gang membership, race, and social class: a test of the group hazard and master status hypotheses

Abstract

Group Hazard and Master Status Hypotheses 87could be used to facilitate diversity training and education. Hopefully, such research driven policies will lead to more uniform investigation and arrest practices.

Triple Stigma of Forensic Psychiatric Patients: Mental Illness, Race, and Criminal History

“…Consistent with master status theory, these racial stereotypes may also affect ascriptions of other traits. For example, in one study race, not gang status, predicted arrest (Brownfield, Sorenson, & Thompson, 2001), suggesting that racial stereotypes had a greater influence on assumptions of criminal behavior than gang membership did.…”

U.S. Juvenile Arrests

“…A complex regression table then evaluates the two main effects hypotheses and yields preliminary results for interaction effects. 8 A common strategy in detecting bias in juvenile justice is the use of reduced form equations, entered piecemeal to note whether test item effects can be explained by other factors (e.g., Brownfield et al, 2001;Hirschfield et al, 2006;Huizinga et al, 2007). Using this approach, a baseline equation of gang membership and demographic controls is entered, followed by minor delinquency, serious delinquency, and criminal history.…”

“…The distinct physical appearance of most gang youth and their group-oriented nature help to facilitate their targeting by police. Recognition of the signifiers of street gang subculture are standard in police work, perpetuating the long-held rivalry between the police and gangs (Brownfield, Sorenson, & Thomson, 2001;Katz & Webb, 2006;Rosenthal, 2000;Werthman & Piliavin, 1967). A current trend in police suppression of gangs is to "arrest on sight" where civil gang injunctions are imposed, making mere membership an arrest risk (Grogger, 2005;Klein, 2009;Maxson, Hennigan, & Sloane, 2005).…”

“…Although the effect of an individual’s socioeconomic status (SES) on his or her chances for arrest has received attention (Brownfield et al, 2001; Hirschfield, Maschi, White, Traub, & Loeber, 2006; Ludwig, Duncan, & Hirschfield, 2001; Sampson, 1986; Simcha-Fagan & Schwartz, 1986), the precise role of SES in arrest dynamics is still somewhat unclear. Such gaps are perhaps symptomatic of the overall neglect of the causes and correlates of individual-level juvenile arrest in the delinquency literature.…”

Association of Skin Color and Generation on Arrests Among Mexican-Origin Latinos

“…Widespread racial and ethnic disparities exist when it comes to contact and involvement with the criminal justice system. Racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to be arrested (Brownfield, Sorenson, & Thompson, 2001;Kirk, 2008;Tapia, 2010) and receive harsher sentences (Freiburger & Hilinski, 2013;Koons-Witt, Sevigny, Burrow, & Hester, 2012) than their non-Latino White peers. Despite the fact that the bulk of research has focused on the different experiences of Blacks and Whites in the criminal justice system, evidence suggests that Latinos are more likely to be detained, arrested, and incarcerated than their non-Latino White peers (Brame, Bushway, Paternoster, & Turner, 2014;Kutateladze, Andiloro, Johnson, & Spohn, 2014).…”