Do Men Offload Crime Reporting to Wives and Girlfriends? Analysis of NCVS Crime Reporting Data

• In Event: Police-Victim Relations and Reporting

Abstract

For people of color, contact with the police can be violent and even lethal. Nevertheless, Black women tend to report experiences of violence to the police at higher rates than other groups. And while we may expect Black men to completely avoid police contact, recent evidence shows that Black fathers report experiences of violence to the police at similar rates to White fathers (Ascherio 2023). This paper is thus motivated by two empirical puzzles: First, why do Black mothers, who are uniquely vulnerable to police violence, call the police at such high rates? And second, why do White fathers, who have little to lose, call the police as infrequently as Black fathers, who have everything to lose? Using 30 years of the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), 1992-2022, I show that although mothers across racial and ethnic groups are more likely than fathers to self-report experiences of violence to the police, the police are significantly more likely to find out about violence against fathers (through reporting by another household member, a witness, or some other way). Further, among fathers who live with their woman spouses, White fathers “offload’ crime reporting to their wives, but Black and Latino fathers do not.

Author

• Marta Ascherio, Illinois State University