Victim and offender race and the likelihood of weapon use: a test of racial animosity and racial threat theories

The historically complex relationship between Blacks and Whites is believed to play an important role in the way offenders select their victims in violent crimes. This study tests two theories that have been used to explain interracial crimes: racial animosity theory and racial threat theory. Using...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Caines, Matthew (Author)
Contributors: Brown, Wyatt
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2023
In: Criminal justice studies
Year: 2023, Volume: 36, Issue: 2, Pages: 184-201
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Summary:The historically complex relationship between Blacks and Whites is believed to play an important role in the way offenders select their victims in violent crimes. This study tests two theories that have been used to explain interracial crimes: racial animosity theory and racial threat theory. Using data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) from 1992 through 2016, we conduct two analyses of the racial dyads of White and Black offenders and victims to examine the role racial characteristics play in interpersonal crimes. Multinomial logistic regression is used to first analyze the likelihood of weapon use before narrowing our analysis specifically to handguns use. The findings provide minimal support for both racial threat theory and racial animosity theory.
ISSN:1478-6028
DOI:10.1080/1478601X.2023.2179047