Latino Confidence in the Police: The Role of Immigration Enforcement, Assimilation, and Immigration Status

Abstract

Police departments rely on residents to report crime in order to help keep communities safe. Research suggests that attitudes toward the police are influenced by race and ethnicity; however, research on Latinos is underdeveloped. Confidence in the police among Latinos is complicated by local law enforcement's role in immigration enforcement, which potentially discourages cooperation with the police. The current study examines whether Latino confidence in the police varies by experiences with immigration enforcement, level of assimilation, or immigration status. Study findings suggest that Hispanics who have been questioned about their immigration status have less confidence in the police than those who have not. The results provide some evidence that experiences with immigration enforcement may degrade confidence in the police among Latinos.

KEYTERMS:

• Ethnicity
• police–community relations
• minorities

Notes

Latino and Hispanic are used interchangeably. The data analyzed herein were collected by the Pew Hispanic Center, which uses these terms interchangeably.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kelle Barrick

Kelle Barrick, PhD, is a Research Criminologist in RTI International's Center for Justice, Safety, and Resilience. She has more than 10 years of experience in criminal justice and criminological research. Dr. Barrick's current research focuses on recidivism and desistance, human trafficking, and crime and violence in Latin America. She has published in Criminology, Crime, Law and Social Change, and other social science journals.