Premium
LAW ENFORCEMENT LEADERS AND THE RACIAL COMPOSITION OF ARRESTS
Author(s) -
Bulman George
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
economic inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1465-7295
pISSN - 0095-2583
DOI - 10.1111/ecin.12800
Subject(s) - law enforcement , exploit , white (mutation) , enforcement , race (biology) , racial composition , criminology , set (abstract data type) , political science , law , business , sociology , computer security , computer science , gender studies , biochemistry , chemistry , gene , programming language
This paper introduces a novel avenue of study for understanding the mechanisms behind racial discrimination in law enforcement. I exploit a new 25‐year panel history of the race of every U.S. sheriff to shed light on the potentially important role of managers who make hiring decisions and set departmental priorities. Comparing agencies that experience racial transitions to agencies with overlapping jurisdictions reveals that the ratio of Black‐to‐White arrests is significantly higher under White sheriffs. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the effects are driven by arrests for less‐serious offenses and by targeting Black crime types. ( JEL J15, K42, M54, H76)