Fear of Crime and Fear of the Police in a Chicano Community (From Criminal Justice and Latino Communities, P 110-123, 1995, Antoinette S. Lopez, ed. - See NCJ-168536)

• NCJ Number: 168542
• Author(s): A Mirande
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 14 pages
• Sale Source: Garland Publishing, Inc.
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

The attitudes of Hispano American residents of a southern California barrio toward crime, the police, and civil liberties were compared with those of black and white persons who responded to a National Opinion Research Center survey conducted a decade earlier.

Abstract

Results supported the hypotheses that fear of crime leads to support for augmenting police power and that fear of the police increases support for civil liberties. In addition, fear of the police was associated with a desire to curtail police power. The three groups differed significantly in several areas. White participants reported better treatment from the police and were more supportive of them than were other groups. They also appeared to have less fear of crime than did Hispano Americans, who, in turn, appeared less fearful than blacks. Although Chicanos seemed to have less fear of crime than blacks, they had more fear of police and were less supportive of them. Chicanos were also most supportive of civil liberties; white respondents were the least supportive. The Hispanics' strong fear and distrust of the police and the intense support for civil liberties were undoubtedly a produce of the long history of police abuse and harassment of Hispano Americans. However, the time gap between the surveys as well as other factors limit the conclusions. Tables, footnotes, and 24 references (Author abstract modified)