NCJ Number
231806
Journal
Sociological Spectrum Volume: 30 Issue: 5 Dated: September-October 2010 Pages: 550-579
Date Published
October 2010
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This study examined whether macro-level variation in civic institutions and civic engagement help to explain a salient manifestation of racial inequality in American society, the Black-White gap in arrest rates for violent, property, and drug crimes.
Abstract
This analysis extends prior research on racial inequality in arrest rates by testing opposing hypotheses derived from the civic community tradition in sociology. One interpretation of this perspective suggests that communities with a locally-oriented economic infrastructure, an abundance of civic institutions, and civically engaged citizens should exhibit lower racial disparity in arrest rates. On the other hand, recent writings exposing a potential "dark side" of social capital suggest that civic community may exacerbate such racial disparties. Using spatial regression models to analyze data from nearly 1,800 U.S. counties, the current analysis examines these competing hypotheses regarding the effects of civic community. Results suggest mixed support for both the traditional and "dark side" predictions. Implications for theory and empirical research are discussed. Tables, references, and appendix (Published Abstract)