Anti-white hate crime in Seattle: The role of reporting behavior and spatial dynamics in predicting victimization

• In Event: Hate Crime Victimization

Abstract

Previous research has shown that the neighborhood correlates of anti-white hate crime are not distinct from more general patterns of victimization. Like general patterns of victimization they are correlated with disadvantaged neighborhoods that are resource deprived and have high residential turnover. As such, hate crimes against whites are unique in that they do not follow the same pattern of place and frequency as other hate crime victim groups. Previous research has suggested that trust in police may have a role in hate crime reporting among white victims, yet it is still unclear how much of anti-white hate crime can be explained by reporting behaviour. As such, we attempt to understand a) whether anti-white hate crime follows a similar pattern of more general victimization across Seattle neighborhoods, and b) whether perceptions of police/reporting help to explain the spatial dynamics of where anti-white hate crimes occur. We restrict our sample to anti-white hate crime victims across Seattle’s 123 census tracts and discuss whether these patterns can be extended to other racial neighborhood phenomena.

Authors

• Suzanna Fay-Ramirez, University of Queensland

• Kevin Drakulich, Northeastern University

• Kathryn Benier, University of Queensland