Encyclopedia of Race and Crime

Criminology and criminal justice involve the scientific study of crime, criminals, and the criminal justice system. Interest in the problem of crime began centuries ago, and in the 18th century, after several European countries experienced social unrest, writings about crime began to appear. During the 19th century, social scientists studied social problems, including crime and responses to it. Interest in criminology in the United States began in the late 19th century and flourished in the 20th century. Initially there were two major areas in the study of criminology: theoretical and applied criminology. Theoretical criminology included the etiology of crime, theories of criminality, typologies of crime and criminals, and the extent of crime. Applied criminology included the study of justice agencies and processes, often referred to as criminal justice, as well as the law. Today, the terms criminology and criminal justice are often used interchangeably, and the dichotomy between the two is less clear. For example, some of the subject matter in many criminology and criminal justice textbooks often overlaps although the original foci of each remain.

During the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the field of criminology has grown nationally and internationally. Today there are hundreds of undergraduate and graduate programs in the United States. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field of study with contributions to the body of knowledge by economists, historians, political scientists, psychologists, sociologists, and other scholars. The study of criminology and criminal justice has expanded considerably and includes administration of justice, comparative studies, convict criminology, critical analyses, feminist criminology, prisoner reentry, homeland security, juvenile justice, policy analyses, race and crime, and terrorism.

The study of race and crime has a long history in the discipline of criminology and the study of criminal justice. In the 19th century Cesare Lombroso, an Italian positivist considered by many to be the father of criminology, suggested that crime was a product of biological factors, including race (Lombroso, 1876/1911). In the early 20th century, some American scholars, including Kellor (1901), Du Bois (1904), Work (1913), Sellin (1928), Moses (1936), Shaw and McKay (1942), and Frazier (1949), countered the biological perspective by noting how social, economic, and political conditions contribute to crime, regardless of race. Early criminology texts devoted whole chapters to race and crime that not only presented crime figures but also sought to explain the trends related to race and crime (Gabbidon & Greene, 2001). At that time, race was a much broader concept that focused on minorities, especially Blacks, and took into consideration the ethnicity of White immigrants. Even so, there was not a significant emphasis on the topic (Bonger, 1943/1969) until the last quarter of the 20th century, when race and crime became a recognized specialty area of study within the field (Gabbidon, 2007; Gabbidon & Greene, 2009; Walker, Spohn, & DeLone, 2007). In fact, many criminology and criminal justice programs now either require or offer a course on race and crime as an elective.

Race has historically featured, and continues to feature, prominently in reporting on crime and justice within the United States. Incidents like the alleged rape of a Black female North Carolina [Page xxviii]Central University student by (White male) members of the Duke University Lacrosse Team in Durham, North Carolina; the Jena 6 incident in Jena, Louisiana; the Tulia, Texas, drug arrests; the Rodney King beating; the O. J. Simpson trials in the 1990s and in 2008; and more recent racial profiling incidents remind us of the race and crime nexus.

These historical and contemporary issues signaled the need for a comprehensive compilation of relevant facts and information on topics related to race and crime and the crime and justice experiences of racial/ethnic groups in the United States. Also needed was an alternative source of information other than the media that can better explain and objectively analyze complex issues related to race and crime.

The encyclopedia is designed to provide reference material and an introduction to historical and contemporary race and crime topics. It supports study, research, and instruction by presenting brief overviews and references to more in-depth presentations in other published sources. This volume will give undergraduate and graduate students, laypersons, professionals, researchers, and scholars access to information on race and crime topics that heretofore has been difficult to find in one place. Such a volume will provide users with state-of-the-art knowledge on the topic.

The encyclopedia includes entries related to race and crime that are organized in the Reader's Guide as follows:

• Biographies
• Cases
• Concepts and Theories
• Corrections
• Courts
• Drugs
• Juvenile Justice
• Media
• Organizations
• Police
• Public Policy
• Race Riots
• Specific Populations
• Violence and Crime

Each entry includes a definition of the term and explains how it is related to race and crime. The entries also provide cross-references to other entries that likely provide additional information on the topic. Each entry closes with a Further Readings section that provides references to additional scholarly sources on the topic.

It should be noted that the encyclopedia uses a variety of terms to describe racial and ethnic minorities. For example, it is well established that the term race refers to the classification of distinctive groups. In the United States, the major racial groups are Whites (also referred to as Caucasians), African Americans (also referred to as Blacks), Native Americans (also referred to as American Indians), and Asian Americans. The term ethnicity refers to ethnic groups that are believed to be identifiable less by race and more by culture and place of origin. For example, the largest ethnic group in America is Latinos (also referred to as Hispanics). Latinos come from the Caribbean and Latin American countries. Arab Americans represent another ethnic group that is well established in the United States.

