Race and Justice
2018

“We All Have Stories”: Black Muslim Immigrants’ Experience With the Police (Article in Press)

Ellis B.H.* , Lincoln A.K. , Abdi S.M. , Nimmons E.A. , Issa O. , Decker S.H.
  • a Department of Psychiatry, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA, United States
  • b Departments of Sociology and Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA, United States
  • c Department of Psychiatry, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston University, Brookline, MA, USA
  • d Department of Psychiatry, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
  • e Department of Psychiatry, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
  • f School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA, United States

Abstract

Understanding the relationships between immigrants and refugees and the police is a critical research task with implications for both community–police partnerships and the effectiveness of law enforcement efforts. This study contributes to such an understanding by examining perceptions of police and police interactions among Somali immigrants and refugees (both first and second generation) in three communities in the United States and Canada. This article presents in-depth analyses of qualitative interview data and draws upon multiple theoretical perspectives, specifically procedural justice and minority group threat theory. These perspectives have been employed to account for police–minority relationships in other works and we extend their application to a new group. We find that despite some evidence of positive interactions with police, current policing could do more to establish community trust and implement principles of procedural justice with Somalis in the United States and Canada. This article also finds support for the minority group threat theory in that study participants perceive that they experience harsher and more frequent policing due to their multiple marginalized statuses (Black, immigrant, and Muslim). Implications for both Somali immigrants/refugees and law enforcement are discussed. © 2018, The Author(s) 2018.

Author Keywords

Somali Immigrant police interaction minority group threat theory Refugee

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85042077214&doi=10.1177%2f2153368718754638&partnerID=40&md5=1733633c9514a5a1572790ae09a6f38a
DOI: 10.1177/2153368718754638
ISSN: 21533687
Original Language: English