The Value of Social Control: Racial Resentment, Punitiveness, and White Support for Spending on Law Enforcement

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 697-718
Author(s):  
R. C. Morris ◽  
Ryan Jerome LeCount
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Population Characteristics ◽  
Criminal Justice Policy ◽  
Community Needs ◽  
Racial Resentment ◽  
Nationally Representative

A well-established body of research finds that racial resentment predicts support for punitive criminal justice policy. This article links racial resentment with punitiveness, expanding the existing research—a body of work that largely treats punitivity as a response to threat. Data for this study come from three nationally representative samples and incorporate individual and contextual factors. Key variables include Racial Resentment, Political Ideology, Punitiveness, Crime—both objective crime (i.e., county-level crime rates) and subjective crime (i.e., fear of crime), racial population characteristics, and theoretically relevant controls. Contextual factors help to clarify whether support for spending is a “rational” response to crime or a “nonrational” response to perceived racial threat as expressed through punitiveness. Findings indicate that, net of a host of factors, a punitive value orientation as well as racial resentment predicts support for increased spending on law enforcement. Our analysis also suggests that racial resentment and punitivity are more consistent and stronger predictors of support even when controlling for Crime. The article closes with a discussion of opportunity cost vis-à-vis law enforcement and other community needs. Implications for further study of race and criminal justice policy get discussed with suggestions for dealing with the future of identity-based politics.

scholarly journals Pulling us apart? The association between fear of crime and social cohesion in South Africa

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin J. Roberts ◽  
Steven L. Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Social Fabric ◽  
Perceptions Of Safety ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Adverse Influence

Fear of crime, like crime itself, is thought to be a factor that constrains efforts by government and non-state actors at promoting socially cohesive communities and a caring society. As concern  over South Africa's social fabric have mounted, increasing policy attention has been directed at perceptions of safety and nation-building. In this study, we use nationally representative survey data to examine recent theoretical models on the link between fear of crime and social cohesion within communities. The results do not offer strong support for the hypothesis that higher fear of crime is associated with lower levels of social trust, neighbouthood ties and civic cohesion, although fear does have a moderate, adverse influence on attitudes towards law enforcement.

HOW RACIAL ATTITUDES AND IDEOLOGY AFFECT POLITICAL RIGHTS FOR FELONS

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Wilson ◽  
Michael Leo Owens ◽  
Darren W. Davis
Keyword(s):  
African Americans ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Racial Attitudes ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Representative Survey ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Collateral Consequences ◽  
Felon Disenfranchisement ◽  
Racial Resentment ◽  
Nationally Representative

AbstractThis research examines the extent to which negative attitudes toward African Americans influence public reactions to restoring political rights to felons. We argue that race-neutral policies, such as felon disenfranchisement laws, are non-separable from racial considerations, as images of criminals and felons are typically associated with Blacks. Such attitudes produce collateral consequences for felons, hampering the restoration of their full political rights and, ultimately, their citizenship. Predispositions, such as racial attitudes and political ideology, provide both racial and nonracial justifications for supporting these laws, yet, there are no empirical accounts of their relational effects on opinion toward felons’ rights. Using nationally representative survey data, we find that racialized resentment and ideology exert the most influence on the reactions to policies seeking political rights for felons as well as beliefs about the value of doing so. Consistent with much of the literature on attitudes toward ameliorative racial policies, higher levels of racial resentment strongly predict lower support for felons’ political rights among both conservatives and liberals, yet, racial resentment is most influential among liberals. Conservatives exhibit the highest levels of racial resentment, but its impact is depressed more by agreement on both racial attitudes and opposition to political rights of felons.

Examining the Relationship Between Media Consumption, Fear of Crime, and Support for Controversial Criminal Justice Policies Using a Nationally Representative Sample

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 399-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Dolliver ◽  
Jennifer L. Kenney ◽  
Lesley Williams Reid ◽  
Ariane Prohaska
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Media Consumption ◽  
Three Strikes ◽  
Components Analysis ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Effects Of Media ◽  
The Relationship

According to cultivation theory, higher levels of crime-based media consumption result in an increased fear of crime. This study extends cultivation theory’s basic assertion by (a) creating a robust measure of media consumption based on three different factors and 38 original questions, (b) examining the direct and indirect effects of media consumption and fear of crime on support of criminal justice policies, and (c) using a nationwide sample. Using a sample of 1,311 participants, a combination of principal components analysis and structural equation modeling was used to examine these relationships. The results support the usefulness of a four-factor measure of media consumption in relationship to fear of crime. Results also reveal that fear of crime amplifies the effect of media consumption in creating support for three-strikes, death penalty, stand your ground, and open carry laws.

