Racial Discrimination, Fear of Crime, and Variability in Blacks’ Preferences for Punitive and Preventative Anti-crime Policies

Abstract

A growing body of research recognizes that people's policy opinions are not simply positive or negative, but instead derive from a variety of positive and negative beliefs related to a political issue. This research expands this insight by explaining the variability in support for punitive anti-crime policies among black Americans. Data from a nationally representative survey of black Americans (n = 515) are used to show that a majority of blacks are conflicted between a strong desire to reduce crime and perceptions of widespread racial discrimination within the criminal justice system. Using a heteroskedastic item response theory model, I demonstrate that conflict between these beliefs results in far greater variability around their support for punitive, but not preventative policies. Both the conflict and variability of many black Americans' preferences on punitive anti-crime policies complicates their ability to clearly voice their support for or opposition toward punitive policies and likely limits the ability of elected officials to represent members of this community.

The structure of public opinion on crime policy: Evidence from seven Caribbean nations

“…Moreover, they found a significant negative correlation between the two factors. In another recent study, Ramirez (2015) examined the crime policy attitudes of 515 black Americans. His confirmatory factor analysis found separate dimensions for preventive and punitive policy support and a negative correlation between the two measures.…”

Criminological Explanations, Race, and Biological Attributions of Crime as Predictors of Philadelphia Area Residents’ Support for Criminal Justice Policies

“…To begin, studies measuring crime attributions have traditionally viewed dispositional and situational factors as opposite ends of the same spectrum (i.e., Cullen et al, 1985). Recently, however, scholars have argued that dispositional and situational attributions operate independently of each other, with some people strongly endorsing both dispositional and situational explanations of crime (Peffley et al, 2017; Ramirez, 2015). Thus, this study treated individual and environmental crime attributions as separate predictors.…”

“…Many studies have also measured attributional styles as opposite ends of the same spectrum, with dispositional attributions on one end and situational attributions on the other. Some scholars, however, contend that it is possible to simultaneously attribute human behavior to individual and environmental influences (Peffley et al, 2017; Ramirez, 2015).…”

The Extent and Correlates of Public Support for Deterrence Reforms and Hot Spots Policing

“…However, we were surprised to find that blacks also support increased foot patrols as the preferred method in hot spots. Recent research suggests that blacks often face competing pressures to oppose policies that can lead to discrimination on the one hand and support policies that control crime in their neighborhoods on the other (Ramirez ). Residents of high crime areas often want more aggressive forms of policing to restore order, at least until this aggressive enforcement affects them or their families (Rosenbaum ).…”