Saturday, September 16, 2006

The ghetto ain't the only reason for black violence: Steven Pinker, usually a reliable source, tells us in The Blank Slate that blacks who live in the suburbs are no more violent than their white counterparts. Uh, yes they are Steven. According to the 2004 Uniform Crime Reports, 36% of murderers arrested in American suburbs were black, and African Americans are not even close to 36% of all suburbanites. Political correctness infects even our best social scientists.
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2 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:07 AM

    These may or may not turn out to be stupid questions but:

    1.) What falls under the rubric of "arrests in surburban areas"? Is it simply surburban "residents" or does the term encompass transients from lower income areas? (eg. Cherry Hill, NJ being only a few miles from Camden, NJ)

    2.) Is the study accompanied by any data on the rates of conviction for those "arrested"?

    I don't disagree with your conclusion, but I'm skeptical as to whether or it follows from this particular study.

    I discovered your site via Steve. Keep it up.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ron Guhname9:53 AM

    Anonymous: "Arrests in suburban areas" refers to where the suspect was apprehended. Homicides usually involve disputes among people who know each other, and they typically occur not too far from the offender's home. The scenario of the urban black man breaking into a suburban home and murdering the occupants, for example, is rare indeed.

    As for conviction rates, they are very high. Law enforcement can't make an arrest unless there is probable cause, but the real issue with my numbers is whether is bias against black suspects at the level of arrest. Research indicates there is not (Michael Hindelang's research is perhaps the best example).

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