Shades of Brown

Abstract

Abstract The recent wave of research examining racial profiling by the police has yet to examine potential differences from an intra-ethnic perspective. In addition, few studies have supplemented the insights gathered from streetand high way-stop data with important measures of citizen perceptions. In this study we attempt to conflate the two gaps by presenting an analysis of Black-and non-Black Hispanics' perceptions of racial profiling. More specifically, we analyze data from a random sample of New York City residents in order to explore differences related to how widespread, justified, and “personal” racial profiling is perceived to be. Results suggest that within ethnicity, racial self-identification plays a galvanizing role in shaping perceptions toward racial profiling. Future research directions are presented.