NCJ Number
81088
Journal
California Sociologist Volume: 4 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1981) Pages: 1-16
Date Published
1981
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This paper addresses the issue of contrasting consensus and conflict accounts of the relative number of police officers in cities of differing size and character. The key issue is whether or not the relative size of the black and poor populations in a city exhibit independent effects on the supply of police.
Abstract
According to conflict theory, the percentages of black and poor in the larger population should have an impact on the relative size of the police force, regardless of crime rates. By contrast, and when viewed from the consensus viewpoint, the number of blacks and poor should have no direct effect on the supply of police, except insofar as they may inflate crime rates. Data for the study were drawn from the Census Bureau's 'County and City Data Book.' All measures pertain to 1970. The dependent variable, the supply of police, is operationalized as the number of police officers per 10,000 population. The independent variables are the crime rate, the percentage of blacks in the population and the percentage of families falling below $5,000 income in 1970, city population size, and others. A total of 530 cities were included in the analysis, representing all U.S. cities with a population over 25,000. Findings indicate that the percentage of blacks in cities, particularly in larger cities, is directly and independently related to the supply of police. The interpretation of the data draws on the conflict perspective of the legal order and holds that the percentage of blacks is a proxy measure for the degree of threat perceived by dominant groups to their security and privileged position. However, the percentage of poor persons in cities has no consistent link to police supply perhaps because blacks are perceived by dominant groups as more threatening. Notes, tables, and 29 references are included.