The Effects of Racialized Crime Stereotypes on Concern, Fear, and Perceived Trends

• In Event: Threat

Abstract

Tests of the racial threat hypothesis find that harsh approaches to criminal justice are more common in places that have higher racial and ethnic minority populations. Similarly, micro-level tests of this perspective find that people who stereotype criminals as black or Latino are likelier to endorse punitive criminal sanctions. Given the substantial negative consequences that these racialized views of crime can have on actual policy, it is surprising that there has been no other research to investigate additional possible effects. This research is the first to examine the extent to which the racial typification of crime increases expressions of both affective and cognitive assessments about crime. Specifically, using survey data from a nationally representative sample of adults, this study examines whether racialized criminal stereotypes increase fear of crime, concern about crime, and perceptions that crime is escalating and disproportionately violent. Paths for future research will be discussed.

Authors

• Leah Fikre Butler, Florida State University

• Kelly Welch, Villanova University

• Marc Gertz, Florida State University

• Ted Chiricos, Florida State University