Racial disparities in arrest rates: examining police bias and social factors

Arrest Rates

The possibility of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system warrants attention from researchers, in order to encourage evidence-based policy change. Prior research has shown a clear connection between race and rates of arrest, but it is unclear whether the relationship is due to bias in the criminal justice system or bias in public perception of crime, leading to the belief that blacks are more dangerous than whites. This research shows whether there is indeed a relationship between race and arrest rates, and if so, under which circumstances the effect is most pronounced.. The five research hypotheses examine variables including race, type of crime, arrest rates, post-arrest procedures including prosecution and sentencing, mitigating variables like poverty, and political propaganda. It is expected that non-whites are more likely to be arrested for the groups of crimes known as "street crimes," including murder, rape, and drug trafficking, and it is further predicted that African-Americans are arrested disproportionately with their non-black brethren. African-Americans are expected to be more likely to be prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to prison terms vs. whites. Predicted risk factors for arrest, regardless of race, include poverty, gang membership, and exposure to violence. Finally, it is hypothesized that arrest rates for blacks are higher in areas in which political propaganda racializes street crime. Data is collected from six different municipalities, including urban, suburban, and rural regions. Official arrest records are used as a primary means of data collection. Results will show whether higher arrest rates for African-Americans are related more to police behaviors such as racial profiling, or whether the higher rates of arrest for African-Americans is related more to community or social variables such as public perception and media attention.

Research Question

Is there a relationship between race and arrest rates?

Hypotheses

1. Non-whites are more likely to be arrested for "street crimes" including violent crimes, robberies, and drug offenses, versus whites.

2. For street crimes, arrest rates are higher for African-Americans than any other ethnic group.

3. Once arrested, non-whites are more likely to be prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to prison, as well as more likely to be arrested.

4. In addition to race, gender, gang membership, poverty, and exposure to violence in the community are mitigating risk factors related to likelihood of an arrest.

5. Arrest rates are higher for African-Americans because of public perception of African-Americans as being dangerous or predisposed to crime, leading to police engaging in racial profiling.

Variables

Independent Variable: Race

Dimension #1: Self-identification

Attributes:

Black

Black + Hispanic or Brazilian

Black Caribbean

Black African

Black "other"

Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial

Dimension #2: Identification of race by arresting officer

Attributes:

Black

Black + Hispanic or Brazilian

Black Caribbean

Black African

Black "other"

Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial

Dimension #3: Self-Perception of How Others Perceive

Attributes:

Black

Black + Hispanic or Brazilian

Black Caribbean

Black African

Black "other"

Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial

Dependent Variable: Arrest Rates

Dimension #1: Type of Crime

Attributes:

Domestic Offense

Drug Offense

Property Offense

Violent Offense (Assault)

Rape

Dimension #2: Level of Crime

Attributes:

Misdemeanor

Felony

Parole Revocation

Dimension #3: Geographic Location

Attributes:

Urban

Suburban

Rural

Statement of the Problem

Prior research has suggested that African-Americans are disproportionately arrested vs. whites (Kochel, Wilson & Mastrofski, 2011). The disproportionality in arrest rates may be attributed to several factors, including racial bias on the part of the police, as well as additional risk factors such as gang membership or poverty. For example, Tapia (2011) found that both race and gang membership created a cluster of risk factors that led to a disproportionate number of African-Americans being arrested for street crimes. In other words, it may be that African-Americans are more likely than other ethnic groups to become involved with gangs, and that involvement with gangs leads to the types of behaviors that draw arrests.

There may also be community variables including social norms, biased beliefs, racism, and prejudice. These sociological and cognitive variables may affect police officers directly, subconsciously, or through unspoken policies led by public officials who have banked on a tough-on-crime agenda. For example, Keen & Jacobs (2009) found that in communities with high levels of racial tension and Republican elected officials, blacks were more likely to be arrested and convicted vs. whites. These findings also showed that the effect was strongest in communities with larger than average proportions of African-American citizens. Keen & Jacobs (2009) postulate that Republican attempts to "link crime with public concerns about a dangerous racial underclass" have been successful, have led to greater media complicity in the racial bias, and subsequently impacts police behavior as well as public opinion (p. 209). When social norms and biases related to race portray the black individual as dangerous, it becomes difficult to reverse the trend of disproportional arrest rates. Walker, Spohn & DeLone (2011) point out that "for many people the term 'crime' evokes an image of a young African-American male who is armed with a handgun and who commits a robbery, a rape, or a muder," (p. 58). Like Keen & Jacobs (2009), Walker, Spohn & DeLone (2011) attribute the bias to the media, politicians, and policy makers. According to Walker, Spohn & DeLone (2011), half of all arrests for murder were African-Americans, 32% of rapes, and an unfathomable 546% of all arrests for robbery were African-Americans. It is important to point out that arrest rates do not account for the total number of crimes reported or committed; many crimes go unreported, and others are reported but no arrest was made (Walker, Spohn & DeLone, 2011).

Significance of Research

This research will help identify whether there is a difference in arrest rates for street crimes between whites and non-whites. In addition to the primary independent variable of race, other variables that might increase or mitigate risk include participation in gangs, poverty, type of geographic area (rural, suburban, or urban), and self-perception of race.

This research may reveal whether police are using race as a type of probable cause, otherwise known as racial profiling. It is difficult to measure racial profiling directly, but if there is a disproportional number of African-Americans being arrested, then the question of why becomes important. It is hypothesized that African-Americans are arrested more often than whites, because of several factors including the public's perception that black people are dangerous. The police may be acting on this generally held belief, and perhaps on direct orders from their superiors who are Republican elected officials. Applied to public policy decisions, research like this might help engage the public more in reducing prejudice and bias. The media also shares a great deal of responsibility in stopping the perpetuation of imagery depicting crime as an African-American problem.