SOC 487 EXAM 4

What is the allocation of funds between supply- and demand-side reductions

2/3 of the money went to law enforcement and prisons, 1/3 went to prevention and treatment.

What were the comparable amounts of cocaine needed to receive such sentences (from figure 15.1)

500 g of cocaine for 5 years and 5000 g of cocaine for 10 years

What were the results of the violence in this case (once it made the news) for 911 calls to the police

911 calls from Black neighborhoods dropped significantly.

In terms of rates, which racial and ethnic groups (and age groups) are especially likely to be killed by police

African American males (20-24) are 7.1x more likely , Latino males

Are there differences between Whites and Latinos (and what is the nature of those differences)

Are there differences between Blacks and Latinos (and which group tends to benefit less)? Latinos tend to have less economic resources and networks. Latinos

4. For drug offenders in federal prisons and federal courts, what is evident concerning racial and ethnic disparities in incarceration for crack cocaine, cocaine, marijuana and meth compared to drug offenders overall (that is, who is disproportionately represented for each of these drugs)

Are there substantial differences across racial and ethnic groups in actual drug use?

What is the general set of steps that comprise the court process

Arrest- initial appearance- preliminary hearing, formal charges- arraignment- guilty plea or trial- sentencing

What were the penalties given for 5 grams of crack (cocaine base) and 50 grams of crack

At least 5 years of imprisonment for 5 g and 10 years of imprisonment for 50 g.

Crack cocaine

Black people

Of police searches of the vehicle

Blacks and Latinos were searched at 6%, Whites 2%

What drugs did it criminalize

Cocaine and crack

At the macro level

Crime rates typically are either not impacted by or negatively impacted by presence of immigrants

Which types are especially linked to Latinos

Drug crimes

What are some of the explanations used to explain such findings (at micro and macro levels)

Enclaves, immigrants revitalize neighborhoods- strengthen institutions and social tgies among residents and authorities; new destinations

Based on my recent studies, what are the relationships between immigration and crime at the micro level (e.g., native-born versus immigrant, first generation versus 2nd and 3rd generation)

First generation immigrants are less crime involved than second or third generation

What do the authors find concerning racial and ethnic disparities in likelihood of incarceration and sentence length for drug and nondrug offenses in all cases

Hispanics are sentenced more harshly than whites and receive sentences that are the same as Blacks.

Were most inter- or intra-ethnic

INTRA-ETHNIC

What about more contemporary empirical studies

Immigrants are typically underrepresented in criminal statistics

What did past (historical) work on the relationship between immigration and crime show

Immigrants are under involved in crimes

1. Per Martinez with regard to social disorganization theory, why might immigrants have a disorganizing influence on communities (that would in turn be associated with higher crime rates)

Immigrants initially settled in high-crime areas

What does he quote Shaw and McKay as indicating about the role of nativity and race for crime and delinquency

Immigrants seem better able to withstand crime-facilitating conditions than native groups.; New immigrants usually settle in urban neighborhoods characterized by poverty, substandard housing, poor schools, and high crime rates.

Alcohol

Immigrants were seen as drunks

In general, what are the differences the authors describe in "interventionist" and "non-interventionist approaches" for the various stages of court processes

Interventionist strategies contest other actors in decision-making. Usually involves judges not only considering their own differential treatment of defendants but also questioning the possible differential treatment of other actors... Noninterventionist strategies defer to the prosecutor and defender in decision-making, and they do not address possible differential treatment by other actors or the disparate impact of their own decisions or of the process as a whole.

What happened in the case concerning Frank Jude

Jude was beaten by several Milwaukee police officers

Who tends to be sentenced most harshly

Latinos

What did they find concerning the percentage difference in likelihood of arrest for Whites and non-Whites across the studies

Minorities are 30% more likely to be arrested than Whites.

In terms of sheer numbers (and percentages) which racial or ethnic group comprised the largest group in deaths in police custody and in (specifically) police killings

More white people were killed in police custody by sheer numbers but percentage wise, Blacks and Latinos are overrepresented.

Do the gangs support or mostly reject heroin use

Most gangs activitely discourage the use of heroin through a no heroin rule that prohibits heroin use among its members.

What is meant by the force continuum

Police are trained and equipped to employ force along a force continuum--- from verbal commands to fatal force

7. What is meant by the right of the police to use "non-negotiably coercive force"

Police have power to use "non-negotiably coercive force" in defense of law and social order.

