Immigrant Perceptions of the Police in Houston

• In Event: Immigration and Policing

Abstract

Public perception of the police has become a key area of research in American policing. A review of literature on the topic, however, reveals that relatively few studies have focused on immigrants’ perceptions of the police that are distinctively different from those of the non-immigrants. Immigrants typically view their current experiences with the police in the U.S. in comparison to their past experiences with legal officials in their home country through “bifocal lenses.” The purpose of the current study is to examine the attitudes the immigrants have of police in their neighborhoods and how their confidence in the police in their home country affects the formation of their current perceptions of the police in the U.S. The data were obtained from a random-sample telephone survey of 1,396 residents in Houston in 2014, including the sub-samples of immigrants and non-immigrants. Three inter-related but empirically distinct components of public perceptions of the police will be examined, including perceptions of procedural justice, satisfaction with police effectiveness, and expectations of the police. The findings will shed light on the research on determinants of immigrant perceptions of the police.

Authors

• Ling Ren, Sam Houston State University

• Phil He, Northeastern University