Do The People Of The Pool Make It Deeper?

In a review from a book that Holmes and Smith published, the importance of stereotypes is underlined. Drawing to some degree on theories that see police violence as the result of “threats” that police officers experience during encounters in minority neighborhoods, the authors suggest that the idea of threat is in large part based on prevalent stereotypes. These stereotypes are not just employed by police, but are also used by members of minority groups. Whereas police often experience heightened anxiety and fear responding to calls in minority neighborhoods, minority residents experience similar emotions when confronted by police. Minority members often perceive police to be highly biased and to resort quickly to violence.

Crime has always been a hot topic in sociology. There are many different reasons for people to commit criminal acts. There is no way to pinpoint the source of crime. I am going to show the relationship between race and crime. More specifically, I will be discussing the higher chances of minorities being involved in the criminal justice system than the majority population, discrimination, racial profiling and the environment criminals live in.

Conflict theory maintains that the privileged, acting on the perception of threat, will use the crime control apparatus of the state to restrain and limit those who threaten their interests. Practically, this means that one should expect more aggressive law enforcement practices in areas with greater percentages of poor and non-White citizens. This ‘threat hypothesis’ has been tested in several areas of American policing. (M. Petrocelli/ Journal of Criminal Justice 31)

“In general, the results from the current study suggest that only three of the independent variables are significantly related to attitudes toward violence: social capital, machismo (male superiority), and perceptions of treatment of Latinos by U.S. non-Latinos...the findings of this research demonstrate that factors that influence Latino attitudes toward violence may be unique from predictor variables that in the past have been used to explain maladaptive assimilation outcomes. The assimilation experience of contemporary Latinos in the United States, although similar to that of previous generations, is unique and seemingly more complex. Researchers must give consideration to the widespread negative sentiments toward undocumented immigrants in the Latino Attitudes Toward Violence 155 United States and how an inhospitable

(Torres, S. 1998) Research indicates that fear of crime, whether self-imposed or realistic, can immobilize individuals, harm the local economy and negatively impact social interactions as well as the quality of life (Albanese, 1990 Skogan (1987) argues that crime victims believe that more crime exists, are worried about victimization and attempt to protect themselves. Parker and Ray (1990) as well as Krannich et al. (1989) revealed victimization to be a predictor related to fear of crime. Additional support for these findings was provided by Smith and Hill (1991), who showed that actual victimization appears to increase fear of crime by increasing the perception of vulnerability. (Torres, S. 1998) Research also shows that fear of crime among minorities and those of lower socioeconomic status is related to their vulnerability in the urban environment (Liska et al., 1982). The elderly who are physically vulnerable and less agile are more fearful of crime even though they are less likely to be victims. (Torres, S. 1998) The proliferation and presence of gangs in the United States is also linked to the concept of social incivilities and increased fear of crime. This problem of fear does not go away. The people not only have a constant fear, it continues to the next generation of people in

The Latino Threat is a concept of an imposing threat of the Latino, whether they be from Mexico or any other Latin country, and how they affect the U.S. and its citizens. This concept is described heavily Leo R. Chavez’ book aptly titled The Latino Threat. In the book, he describes how the Latino threat as a concept has been used routinely to underline the aspect of United States citizenship in a tit for tat manner; that being dehumanizing the Latino to raise the standing of U.S. citizenship. The U.S. as a nation believes it should feel better about itself because it is the one that turns people away rather than being the place where people run from. Over the history of America this isolationist view on illegal immigrants has waned and

Another common negative stereotype, establishes the African American male as intellectually inferior. Studies directed by psychologist Claude Stale, indicate that African American teenagers are aware that they are stigmatized as being intellectually inferior and the go to school bearing what psychologist Claude has called a “burden of suspicion” Such burden can affect their attitudes and achievements. These shadows hang over stigmatized people no matter their status or accomplishments. These stigmas have the potential to roll them of their individually and debilitate their attempts to break out of the stereotypical roles. Blacks are the repository for the American fear of crime. Ask anyone, of any race, to picture a criminal and the image will have a black face. The linked between blackness and criminality it’s routinized by terms such a “black-on-black crimes” or “black crimes”.

