A comparison of Latino and White citizen satisfaction with police

Abstract

Latinos represent the fastest growing racial/ethnic population in the United States, yet paradoxically, are one of the least studied groups in the field of criminal justice (Schuck, Lersch, & Verrill, 2004). This study aimed to fill this gap by comparing citizen satisfaction with police among Latinos and Whites in the majority-minority city of San Antonio, Texas. Drawing upon prior research as a guide, the study modeled citizen satisfaction with police from a sample of 592 survey respondents that were contacted by telephone in the fall of 2005. Models across the two groups indicated that neighborhood disorder strongly influenced satisfaction and Latinos had slightly higher satisfaction levels when compared with Whites. Implications for future research are discussed regarding the enhancement of knowledge about ethnic differences in perceptions of police and the larger criminal justice system.