Racialized Policing: A Study of Three Neighborhoods

Law & Society Review, Vol. 34, No. 1, pp. 129-155, 2000

Posted: 9 May 2012 Last revised: 11 Mar 2013

See all articles by Ronald Weitzer

Ronald Weitzer

George Washington University - Department of Sociology

Date Written: 2000

Abstract

One of the most controversial issues in policing concerns allegations of racial bias. This article examines citizens' perceptions of racialized policing in three neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., that vary by racial composition and class position: a middle-class white community, a middle-class black community, and a lower-class black community. In-depth interviews examined residents' perceptions of differential police treatment of individual blacks and whites in Washington and disparate police practices in black and white neighborhoods. Findings indicate, first, that there is substantial agreement across the communities in the belief that police treat blacks and whites differerently; and secondly, there is racial variation in respondents' explanations for racial disparities. On the question of residents' assessments of police relations with their own community relative to other-race communities, a neighborhood difference is found, with the black middle-class neighborhood standing apart from the other two neighborhoods.

Keywords: police-community relations, racial discrimination, public attitudes

Suggested Citation

Weitzer, Ronald, Racialized Policing: A Study of Three Neighborhoods (2000). Law & Society Review, Vol. 34, No. 1, pp. 129-155, 2000, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2051481

Ronald Weitzer (Contact Author)

George Washington University - Department of Sociology ( email )

United States

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