Access to Justice for Immigrants Who are Victimized: The Perspectives of Police and Prosecutors

Abstract

The increased diversity of the U.S. population poses special challenges to the criminal justice system. High levels of immigration to the United States within the past decade require that law enforcement and court organizations understand the concerns of crime victims who are recent immigrants, and facilitate meaningful access to the justice system. Employing survey methodology, this research describes the barriers that immigrants encounter in accessing justice, as they emerged from the responses of police chiefs and prosecutors in the 50 largest cities of the United States. Criminal justice officials believe that failure to report crimes and to cooperate in their prosecution is a significant problem, especially for domestic violence offenses. The results suggest that many metropolitan areas have made some efforts to promote participation of immigrant victims in the criminal justice system. But far more needs to be done to ensure access to justice for this growing segment of society.