Public Opinion On The Killing Of Trayvon Martin: A Test Of The Racial Gradient Thesis

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of race in explaining perceived criminal injustice through an examination of the Trayvon Martin shooting. The study was grounded in the racial gradient thesis. We utilized the 2012 USA Today/Gallup Poll data of a nationally representative sample of more than 2000 respondents. The sample included African-Americans, Hispanics, and Whites. African-Americans were the racial group most likely to believe that criminal injustice surrounded the Trayvon Martin shooting. Hispanics generally perceived more criminal injustice than Whites regarding the shooting, though this difference was not always statistically significant. Past mistreatment of minorities likely explained much of the differences in perceptions. © 2013 Copyright Midwestern Criminal Justice Association

Exploring the perceived extent of and citizens' support for consumer racial profiling: Results from a national poll

Using data from a national Gallup poll, this article examines several hypotheses related to citizens' perceptions regarding the prevalence of consumer racial profiling (CRP) in the retail setting in America, as well as their support for the practice. The oversampling of Black and Hispanic respondents allowed for analyses that tested for racial differences in perceptions concerning the extent of CRP, and also for racial differences in the support for the use of CRP. The multivariate analysis found that Blacks were more likely than Hispanics and Whites to believe that CRP was widespread; there were no differences in the views of residents from urban and suburban areas; there were no differences between racial and ethnic groups regarding whether profiling was justified; and the more liberal the respondents were, the more likely they felt CRP was widespread and not justified. The authors also discuss the implications of these findings and present some future directions for CRP research.

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

This article examines two hypotheses related to public opinion concerning immigration and crime. Using data from a recent Gallup poll with oversamples of Hispanics and Blacks, the research examined whether race/ethnicity and race relations matter in the public's opinion of the connection between immigration and crime. After a series of models were performed, results of the final model revealed that race relations, gender (specifically, being male), race/ethnicity, and immigrant status are influential in contextualizing public opinion on the topic. The meaning and policy implications of these findings are also reviewed.

Black Supporters Of The No-Discrimination Thesis In Criminal Justice: A Portrait Of An Understudied Segment Of The Black Community

This study examined a national sample of more than 600 Black Americans and their views on bias in the American criminal justice system. The research found that 26% of the Black respondents did not believe there was bias in the American criminal justice system. To explore the segment of respondents holding these views, we separated the sample into Blacks who believe there is bias in the system (referred to as the discrimination thesis or DT supporters) and those who opposed this belief (referred to as the no-discrimination thesis or NDT supporters). The NDT supporters were more likely to be younger, male, less educated, and have lower income than those respondents who supported the DT. NDT supporters were also more likely to believe that Blacks and Whites had equal job opportunities, have more confidence in the police, and believe that racism was not widespread. © 2013 SAGE Publications

African American classics in criminology & criminal justice /

Includes bibliographical references and index