What does she find concerning racial and ethnic disparities in pretrial processing

Racial disparity is most notable during the decision to deny bail and for defendants charged with violent crimes. Ethnic disparity is most notable during the decision to grant a non-financial release and for defendants charged with drug crimes. Latinos always receive the less beneficial decisions.

How has federal spending on the "war on drugs" increased since Reagan first took office until 1998

Rose from $6 billion to $20 billion; increased by $14 billion.

What are the fundamental premises of legal cynicism

The deep-seated belief in the incompetence, illegitimacy, and unresponsiveness of the criminal justice system—is thought to be found in many poor minority communities. // citizens withdrawing from the police by refusing to report crime to the authorities/// code of the street.

8. What are the differences between trial and appellate courts

Trial courts: fact finding bodies which determine the facts of the case. Appellate courts: law interpreting bodies which determine if laws were correctly applied and followed.

How can we define wrongful and disproportionate use of force

Using force for wrong reasons Ex. Disrespect; brutality, level far exceeds level of resistance or aggression of subject.

3. What is the Harrison Act of 1914

Was used to regulate drug abuse through government taxation and became the narcotic regulation in the United States for more than half a century. It require anyone anyone importing, manufacturing, selling, dispensing cocaine and opiate drugs to register with the treasury department pay a special tax and keep records of all transaction. Cocaine was not described a narcotic under this law.

What are three contemporary issues related to race, ethnicity, and policing that we discussed

What is the nature of differences confidence in police?

Are there racial and ethnic differences in sentencing (per the Steffensmeier and Demuth study)

What was the nature of these differences?

What does she cite concerning about the race differences in incarceration for drug offenses

What were some of the political influences that helped to focus attention on crack?

Prior to the Harrison Act of 1914, how were opiates and cocaine usually obtained

Which group(s) were there largest users?

Of respondents believing it was legitimate

Whites: 80%, Blacks: 67%, Latinos: 75%, Other: 75%

Were judges aware of racial and ethnic disparities in court processes

YES

Did Congress have any knowledge (implicit or explicit) about the role of race when enacting either the 1986 or 1988 Anti-Drug Abuse Acts

Yes, while Congress apparently believed all classes and racial groups were vulnerable to crack abuse, it knew that the Black urban underclass sold the drug, and it apparently did not care why.

What is a "moral panic," and what role did this play for crack

a feeling of fear spread among a large number of people that some evil threatens the well-being of society; moral panics create "folk devils", elements in society who are stripped of all favorable characteristics and blamed for the condition.; when it came to crack, the folk devil was the drug dealer and the drug itself.

6. What is racial profiling

any action that results in the heightened racial scrutiny of minorities- justified or not (Russell Brown)

What types of media images were painted of crack users and dealers

demonized crack dealers and portrayed them to be black. Negro cocaine fiends.

When can police lawfully use lethal force

have power to use deadly force only to save own life or that of a third party.

According to Schlesinger, which types of crimes are especially linked by judges to Blacks

illicit drugs and violence

Which groups were linked with marijuana

linked with Mexicans, Mexican-American and black jazz musician

What types of drugs do members often use

marijuana, heroin...

What are the economic and social characteristics, both present and historically, in the West Side neighborhood Valdez studied

one of the poorest urban areas in the US; per capita income is $5,098, median household income is $14,352; fifty-five percent of West Side families have children living in poverty, only 23% receive public assistance. Predominately Mexican origin.

How long did the effect last

over a year

Were the effects similar in predominately Black and White neighborhoods

the decline in 911 call is large and durable in black neighborhoods, and in white neighborhoods there was only a small decline that dissipated rapidly.

Why are race and ethnic differences in views of the police important

(Also, think in terms of the Desmond, Papachristos, and Kirk paper on police violence)

What do the data for case outcomes by crime suggest about what tends to happen to most cases once they enter the court process (That is, do most cases tend to be dismissed or end in an acquittal, or do they tend to result in guilty (either by plea or found guilty at trial)?

(That is, do most cases tend to be dismissed or end in an acquittal, or do they tend to result in guilt (either by plea or found guilty at trial)?

In Houston during 1980 to 1984 were Latinos more likely to be involved in drug, robbery, or gang homicides than Blacks or Whites

(that is, as a percentage of the totals for each group in the table).

8. Martinez makes the case that local circumstances of cities matter more than ethnicity. On what bases does he conclude this

(what is his evidence?)