Neighborhoods, Acculturation, Crime, and Victimization Among Hispanics: The Cross-Fertilization of the Sociologies of Immigration and Crime

• NCJ Number: 234321
• Journal: Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Volume: 27 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2011 Pages: 4-17
• Author(s): Holly Ventura Miller; Chris L. Gibson
• Date Published: February 2011
• Length: 14 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2008-IJ-CX-003
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)

Annotation

This study examined crime against Hispanics.

Abstract

Hispanics represent the fastest growing demographic in the United States and will constitute the majority of the population by 2050. Despite this considerable growth, criminology has largely ignored these groups and research in this area lags behind. This article is an attempt to address these oversights by offering recommendations for a theoretically driven research agenda related to Hispanic crime and victimization. Drawing from the sociologies of crime and immigration, the authors describe several ways in which to extend and integrate the knowledge base on these topics; more specifically, the authors' offer suggestions for disentangling the link between acculturation, crime, and victimization among Hispanics and how the links between these may depend on the neighborhood context in which Hispanics reside. The authors conclude with a modest research agenda on conceptual, methodological, and statistical issues. (Published Abstract)