretical and empirical gaps and have implications for reforms toward racially just policing.     

Continuity in crime: Sex and age differences

This study deals primarily with the question of continuity in serious criminality. The study follows a cohort consisting of 15,117 individuals from the age of 15 years through the age of 30 years. The age-based transition probabilities are studied, both for males and for females, showing that the transitions for females conform to a first-order Markov chain, so that the original matrices can be seen as estimates from a single parent matrix. This was not the case for males. The predictive power of prior criminality for later transition probabilities is also studied. Finally, the difference between stating that a given percentage will relapse in crime and the ability to make real prediction is emphasized.     

Employment,age, race,and crime: A labor theoretic investigation

The fundamental objective of this paper has been to reinvestigate the relationship between employment and crime, while taking account of deterrence, age and race effects. The data, a sample of Brooklyn arrestees, was collected by the Vera Institute of Justice simply to explore, with individual data, the relationship between employment and crime. In this research, a labor theoretic formulation is used incorporating a model that views the problem as one of rational choice between legitimate work and participation in crime. Factors affecting the diminution of crime participation with age are investigated. Changes at age 18 in economic opportunities and in deterrence effects from moving from juvenile to adult status are found to have a significant impact on crime participation. The results are important because they tend to confirm with official crime report data, results found in earlier studies using self-report data, i.e., (1) when the process is appropriately modeled, previous contacts with police are found to cause some experimenters with crime to become desisters, (2) prior work experience and economic opportunities tend to reinforce this tendency to desist, (3) even though blacks are found to have a greater prevalence of involvement in crime, when the data are standardized for all of the aforementioned factors and educational attainment, there is no significant difference between blacks and whites in their tendency to recidivate.     

Social control theory: The salience of components by age,gender, and type of crime

Most social control theorists do not consider definitions of delinquency problematic. Beginning with the assumption that crime is a unitary concept, researchers have combined a variety of non-normative items to create additive delinquency scales. Rarely is consideration given to whether the causes of crime differ for distinct types of criminal activity. Furthermore, the classic social control model doesnot predict that bonding variables operate differently for distinct age and gender categories. Consistent with the structuring perspective, the present research attempts to refine the social control model by specifying conditions under which the model predicts different forms of delinquency. This study examines social control theory using survey data from middle- and high-school students (N=2926). Logit regression analysis revealed that the model which best explains personal crime differs from the model which best explains property crime. Also, certain components of the model were more powerful predictors of criminal behavior for different age-gender groups. The importance of model specification is demonstrated and the implications for social control theory are discussed.     

The intersection of defendants' race, gender, and age in prosecutorial decision making

A growing body of research examined the ways in which various legal and extralegal factors influence prosecutors' charging decisions. Though the results of these studies were mixed, some researchers reported that extralegal factors had little or no effect on important decisions such as case rejection and dismissal. The majority of this research, however, suffered from a considerable shortcoming—that is, most studies considered the direct effects of measures such as age, race, and gender, but failed to consider the potential interactions that might occur between these factors. Consequently, the present research employed a nationally representative sample of felony drug defendants to address this issue by examining whether or not age and gender condition the effect of race on prosecutors' decisions to dismiss criminal charges. Implications of the findings are discussed in the context of theory, research, and policy.     

Sex, race/ethnicity, and context in school-associated student homicides

This study assessed the importance of sex, race/ethnicity, and geographic context for incidents of school-associated student homicides between July 1, 1994 and June 30, 1999, covering 5 academic years. Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention School Associated Violent Deaths Study (n = 125 incidents), we compared percentages and medians of victim, offender, motive, and school characteristics for incidents by geographic context and race/ethnicity of the offenders. Most incidents involved urban areas (53.6%), Black and Latino offenders and victims, moderately high youth poverty, and male on male violence (77.6%) driven by disputes and gang-related motives. Suburban area incidents (31.2%) often involved offenders and victims of a different race/ethnicity (51.3%). Multiple victims and White offenders were more common in rural areas (15.2%). More than 50% of the rural incidents involved male offenders and female victims. White offender incidents more often included multiple victims and female victims while Black and Latino offenders more often included single victims of the same sex. These results emphasize the utility of an incident-based analysis of school-associated student homicides in highlighting important variations by intersections of sex, race/ethnicity, and geographic context.     