Restitution without Restoration? Exploring the Gap between the Perception and Implementation of Restitution

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
pp. 1015-1037
Author(s):  
Karin D. Martin ◽  
Matthew Z. Fowle
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Restorative Justice ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Representative Sample ◽  
Criminal Justice Policy ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Victim Compensation ◽  
The Common ◽  
Nationally Representative

Restitution as a social practice can simultaneously have a punitive effect and add to a person’s criminal justice debt load, while maintaining a reparative and therefore restorative component. We use principles of restorative justice to assess restitution as a concept and a practice, drawing on data from a survey experiment administered to a nationally representative sample ( n = 433). We find that the common and strongly preferred conception of restitution is “direct,” entailing a convicted person compensating a victim for quantifiable loss. Evidence from Victim Compensation Funds (VCFs) in all 50 states demonstrate the widespread use of “indirect” restitution, through which funds from various sources are distributed to qualifying victims. Broader trends in criminal justice policy related to the centering of the victim and a managerial approach to punishment help explain our findings. We conclude that the divergence between common conception and widespread practice indicates a need for a revised notion of restitution.

scholarly journals New Approaches to Data-Driven Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement: An Introduction to the Second NACOLE/CJPR Special Issue

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel L. Stageman ◽  
Nicole M. Napolitano ◽  
Brian Buchner
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
Criminal Justice Policy ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Policy Review ◽  
Police Accountability

In April of 2016, National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) and John Jay College partnered to sponsor the Academic Symposium “Building Public Trust: Generating Evidence to Enhance Police Accountability and Legitimacy.” This essay introduces the Criminal Justice Policy Review Special Issue featuring peer-reviewed, empirical research papers first presented at the Symposium. We provide context for the Symposium in relation to contemporary national discourse on police accountability and legitimacy. In addition, we review each of the papers presented at the Symposium, and provide in-depth reviews of each of the manuscripts included in the Special Issue.

scholarly journals Immigration and Preferences for Greater Law Enforcement Spending in Rich Democracies

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Brady ◽  
Joshua J Fink
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Minority Threat ◽  
Stocks And Flows

Immigration to rich democracies grew substantially in the 1990s and 2000s. We investigate whether the rise of immigration influenced the novel and salient outcome of preferences for greater law enforcement spending. We propose that these preferences are consequential for policymaking, reflect popular demand for punitive social control, and represent micro-level preferences underlying the politics of criminal justice. Motivated by literatures on criminal justice politics, minority threat, and the fear of crime, we examine whether stocks and flows of immigration influence individual-level preferences for greater law enforcement spending. Using International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) data, we analyze between-country variation with multi-level models of 25 countries in 2006, and within-country variation with differences-in-differences (DD) models of 16 countries with available data in both 1996 and 2006. Both multilevel and DD models show that flows of immigration increase preferences for greater law enforcement spending. Indeed, the coefficients for immigration flows are larger than or comparable in magnitude to the coefficients for any other variable, and are robust net of homicide rates and police officers per 100,000. By contrast, the stock of immigrants is not robustly associated with preferences. The results demonstrate that rising immigration contributed to increasing public support for greater law enforcement spending.

Religion and the Military

2018 ◽  
pp. 535-552
Author(s):  
Leana A. Bouffard ◽  
Haerim Jin
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Criminal Justice Policy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Period Effects ◽  
Offending Patterns ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter provides an overview of the literature examining the role of religion and military service in the desistance process. It also identifies outstanding issues and directions for future research. It first presents an overview of research examining the role of religion in desistance and highlights measurement issues, potential intervening mechanisms, and a consideration of faith-based programs as criminal justice policy. Next, this chapter covers the relationship between military service and offending patterns, including period effects that explain variation in the relationship, selection effects, and the incorporation of military factors in criminal justice policy and programming. The chapter concludes by highlighting general conclusions from these two bodies of research and questions to be considered in future research.

Crack and Criminal Justice in Canton, Ohio, 1987–1999: “The Drug Problem has Created a Monster”

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-182
Author(s):  
WILL COOLEY
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Crack Cocaine ◽  
Mass Incarceration ◽  
War On Drugs ◽  
Drug Problem ◽  
Industrial City ◽  
The City

AbstractThe rise of crack cocaine in the late 1980s propelled the war on drugs. The experience of Canton, Ohio, shows how the response to crack solidified mass incarceration. A declining industrial city of 84,000 people in northeast Ohio with deep-seated racial divides, it was overwhelmed by aggressive, enterprising crack dealers from outside the city. In response, politicians and residents united behind the strategy of incessant arrests and drastic prison sentences. The law-enforcement offensive worsened conditions while pursuing African Americans at blatantly disproportionate rates, but few people engaged in reframing the drug problem. Instead, a punitive citizenry positioned punishment as the principal remedy. The emergency foreclosed on more comprehensive assessments of the city’s tribulations, while the criminal justice system emerged as the paramount institution.

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