RACIALLY HOMOPHILOUS SOCIAL TIES AND INFORMAL SOCIAL CONTROL

Social disorganization theory argues that racial/ethnic heterogeneity is a key neighborhood characteristic leading to social disorganization and, consequently, higher levels of crime. Heterogeneity's effect is argued to be a result of its fragmentation of social ties along racial/ethnic lines, which creates racially homophilous social networks with few ties bridging racial/ethnic groups. Most studies of social ties in social disorganization models, however, have examined their quantity and left unaddressed the extent to which ties are within or across different racial groups. This study goes beyond previous studies by examining the effects of both racially homophilous and interracial friendship networks on informal social control. Using multilevel models and data from 66 neighborhoods with approximately 2,300 respondents, we found that heterogeneity actually increased the average percentage of residents with interracial friendship networks, but the percentage of residents with interracial networks decreased the likelihood of informal social control. In contrast, the percentage of residents with White racially homophilous networks increased the likelihood of informal social control. Examining the microcontext of individuals’ networks, however, we found residents with interracial ties reported higher likelihoods of informal social control and that this effect was enhanced in neighborhoods with higher percentages of non‐White racially homophilous networks.     

Race,Place, and Police-Caused Homicide in U.S. Municipalities

We test structural hypotheses regarding police-caused homicides of minorities. Past research has tested minority threat and community violence hypotheses. The former maintains that relatively large minority populations are subjectively perceived as threats and experience a higher incidence of police-caused homicide than whites do, the latter that higher rates of violent crime among minorities create objective threats that explain these disparities. That research has largely ignored some important issues, including: alternative specifications of the minority threat hypothesis; the place hypothesis, which maintains highly segregated minority populations are perceived as especially threatening by police; and police-caused homicide in the Hispanic population. Using data for large U.S. cities, we conducted total-incidence and group-specific analyses to address these issues. A curvilinear minority threat hypothesis was supported by the Hispanic group-specific findings, whereas the place hypothesis found strong support in both total and group-specific analyses. These results provide new insights into patterns of police-caused homicide.     

The Unintended consequences of sentencing reforms: Using social chain theory to examine racial disparities in Female imprisonment

The current study uses social chain theory to examine the potential unintended effects of sentencing reforms on racial disparities in female imprisonment. Our analysis measures changes in the relative odds of Black to White female imprisonment using the Relative Rate Index (RRI) through panel regression modeling on 40 states from 1983 to 2008. Our final models indicate that four types of sentencing reforms had unintended perverse effects on racial disparities in prison admissions while Truth in Sentencing laws increased racial disparities in time-served. Eighteen combinations of sentencing reforms also significantly impacted disparities. Theoretical and policy implications are also discussed.     

Trust is hard to come by: Disentangling the influence of structural characteristics and race on perceptions of trust in the police in a major Southern County

The current study will add to the literature on public attitudes toward law enforcement by assessing the individual and contextual-level predictors of one of the key concepts in police legitimacy literature: trust. Examining individuals nested within zip code results showed a significant equalizing effect of structural resource deprivation on both White and Black respondents' perceptions of trust in the police. Additionally, results found respondents who perceived racial profiling to be widespread had a universally decreased likelihood of having trust in the police, and these disparities were exacerbated as structural resource deprivation increased.     

Measuring the intercondylar shelf angle using radiographs: intra- and inter-observer error tests of reliability

This study presents a test of intra- and inter-observer measurement error rates of the intercondylar shelf angle of the distal femur, as measured on lateral radiographs. This measurement is the central element of a method to determine racial affiliation from the distal femur. Four observers independently radiographed a set of 33 complete and partial femora from collections housed at the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, Central Identification Laboratory. Each observer then measured the intercondylar shelf angles in each radiograph, following the original method's guidelines. A supplementary inter-observer error test was conducted by four additional observers on one set of radiographs. Statistically significant differences were found for both intra- and inter-observer error based on the results of Student's t-tests, paired samples t-tests, and ANOVA analyses. The results of this study indicate that further experimentation should be undertaken in order to develop refined measurement techniques that may help improve standardization and reduce the observer error rates.     

