Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Dual-Process Theory Of Racial Isolation, Legal Cynicism, And Reported Crime, John Hagan, Bill Mccarthy, Daniel Herda, Andrea Cann Chandrasekher

Sociology Faculty Publications

Why is neighborhood racial composition linked so strongly to police-reported crime? Common explanations include over-policing and negative interactions with police, but police reports of crime are heavily dependent on resident 911 calls. Using Sampson’s concept of legal cynicism and Vaisey’s dual-process theory, we theorize that racial concentration and isolation consciously and nonconsciously influence neighborhood variation in 911 calls for protection and prevention. The data we analyze are consistent with this thesis. Independent of police reports of crime, we find that neighborhood racial segregation in 1990 and the legal cynicism about crime prevention and protection it engenders have lasting effects on …