Perceived Risk of Crime: A Tale of Two Immigrant Groups in Metro Detroit

• NCJ Number: 252460
• Date Published: 2017
• Length: 21 pages
• Author(s): Yuning Wu; Jennifer Wareham
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical), Report (Study/Research), Report (Grant Sponsored), Program/Project Description
• Grant Number(s): 2013-IJ-CX-0020
• Award: Victimization and Fear of Crime among Arab Americans in Metro-Detroit

Annotation

Since a particular source of anxiety for many immigrants is personal safety, this study examined the levels and correlates of perceived risk of crime among two understudied immigrant groups, Arab and Chinese immigrants, who resided in an understudied geographic area, the Detroit metropolitan area.

Abstract

Results suggest several universal and immigrant-specific correlates that are significant predictors of Arab and/or Chinese immigrants' perceptions of crime, including self-defense ability, police effectiveness, neighborhood collective efficacy, language proficiency, expectation of U.S. crime condition prior to arrival, and perception of home-society crime. Implications for future research are discussed. (publisher abstract modified)