Community and Police Relations in Latina/o Communities: Exploring How Race, Class, and Place Shape Views of Law Enforcement

• In Event: Community Policing I: Domestic Applications

Abstract

This research utilizes qualitative data collected over the last 10 years to explore how Latinas/os experience and perceive the police in the Phoenix Metropolitan area. Data includes 90 semi-structured interviews collected from students, school officials, neighborhood residents, homeless people, and gang members. Research findings show that Latinas/os who live in impoverished communities tend to have negative experiences with the police, especially when they encounter law enforcement in public spaces. Recent immigrants tend to have the most positive experiences but those views change once they begin to have more negative interactions with the police. Moreover, new policies in Arizona have led recent Latina/o immigrants to develop strategies to avoid the police. This research has policy implications for effective law enforcement in Latina/o communities.

Author

• Edwardo L. Portillos, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs