Disaggregating Immigrant Groups to Examine Variations in Policing in San Diego

• In Event: Neighborhood Research on Immigration, Crime and Policing

Abstract

Contemporary policing research has primarily focused on Black and Hispanic communities due to the links between racial segregation and crime. However, it has neglected to examine how policing occurs in immigrant enclaves and the variations in policing between Asian sub-groups. This study adds to the literature by analyzing San Diego, a diverse border community, through a social disorganization lens by examining differences between community attributes, immigrant sub-group populations, police stop reports, and total arrests. This study analyzes 244,708 police stops and arrests (matched to census tracts) from 2018 to 2023 within San Diego. I estimate negative binomial regression models of immigrant sub-groups, community characteristics, and control for 911 calls and spatial lags. Results indicate that Southeast Asian immigrant enclaves, regardless of disadvantage or residential stability levels, experience higher police stops and arrests than other immigrant enclaves. In addition, Latin immigrant enclaves as a whole have higher total arrests than non-Latin immigrant communities but disadvantaged Latin immigrant communities had lower arrests than wealthier ones. Findings suggest a need for community building between law enforcement and Latin and Southeast Asian immigrant enclaves in San Diego, as well as further analysis of the variations in policing of immigrant sub-groups in other border cities.

Author

• Sheridamae Bondoc Gudez, Penn State University