Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Racial stigma that stereotypes Black American communities as violent and disorderly has been well documented by past studies. However, how different neighborhood racial contexts interact with crime rates and individuals’ ethnic background to frame their public safety perceptions and whether there is any racial bias that may inflate the perceived risk to public safety have not been carefully explored.

Using quarterly survey data of more than 13,000 residents in 2010-2014, close to 60,000 annual police cases in 2009-2014, close to 90,000 annual service requests and nuisance complaints in 2009-2014, and census block group data, this study uses spatially and temporally joined data from multiple sources to analyze whether White Americans tend to inflate their personal safety concerns purely out of racial bias that is beyond rational expectations given the characteristics and crime conditions of a person’s place of residence. The results confirm that White Americans, especially those living in minority neighborhoods, tend to feel less safe, even after controlling for actual crime rates and the “broken window” conditions of different neighborhoods. Minority residents living in Black or Hispanic-majority neighborhoods or in White-dominated neighborhoods do not have the same public safety perception. The study then analyzes whether the use of media, such as TV, radio, and the internet, reinforces the White biases. It also examines whether the effectiveness of citizen engagement by the government, such as communication through newsletters, the governmental cable TV channel, and online tools, and greater civic participation may make a difference and mitigate the Whites' perception of higher personal risk. The paper concludes by discussing the social and policy implications of these racial dynamics related to crime. It also suggests what policymakers and community leaders need to do more to address the subtle cognitive bias against minority residents.