Self-Help and Black Firearm Crime. (January 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ammons-Blanfort, Candice; D'Alessio, Stewart J.; Stolzenberg, Lisa
• Is Part Of: Crime and delinquency. Volume 69:Number 1(2023)
• Page Start: 178
• Page End: 207
• Publication Date: 2023-01
• Subjects: racially diverse police force -- percent black police officers -- firearm crime -- race -- self-help; Crime -- United States -- Periodicals; Juvenile delinquency -- United States -- Periodicals; 364.05
• DOI: 10.1177/00111287211022627
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0011-1287

Abstract

Self-help theory posits that a negative perception of police engenders firearm violence rather than simply amplifying individuals' ownership of firearms for self-defense. A racially diverse police force may help decrease firearm use among Black citizens because marginalized groups in society often view a governmental institution as legitimate and impartial when the racial composition of the institution mirrors the population it represents. Analyses using multilevel data show that as the racial diversity of a city's police department increases, Black criminal offenders are much less likely to use a firearm in an aggravated assault and in a violent crime. These findings buttress the claim that the institutional legitimacy of a police agency can be enhanced by descriptive racial representation.