Socioeconomic Status of Police Arrests - Term Paper Example

Based on the research results carried out before the 1980s individuals from the lower class were more likely to be arrested than those of the higher class (Law.jrank.org, n.p.). Smith also found that the chances to be arrested were higher in neighborhoods with greater economic disadvantages (cited by Lum, 8).

However, other studies have shown that there was no independent influence of suspects’ level of wealth over police’ arrest decisions (Law.jrank.org, n.p.). The main argument here was the fact of the high correlation between an individual socioeconomic status and race in the United States. Kirk (73) also has carried out research examining the social context and ethnic/racial disparities in arrest. His findings indicate that arrest of suspects is associated with structural features of neighborhoods, namely, the concentration of poverty in a specific location. As whites typically live in areas with lower levels of concentrated poverty and blacks typically live in areas with higher levels of concentrated poverty many researchers suggest that neighborhood characteristics and race are two dependent variables (Kirk, 63). Therefore, socioeconomic status could be hardly viewed as the independent variable, which objectively could reflect the situation (Law.jrank.org, n.p.).

Taking into consideration the statistical data related to the number of arrests by race in Chicago and the socioeconomic status of the residents of Chicago, it is possible to figure out the correlation between the socioeconomic status of individuals of different races and the risks of arrests. There are identified several key factors of socio-economic status, including: the level of educational attainment, unemployment rate, and income. Below is provided an overview of the level of education and unemployment level among the residents of Chicago categorized by race. The highest level of Chicago adults with less than a high school diploma was fixed among Hispanics/Latinos (43%), followed by HN Black (19%), Asian (14%), and the lowest – among Whites (7%). The unemployment rate among Whites is the lowest in Chicago (7,8 as of 2009), while the unemployment rate among Blacks was almost three times higher (21,4%). The level of unemployment among Hispanics/Latinos was 13, 3% (Chicagohealth77.org, n.d.).

By utilizing the previous research and results of the literature review it is possible to analyze the recent statistics of arrests in Chicago and back them up with the above-presented theoretical findings. In 2010 the total number of arrests for different types of offenses in Chicago was equal to 167,541 (Daley & Weis, 35). Based on the racial classification of the individuals arrested in Chicago there was presented the following distribution:
- 103,228 arrests - African American,
- 28,114 arrests –Hispanic,
- 11,745 arrests – Caucasian,
- 789 arrests –Asian,
- 200 arrests - Unk,
- 99 arrests - Native American (Daley & Weis, 35).

This statistical data illustrates that the largest number of arrests in Chicago is among the African American population, followed by the Hispanic population.

The paper has provided an overview of the key theories related to the influence of socioeconomic status on the likelihood of getting arrested in Chicago. Practically all scholars have identified a correlation between socio-economic status and race among the US population. The research has shown that the socio-economic status of African-American and Hispanic/Latino racial populations was lower than the socioeconomic status of the White population. Therefore, it is possible to state that there is a high correlation between the socioeconomic status of suspects and their race. As the prevailing number of arrests in Chicago is referred to African Americans, it is possible to conclude that their socio-economic status also influences on the likelihood of getting arrested in Chicago. However, the variable of socio-economic status should be viewed in combination with the race variable.