We have followed the American Psychological Association's policy of capitalizing the terms Black and White when used to refer to race/ethnicity. We have used the term Latina/o/s as the plural form in entry titles; however, in the text of entries themselves, we have used the shorter form Latinos for typographical simplicity.

It is important to pause here to remind readers that both race and ethnicity are social constructs or terms that were created to note the differences among human groups. At the moment, scientists have found that all racial and ethnic groups have the same general biological makeup, with only 1% variation among groups. As such, the classification of humans based on race and ethnicity is severely flawed. For example, how would we classify a naturalized citizen who immigrated to the United States from another country? Should we classify him or her as African American just because his or her skin is black? [Page xxix]By doing so, we would not be adequately accounting for his or her unique experience. The point here is that not only the classification but also the perceptions that attach to the classifications are problematic. Therefore, someone dark-skinned from Africa might evoke a different response from someone dark-skinned from India. Why? Because even a social construct has the power to influence the way people are perceived. In sum, although this encyclopedia uses these terms, readers should consider the limitations and dangers of doing so.

Creation of the encyclopedia involved several stages, including identifying topics, choosing headwords/entries, recruiting authors, and reviewing and editing. The preliminary list of headwords was developed by the volume editors with the assistance of Diana Axelsen, the developmental editor. Review Board members were asked to review the initial list and make revisions and suggestions via e-mail and at a meeting with the editors at the 2006 annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology. Additional headwords were suggested by contributors and as a result of emerging issues like the Jena 6 and the Supreme Court's ruling in Kennedy v. Louisiana.

The methods used for identifying authors included requests for contributors sent to listservs for the Division of People of Color and Crime and the Division of Women and Crime of the American Society of Criminology, the Minorities and Women's Section, regional organizations of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and the Association of Doctoral Programs in Criminology and Criminal Justice. Review Board members were also asked to identify contributors and to distribute information about the encyclopedia at their institution and among their colleagues elsewhere. The 2007 Directory of Minority Criminologists was also a valuable resource for identifying contributors. Contributors also were identified during attendance at the annual meetings of the American Society of Criminology and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and by perusing the conference programs.

Reviewing and editing of the entries began with assigning a reviewer to read, edit, and provide [Page xxx]feedback to the author of each entry. Entries were assigned to editors and Editorial Board members according to their expertise in criminology and criminal justice. After the initial review and editing, the entry was processed through Sage's developmental editor.

The authors would like to thank the Review Board members, Marvin D. Free, Delores Jones-Brown, Ramiro Martinez, Jr., Everette B. Penn, and Vernetta D. Young, for their assistance in both locating and reviewing entries. Countless members of the American Society of Criminology, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and the Association of Doctoral Programs in Criminology and Criminal Justice were also instrumental in helping us secure the contributors. We are especially thankful for Hillary Potter (DPCC Listserv) and Lorenzo Boyd (Minorities and Women Listserv) for repeatedly posting our messages concerning the encyclopedia. Many of our colleagues authored entries with graduate students, providing those students with an opportunity to experience both research and publishing. We especially thank Everette Penn and Zina McGee for working with so many of their graduate students on several entries. Elycia Daniel, our managing editor, is thanked for helping us to manage numerous tasks that the project entailed. Of course, we are grateful for the knowledgeable contributors who took time away from their busy academic (and personal) lives to write entries. We have learned so much from your work!

At Sage, we want to thank Jerry Westby for suggesting that we consider doing an encyclopedia on race and crime. Jerry put us in touch with Jim Brace-Thompson, who was supportive of the project from the beginning. Along the way, his continued positive encouragement kept us going. We also thank Laura Notton and Leticia Gutierrez for their technical assistance. A special acknowledgment is reserved for Diana Axelsen, for her invaluable assistance and for keeping us motivated to complete the final stages of the project. Thanks, Diana!

Helen would like to thank her family and colleagues for inspiration during this project. I also thank Ms. Monica Freelon, Ms. Crystal Hadnott, and Ms. Lakesha Jones for their assistance. I am grateful for the privilege and experience of working with Dr. Gabbidon on this project.

Shaun would like to thank his family for putting up with him at the computer for long hours working on another book project! I also thank Dr. Greene for her leadership on this project. There is no doubt in my mind that this project would not have been completed without her devotion. Thanks, Helen! At Penn State Harrisburg, I continue to be grateful for the outstanding research support. I thank my graduate assistant Ms. Lisa Kim for her assistance with the appendixes.