The racial stereotyping of minority groups is a prevalent problem within the United State’s criminal justice system. It is a regrettable issue which permeates American society. The young Black male, in particular, is often portrayed as a criminal based on incorrect assumptions regarding who perpetrates crime. There are several components contributing to the criminal stigma of Blacks. The way crime is conveyed by American culture is possibly as important as how crime actually functions. The widespread belief that Black males commit the majority of crime skews the view society’s perception of Blacks. Typifications of Black males include a violent, threatening, thug-like character. The connection between race and crime is so deeply seeded in

Williams assumes that crime is related to poverty but, as in the US, white communities tend to be much wealthier than communities of color, people are, one more time, induced to stretch poverty into race. Moreover, in order to sustain her point of view, she points out that statistics have proven that in areas where there are many poor whites, the crime rate is almost the same as African Americans and Latino neighborhoods.

Meyer, Castro-Schilo, and Aguilar-Gaxiola (2014) found that lower socioeconomic status resulted in higher fears about safety due to the necessity of living in neighborhoods with higher crime rates. Fear about the safety led to lower levels of activity and subsequently

Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys. New York: New York UP, 2011. Print. pag 21).In chapter 3 the author of the book describes how a young Hispanic and Black deal with police and crimes in a community where both are part of the daily activities. Also Victor illustrates how complex is the environment in these neighborhoods and how the punishment and labeling process generated by police amplify the “codes of the streets” learned and applied by youths who live in these marginal areas. If we go to Chapter 4 we will realize the high importance of it, because of the role of the school, police, parents and other social influences contributing to grow the sense criminalization as a core element after these youths have committed a crime or develop any illegal activity. Cultural and institutional patterns become important elements in this chapter because they provide essential information to understand why and how young men relapse with their crimes and the effect of criminalization used mainly by police in

Daily, law enforcement will stop a Hispanic/Latino for doing something “suspicious” when it is consider the norm for another ethnicity. For example, in Arizona, Hispanics/ Latinos were targets of racial profiling; they were being stopped by law enforcement to verify their legal status. In this it is necessary to point out that not a single white person lives under the constant fear of being a suspect for being at the wrong place at the wrong time because minorities such as Hispanics/ Latinos or Blacks will consider accountable of it according to Latino Policy and Issues Brief by Abel Valenzuela, Hispanic score of 0.77 under of the sub-index of criminal justice. This sub-index is composed of measuring “equality before the law and arrest” (Valenzuela). This demonstrates the inequality among the system that is meant to protect

Cooperation from members of the public is important in order for police officers to effectively fight crime within the community. In order to obtain cooperation from members of the public, police officers must gain their trust and confidence. It has been known that African Americans and Hispanics have lower levels of trust and confidence in police because of racial disparities and racial profiling. This paper will discuss the public opinion of police by different ethnic groups and how racial minorities hold lower levels of trust and confidence in police.

Hispanic Americans suffered similar fate as African- Americans in racial profiling. The media portrayed them as part of gangs and selling drugs. This group is more likely to have a strong group identity and view the police officers as “gringos” or foreigners (Aguiree , 2004). They already look at the police officers with negativity due to increased activities of deporting illegal occupiers (Davis & Hendricks, 2007). The police officers may be influenced to believe that this group is at higher risk of breaking laws and do not understand Hispanic Americans’ culture.

According to a New York Amsterdam News article, Poverty, not race, tied to high crime in urban communities, “The violent crime rate in highly disadvantaged Black areas was 22 per 1,000 residents, not much different from the 20 per 1,000 rate in similar white communities” (Unknown 1997). While there is a slight influx of criminal activity form American majorities to American minorities, the question of why this is so must be asked. The New York Amsterdam News article helps to provide an explanation for the fluctuation. As far back as the 1980’s, researchers have repetitively return to idea and