NCJ Number
98610
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 2 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1985) Pages: 167-195
Date Published
1985
Length
29 pages
Annotation
This research investigated the significance of the visibility of Hispanic ethnic groups as a determinant of the degree of urban financial commitment to policing; the extent to which region influences this impact was also considered.
Abstract
This 1970 study hypothesized that the relative size of the Hispanic population would have a greater impact on per capita policing expenditures in southern and western cities than in northeastern and north-central cities. The multivariate model of per capita policing expenditures developed hypothesized such expenditures to be a function of percent Hispanic, percent black, inequality, population size and density, poverty, city revenues, and the crime rate. A total of 317 cities with a population of 25,000 or more composed the study sample. Data on municipal policing expenditures were obtained from the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration; crime rates were obtained from the Uniform Crime Report (1970); and data on city demographic characteristics, including percent Hispanic, were obtained from the U.S. Census (1970) and from the City and County Data Book (1972). Per capita municipal policing expenditures, the dependent variable in the analysis, included expenditures for police salaries and operations as well as for capital items. Since the impact of the independent variables might have differed for the two categories of policing expenditures, a separate model was developed for each. Least squares regression was used in the analysis, and standardized coefficients were used to compare the relative importance of variables within a region; unstandardized coefficients were used to compare the effects of a given variable across regions. The study's central hypothesis was supported by the data analysis, but the lack of association between Hispanic population size and the crime rate indicates the correlation is not criminogenic. The findings also indicate that although a community's fiscal capacity and its need for policing are important determinants of urban financial commitment to policing, the public's willingness to allocate resources for policing is also apparently related to the percentage of Hispanics in the population and the historical pattern of Hispanic/non-Hispanic relations. Tabular and graphic data are provided, and 48 references are listed.