Immigrants' Confidence in the Police: An Examination of Generational and Ethnic Differences in the United States

• In Event: Immigration and Threat

Abstract

The growing number of immigrants in the U.S. highlights the importance of confidence in the police among immigrants for successful policing. This article examines effects of generation and ethnicity among immigrants on confidence in the police using data from World Value Survey wave 6, which contains 2,232 responses from the U.S. The empirical results suggest first-generation immigrants have less confidence in the police than non-immigrants and second-generation immigrants. However, the second-generation immigrants are not significantly different from non-immigrants. Interestingly, indirect victimization has an interactive effect in predicting confidence in the police. However, this effect appears unique to immigrants of Hispanic/Latino origins. Further, second-generation, Hispanic/Latino immigrants report a lower level of confidence in the police than other ethnic immigrant groups. Based on empirical findings, various practical implications are also presented in the study.

Authors

• Ha-Neul Yim, The University of Texas at Dallas

• Sungil Han, University of Texas at Dallas

• Richard Hernandez, The University of Texas at Dallas

• Jon Maskály, The University of Texas at Dallas