Prosecutorial discretion for domestic violence cases: an examination of the effects of offender race,ethnicity, gender,and age

Much of the existing literature on courts and sentencing has focused on judicial decision-making. Prior research on prosecutorial decision-making is more limited, with even less attention paid to the prosecution of domestic violence cases. The research that has been conducted has produced inconsistent results regarding the effects of legal and extralegal variables. The current study focuses on the effects of extralegal suspect characteristics on the decision to dismiss domestic violence cases in a large Midwestern county from June 2009 to December 2009. The findings demonstrate that gender and race have a strong influence on prosecutors’ decisions to dismiss charges in domestic violence cases. Contrary to the focal concerns perspective, however, the results indicate that males and Black and Hispanic offenders are more likely to have their cases dismissed. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Projecting crime rates: An age,period, and cohort model using ARIMA techniques

The object of this paper is to generate forecasts of U.S. index property and violent crimes. A three-step procedure is employed. First, the age-specific crime rates are decomposed into age, period, and cohort effects. Then the period and cohort effects are characterized using regression and transfer functions, respectively. Finally, these statistical models are used to generate forecasts of the period and cohort effects and hence forecasted values of the age-specific crime rates. The forecasts are compared with existing data and found to be quite accurate. Issues concerning the forecast efficiency of this approach compared to that of others are also discussed.     

Rape victim and perpetrator blame and the Just World hypothesis: The influence of victim gender and age

Abstract

Victims of rape are sometimes blamed for the assaults against them. Research has examined primarily female victims; much less is known about men as victims and whether victim age affects attributions of victim blame. Furthermore, the study investigated the effects of Belief in a Just World (BJW) on blame attributions. Employing a vignette-type experimental study with a 2 (gender of participant)×2 (victim's gender)×2 (victim's age)×2 (participant BJW score) between-subjects design and several measures of blame attributions towards victim and perpetrator as dependent variables, a community sample (n = 164) participated. The main results were as hypothesised, namely that young male victims were attributed more blame, particularly by participants scoring high on BJW. Overall, victim blame level was low and perpetrator blame was high, and BJW was a powerful predictor of blame attributions.     

The role of race/ethnicity and race relations on public opinion related to the immigration and crime link

This article examines two hypotheses related to public opinion concerning immigration and crime. Using data from a recent Gallup poll with oversamples of Hispanics and Blacks, the research examined whether race/ethnicity and race relations matter in the public's opinion of the connection between immigration and crime. After a series of models were performed, results of the final model revealed that race relations, gender (specifically, being male), race/ethnicity, and immigrant status are influential in contextualizing public opinion on the topic. The meaning and policy implications of these findings are also reviewed.     

Do race and gender matter in police stress? A preliminary assessment of the interactive effects

The interactive effects of race and gender in a multi-dimensional assessment of police occupational stress were examined in this study. The sample from a large urban police department was divided into four subgroups: White males, African-American males, White females, and African-American females. Comparisons were carried out to assess group differences in three major domains of stress process: stressors, coping mechanisms, and multiple psychological manifestations of stress. Specific attentions were paid to observe any similar or dissimilar interactive effects of race and gender on the stress process. The results showed that dynamic factors such as measures of work environment and coping mechanisms contributed more in explaining police stress than static factors such as race and gender. Additionally, destructive coping and work-family conflict (spillover) were the most stable correlates of police stress across all subgroups included in the analysis. The impacts of negative exposure and camaraderie on police stress were conditional on the subgroup statuses. Limitations and implications of the study are discussed.     

