BLACKS AND CRIME - CAN AMERICA BREAK THE CHAIN OF FAILURE?

• NCJ Number: 60868
• Journal: NATION'S CITIES Volume: 16 Issue: 9 Dated: (SEPTEMBER 1978) Pages: 11-18,23-30
• Author(s): B H RENSHAW; R LEHNEN; L BROWN; H WILLIAMS; T A JOHNSON; W DRAKE; J E WARREN
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 16 pages
• Grant Number(s): 78-DF-AX-0007
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Corporate Author: National League of Cities
• Sale Source: UMI Dissertation Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: NATION'S CITIES SPECIAL REPORT

Annotation

THIS ARTICLE ON BLACKS, CRIME, AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM PURPORTS TO DISPEL MYTHS THAT HAVE BUILT UP AROUND BLACKS AND THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS BY CITING RESEARCH DATA ON VICTIMS, OFFENDERS, AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE PERSONNEL.

Abstract

IT IS COMMON BELIEF THAT BLACK PERSONS ARE MORE LIKELY THAN WHITES TO BE VICTIMS AND VICTIMIZERS AND TO LIVE IN DANGEROUS NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE CENTRAL CITY THAT ARE HOTBEDS OF CRIME. STATISTICS REPORTED IN LEAA'S ANNUAL CRIME VICTIMIZATION SURVEYS, HOWEVER, PROVIDE ANOTHER PICTURE OF URBAN CRIME AND CRIME VICTIMS: RACE IS NOT A MAJOR FACTOR IN VICTIMIZATION, BUT, INSTEAD, FACTORS SUCH AS RESIDENCE, AGE, AND SEX ARE IMPORTANT. YOUNG MEN RESIDING IN CENTRAL CITIES ARE MOST VULNERABLE TO CRIME, AND BLACKS DO NOT SUFFER MORE FROM CRIME THAN WHITES. IT IS TRUE, HOWEVER, THAT BLACK COMMUNITIES EXPERIENCE A HIGHER CRIME RATE, BUT THE CRIME LOSS IS NOT USUALLY MAJOR. STILL, THERE IS A DEFINITE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS AND CRIME. CRIME AND THE FEAR OF CRIME IN DEPRIVED NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE CENTRAL CITY (USUALLY BLACK NEIGHBORHOODS) LEADS TO SOCIAL ISOLATION, WITHDRAWAL, AND AGGRESSIVENESS. PERSONS LIVING IN SUCH NEIGHBORHOODS SUFFER FROM DISCRIMINATION AND REJECTION, AND JUVENILE DELINQUENCY FLOURISHES UNDER SUCH CONDITIONS. IN THE 1976 FBI CRIME REPORTS, BLACKS ACCOUNTED FOR 52.9 PERCENT OF VIOLENT CRIME AND 33.7 PERCENT OF PROPERTY CRIME IN CITIES. THESE BLACK OFFENDERS ARE LIKELY TO CONFRONT A CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM MADE UP OF MOSTLY WHITE PERSONNEL. OF THOSE BLACK POLICE OFFICERS THAT HAVE INFILTRATED FORCES, MANY REPORT A STRAINED FEELING BETWEEN THEMSELVES AND WHITE OFFICERS. THEY OFTEN PERCEIVE THAT ONLY THEIR BADGES SET THEM APART FROM THE STEREOTYPED GROUP OF BLACKS THAT ARE CONSIDERED POTENTIAL CRIMINALS. CITY OFFICIALS MUST BEGIN TO DEAL WITH THIS PROBLEM OF BLACKS AND CRIME BY CLARIFYING THEIR PERSPECTIVES, ANALYZING LOCAL CONDITIONS WITH PRECISION AND OBJECTIVITY, AND EDUCATING THE PUBLIC IN THE SOCIOECONOMIC AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND TO BLACK INVOLVEMENT IN CRIME AND REASONS WHY BLACKS PERCEIVE THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AS BIASED. GRAPHS DISPLAYING STATISTICAL DATA ARE PROVIDED. (KCP)