NCJ Number
236985
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 28 Issue: 5 Dated: October 2011 Pages: 745-774
Date Published
October 2011
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This study examined the issues of race/ethnicity, immigration, and policing with a focal concern on Chinese immigrants' attitudes toward police.
Abstract
A considerable body of research focuses on racial and ethnic minorities' perceptions of police, yet non-Black, non-Hispanic minority groups, Asians in particular, are largely overlooked. Meanwhile, despite a fast growing immigrant population and the increasing demand on local police to enforce immigration law, research on police-immigrant relations remains limited. Using data from over 400 Chinese immigrants, this study examines the issues of race/ethnicity, immigration, and policing with a focal concern on Chinese immigrants' attitudes toward police. Results indicate that the majority of Chinese immigrants rate police positively in overall performance and specific areas of effectiveness, integrity, and demeanor. Both universal and immigrant-specific factors are important predictors of immigrants' attitudes. Chinese immigrants' evaluations of police are not only affected by exposure to media coverage of police misconduct, neighborhood conditions, and city context, but also are intertwined with their opinions of their home country police and perceptions of U.S. immigration authorities. (Published Abstract)