Race and Crime in a Rustbelt Suburb: Irondequoit, NY

• In Event: Poster Session II

Abstract

This study seeks to explore the impact of increased minority groups representation (Blacks and Latinos) in a rustbelt suburb on arrests via Blalock’s racial threat theory. Data for this study are from 30 years of arrest data for the Irondequoit NY police department provided by the Monroe County Crime Analysis Center. Findings indicate that over time the racial disparity in arrests has decreased. This decrease is partly due to the use of census population data to make the disparity calculation, which does not reflect that individuals who reside outside of the town are subject to arrest in the town. Additionally, as the Black/Latino population has increased in the 30 years, the proportion of arrests of Blacks/Latinos relative to whites has increased and is far above the proportion of Blacks/Latinos in the town. The findings are generally consistent with the predictions of Blalock’s racial threat theory, however there are important limitations of the data that require further analysis to determine the extent to which racial threat is driving arrests made by members of the police department.

Authors

• Oral Nicholas Robertson, Rochester Institute of Technology

• Venita Monet Clare D'Angelo, Rochester Institute of Technology Center for Public Safety Initiatives