Power, crime and criminology in the new imperial age

As a consequence of the U.S. pursuit of neo-liberal global hegemony in the post-Soviet era, the language of empire has returned to political discourse and social analysis after an eighty-year absence. Although the pursuit of empire and the exertion of imperial control is deeply and demonstrably injurious to the nations and people subjected to this control, orthodox criminology has given relatively little attention to this emerging world of transnational social injury, choosing instead to continue its traditional focus on private crimes of greed, lust and rage. In this essay I detail how legal formalism, methodological individualism, ameliorative motives, mass-communications and the reward structure of orthodox criminology combine to form a meta-theoretical framework that has kept the criminological gaze averted from injurious actions of transnational structures of power. I then offer an alternative framework for a criminology of empire and other power crimes focused on how intersections among economic, political and cultural processes generate social injuries that are analogous to crimes in their nature and consequences, and that, as a result should become as significant a focus of criminological inquiry as the street crimes that now dominate criminological research and writing. What do we do with our knowledge about the suffering of others, and what does this knowledge do to us? -Stanley Cohen      

Juror decision making for juveniles tried as adults: the effects of defendant age,crime type,and crime outcome

This study examined the influences of the crime type (person or property) and the crime outcome (mild or severe) on mock jurors’ verdict and sentencing decisions for adult defendants and juvenile defendants tried as adults. Jurors read a trial summary depicting a defendant charged with aggravated robbery or second-degree burglary. The crimes had either mild or severe damage inflicted on the person or property, and the defendant's age was presented as 14 or 24. Neither the defendant age nor the crime outcome affected jurors’ verdicts; however, jurors were more likely to convict a defendant charged with a crime against a person. Jurors recommended longer sentences for an adult defendant, a defendant charged with a crime against a person, and a defendant charged with a crime with a severe outcome. The discussion explored these outcomes and the role of bias in jurors’ perceptions of defendants.     

An assessment of the impact of quality-of-life policing on crime and disorder

In this paper we examine the impact of quality-of-life policing on crime and disorder. Specifically, we examine a quality-of-life initiative conducted by the Chandler, Arizona Police Department, which was grounded in an operational strategy of policing social and physical disorder. Using data on calls for service, we employ an interrupted time-series analysis to examine the effect of the intervention on 10 offense categories within the overall target area and within four zones that constitute the target area. The findings suggest that the quality-of-life initiative exerted the strongest effect on two categories of crime and disorder: public morals and physical disorder. Diffusion of benefit and displacement effects were also observed in nearby areas. We discuss the implications of the findings for policy makers and researchers.     

Sex, lies, and videotape: The presentation of sex crime in local television news

The portrayal of sex crime in popular media is distorted and sensational. The media propagate several myths about sex crime and provide numerous inaccuracies about the nature and level of sex crime. Employing content analysis, this research sought to systematically and critically explore the presentation of sex crime in local television newscasts. The results revealed that approximately 10 percent of crime stories were sex related. In addition, the results suggested that sex crime stories were more likely to present fear, while being less likely to appear sensational or report motives. Finally, unlike the majority of crime stories, sex crime stories were more likely to be reported in the later stages of criminal justice, which included the court, sentencing, and disposition phase. These findings are discussed within the context of common depictions of sex crime. Essentially, victim credibility and fear are universal themes within the context of sex crime presentation.     

Youth violence at school and the intersection of gender, race, and ethnicity

Purpose

Research has revealed that school-based activities are related to youth violence at school; however, the intersection of gender, race, and ethnicity in this relationship remains uncertain.

Methods

This study utilizes data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 and incorporates multilevel modeling techniques to examine the intersectionality of gender, race, and ethnicity in the relationship between school-based activities and youth victimization at school.

Results

Racial and ethnic minority male involvement in school sports is linked to an increase in school-based victimization, while White American male involvement in school sports is associated with a decrease in school-based victimization. On the other hand, school sports appears to be an insulating factor against victimization for girls regardless of their race or ethnicity.

Conclusions

This research underscores the importance of understanding the intersection of gender, race, and ethnicity when examining youth violence.     

Gender, race, and formal court decision-making outcomes: Chivalry/paternalism, conflict theory or gender conflict?

A significant body of research examines the influence of offender gender on court-related decision making and typically finds that women deemed “worthy of protection” are afforded greater leniency than other offenders. There is a less developed effort to uncover the influence of victim characteristics, particularly victim gender and the interaction between offender and victim gender on formal criminal justice outcomes. Drawing from the chivalry/paternalism hypotheses, conflict theory, and gender conflict frameworks, the present research used data on a nationally representative sample of convicted homicide defendants to examine the effects of gender and race dyads on sentencing outcomes. Policy implications and future research directions are discussed.