Change Matters: The Effect of Dynamic Racial Threat on Police Killings of Latinos

• In Event: Race and Police Violence

Abstract

Police killings represent an exigent social and legal issue in the United States, particularly for minority communities. However, the knowledge base regarding this phenomenon, specifically in the context of racial threat theory, is largely situated among African Americans. The current study extends the literature on racial threat and formal social control outcomes, specifically through assessing how change over time in the Latino population, or “dynamic threat”, is associated with police killings of this population. To answer this question, the present study draws on a unique city-level dataset, with data curated from Fatal Encounters, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Uniform Crime Report, the National Immigration Law Center, and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. Preliminary findings suggest that cities that experience more pronounced change in the Latino population over time translates to higher city-level rates of police killings of Latinos. Theoretical and policy implications for this complex issue are also discussed.

Author

• Frank A. Donohue, University of Maryland, College Park