The impact of new immigration patterns on the provision of police services in midwestern communities

The role of race/ethnicity and race relations on public opinion related to the immigration and crime link

“…While studies did show that there was crime in immigrant communities, the levels of crime never rose to the heights that would correspond with the level of fear exhibited by citizens and scholars alike. Even though current research had revealed similar findings (Butcher & Piehl, 1998, 2008Culver, 2004;Hagan & Palloni, 1999;Kil & Menjivar, 2006;Lee, Martinez, & Rosenfeld, 2001;Martinez, 2000Martinez, , 2002Martinez, , 2006Martinez & Lee, 1999;Reid, Weiss, Adelman, & Jaret, 2005;Rumbaut, Gonzales, Komaie, Morgan, & Tafoya-Estrada, 2006;Sampson & Bean, 2006;Stowell & Martinez, 2007), the concerns have persisted. As a result, scholars have turned to the conflict-based minority-threat perspective to better understand the fears related to the immigrant population.…”

Determinants of attitudes toward police of Latino immigrants and non-immigrants

“…Beyond these general findings, studies had found that Latinos experienced more negative treatment from legal authorities (Huo & Tyler, 2000), were more likely to view the police as using excessive force (Cheurprakobkit & Bartsch, 1999;Skogan, 2005), and were more likely than Caucasians to view the police as unfair, impolite, and unhelpful (Skogan, 2005). In her study of Latinos, Culver (2004) found interactions between Latinos and the police were complicated by several factors. Specifically, Latinos reported that linguistic barriers, fear of the police, and the constant threat of deportation affected their perceptions of the police.…”

“…These authors suggested that immigrants view their current experiences in the United States in comparison to their experiences with political and legal officials in their home country. Viewing these experiences through "bifocal lenses," immigrants consistently weigh their current political, economic, and social status with that of life in their home country (Culver, 2004;Menjivar & Bejarano, 2004). If this is the case, immigrants coming from countries where the police are corrupt and rely upon authoritarian means to achieve social control may be likely to hold high levels of distrust and fear of the police in the United States, while those individuals from countries with less governmental oppression, may view the police differently (Ammar et al, 2005;Davis & Erez, 1998;Davis & Miller, 2002;Erez & Globokar, 2007).…”

Cops and cameras: Officer perceptions of the use of body-worn cameras in law enforcement

“…Policing has been witness to a significant amount of problematic issues (Blackwell & Vaughn, 2003;Kowalski & Lundman, 2007;McElvain & Kposowa, 2004;Phillips & Varano, 2008;Weir, Stewart, & Morris, 2012;Weitzer, 2002;Zhao, Ren, & Lovrich, 2010) as well as innovation and change in recent years (Culver, 2004;Zhao, Lovrich, & Robinson, 2001). For example, regarding the latter, technology is transforming modern policing; it is enhancing crime fighting capabilities, police accountability, and police-community relationships.…”