Disproportionate minority contact in juvenile justice: today’s,and yesterdays,problems

Disproportionate minority contact (DMC) has been a perplexing problem for the juvenile justice system, and recognized as a national priority since the 1980s. The over-representation of minority youthful offenders throughout juvenile court processing, from arrests to dispositions, has not changed even though significant federal and state efforts have been employed. This paper reviews these racial and ethnic disparity problems, and investigates the history of the juvenile justice system and courts, from the eighteenth century to today’s reformation movement, identifying that DMC is not a recent phenomenon. The history of slavery and the Jim Crow Era greatly impacted the establishment of the juvenile courts and child-centered justice efforts, finding disparities at all historical markers where records are available. When reviewing DMC as we know it today through this context, an argument can be made that limited progress has been made over the past 200 years.     

The role of Title IV-E education and training in child protection workforce diversification

ABSTRACT

Educating, training, and diversifying the workforce are strategies that may help reduce racial/ethnic disparities that plague child protection system (CPS). Title IV-E education and training programs support the development of a specially trained, highly skilled workforce; yet, little research examining their impact on workforce diversification exists. The current study assessed the relationship between Title IV-E education and training and workforce diversity and leadership in a state system that is plagued with racial disparities using data from a statewide child welfare survey (n = 679) and existing population-level sources. Findings revealed that while children of color were disproportionately overrepresented in the CPS, professionals of color were disproportionately underrepresented (as compared to the state’s overall population and the population of children served within CPS). Title IV-E education and training programs were associated with both child protection workforce diversity and CPS leadership roles. Implications for recruitment, retention, education, and partnership are discussed.     

Evolving issues in police and immigrants’ relation in Finland: is it towards a structural interpretation?

The relation between police and immigrants has become a topic of scholarly fields of research as immigration has increased the number of new residents and people from a variety of countries and cultures into Finland. This new phenomenon has slowly changed the country to a multicultural society, thus requiring government agencies to adapt and adjust in the ways they provide services to the citizenry. Moreover, empirical research studies on minorities’ and immigrants’ perceptions of the police posit that certain factors are responsible for minorities’ lack of trust in the police. Little attention has been given to this issue in Finland. The aim of this study is to analyse and explore as well as add to the growing scholarly research on the perception and cooperation between immigrants and the police in Finland in order to address the factors that could possibly be responsible for immigrants’ lack of trust in the police. To address these issues, the study uses the experiences of 23 out of the 65 Africans whose ages range from 28 to 50+ who have resided in the country for five or more years. The findings indicate a depth of troublesome cross-cultural understanding between the participants and the police owing to differences in the policing styles in Finland and the respondents’ countries of origin. The concept of over-policing is analysed with a view to ensure the effective protection of the human rights of the participating immigrants within the country’s criminal justice system.     

Bail and Pretrial Release Decisions

Abstract

The racial threat perspective is tested using data from empirical studies of bail and pretrial release. Of the thirty empirical studies investigating race and bail/pretrial release, eighteen identified specific cities and counties, thereby permitting an examination of the effect of racial composition on the race and bail/pretrial release nexus. Results suggest a possible modification of the racial threat perspective as typically conceptualized. Other factors affecting this relationship are briefly discussed.     

Repeat Citizens in Motor Vehicle Stops

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the possible existence of the repeat phenomenon and their impact on racial disparities in police motor vehicle stops. The repeat phenomenon is the existence of a small proportion of people or places that account for a much larger proportion of events. While this phenomenon has been identified and discussed in other areas of criminal justice and criminology, it has not been extended to motor vehicle stops. The current study examines the existence of repeat citizens in a population of motor vehicle stops (N = 4775) from a Mid-western city during 2001. A small, but significant, concentration of motor vehicle stops were discovered among a few citizens and significant predictors of citizen performance included citizen race, gender, age, residency, time of the stop, and reason for the stop.