Citation

Dunbar A. Psychol. Public Policy Law 2020; 26(4): 476-489.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, University of Arizona College of Law and the University of Miami School of Law, Publisher American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/law0000234

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A general shift in U.S. efforts to reduce crime via prevention and rehabilitation juxtaposed with the continued implementation of punitive policies, many of which disproportionately impact Black communities, raises questions about mechanisms underlying crime policy preferences. One concern is that the public is more willing to invest in policing and corrections when those practices are thought to primarily impact people of color. In a set of studies, the current research assesses how people allocate money across a variety of crime policies and evaluates how those decisions are influenced by perceptions of racial disparities in the U.S. prison population. The two studies also explore how support for those budgetary decisions is influenced by concerns about crime.

FINDINGS indicate that presenting participants with information about racial disparities in the prison population does not affect policy support, but that attitudes about race still play a role in crime control policy preferences.

FINDINGS from Study 1 reveal that participants who believe violent crime is more of a "Black" phenomenon typically invest more into carceral interventions and less into therapeutic interventions. However, this relationship is contingent on the policy options offered (Study 2). Implications for policy debates and future research directions are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

Language: en

Keywords

Blacks; Crime; Crime Prevention; Funding; Intervention; Money; Policy Making; Racial and Ethnic Differences; Test Construction; Violent Crime