Self-Protection, Routine Activities, and Victimization: Studying Arab Americans in Metro-Detroit

• NCJ Number: 255774
• Date Published: 2019
• Length: 19 pages
• Author(s): Yuning N. Wu; Charles. Klahm
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Grant Number(s): 2013-IJ-CX-0020
• Award: Victimization and Fear of Crime among Arab Americans in Metro-Detroit

Annotation

Since knowledge on Arab Americans' experience with criminal victimization remains limited and narrowly focused, the current study used face-to-face interview data collected from a random sample of residents in the Detroit metropolitan area to compare the prevalence and covariates of property and violent crime victimization between Arab and non-Arab Americans.

Abstract

The main finding was promising, since Arab and non-Arab American respondents reported similar victimization risks across six crime types. Less encouraging was that Arab Americans were significantly less likely than their counterparts to use self-protective measures, which were found to have a significant risk-reduction effect regarding property crime victimization. In addition, there was a significant, negative correlation between the likelihood of moving in the next 5 years and risk of victimization. Finally, regularly carrying a large amount of cash was associated with a higher risk of violent victimization for non-Arab Americans, but not Arab Americans. Implications for future research and policy are discussed. (publisher abstract modified)