Validating Violence: Exploring the Relationship between Police Lethal Force and Hate Crimes through a Power-Differential Context

• In Event: Variation in Racialized Victimization and Post-Victimization Reporting Processes Among Victims of Bias-Motivated and Other Crimes

Abstract

While the relationship between formal and informal social control occurs on a spectrum, the literature tends to view the relationship as one of replacement. However, there is reason to believe that these processes may be happening simultaneously in certain communities when assessing the scholarship regarding police violence and racially motivated hate crimes. Furthermore, the power-differential hypothesis provides a framework to potentially explain the simultaneity between formal and informal social control mechanisms. To that end, the current study examines the relationship between police use of lethal force against Black victims and anti-Black hate crimes. To do this, we estimate a logistic regression predicting the odds of anti-Black hate crimes for 3,113 counties. Results suggest that police use of lethal force against Black victims is positively associated with anti-Black hate crimes while minority population size is negatively associated with anti-Black hate crimes. Taken together, this research offers a new conceptualization of the power-differential hypothesis and suggests the legitimizing effects of formal racialized violence on informal violence.

Authors

• Maeve Donnelly, Florida State University

• Brendan Lantz, Florida State University