Hate Crimes in Post-9/11 Pennsylvania: Case Characteristics and Police Response Revisited. (October 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Nelson, Matthew S.; Wooditch, Alese; Martin, Favian Alejandro; Hummer, Don; Gabbidon, Shaun L.
• Is Part Of: Race and justice. Volume 6:Number 4(2016:Oct.)
• Page Start: 303
• Page End: 324
• Publication Date: 2016-10
• Subjects: hate crimes -- bias incidents -- victimization -- race/ethnicity -- race and policing -- police response -- September 11th; Crime and race -- United States -- Periodicals; Discrimination in criminal justice administration -- Periodicals; United States -- Race relations -- Periodicals; 364.089
• DOI: 10.1177/2153368715617812
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2153-3687

Abstract

Extant research suggests that police involvement with hate crimes and bias incidents may be affected by case- and community-level characteristics. Triggering events, such as the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 (9/11), or the recent heated debates concerning illegal immigration, may also mediate this relationship. The present study builds on prior research by replicating the work of Wilson and Ruback (2003), which explored whether historical events, case characteristics, and community demographics are significantly associated with police involvement and response to bias-motivated offenses. The goals of this study were twofold: (1) to determine if the level of police response to bias-motivated incidents changed significantly post-9/11 and (2) to determine the extent to which case- and community-level factors are associated with police involvement. The findings illustrate that a significant increase in police response to hate crimes and bias incidents occurred post-9/11, and that both case- and community-level characteristics affect police involvement.