Police notification by Black victims of violent crime: the role of victim gender and victim-offender relationship

Abstract

Despite widespread distrust of police among Black Americans, research indicates that Black crime victims are more likely to call the police than other demographic groups. Using National Crime Victimization Survey data from 1994–2018, I employ logistic regression and compare the average marginal effects of victim race and gender on probabilities of reporting to police. Of four race-sex categories (non-Black and Black male and female victims), I find that Black women are most likely to report and Black men are least likely. But when the offender is a romantic partner, family member, or other household member, Black victims of either gender are more likely to report. Evidence points to the importance of victim gender and victim-offender relationship in understanding racial differences in crime reporting.