Adapting Police Services to New Immigration (Criminal Justice (Lfb Scholarly Publishing Llc).)

Latino immigration to the Midwest has had a significant impact on police-community relations, particularly, in smaller communities historically unaccustomed to diverse ethnic groups. This book describes the experiences of law enforcement agencies in three Mid-Missouri communities and their efforts to adapt to their changing demographics while maintaining current relations with the majority population. The findings reveal that the relationship between law enforcement and the majority communities was positive and supportive. There were several challenges, however, to the development of a cooperative police-Latino relationship. These included the language barrier, fear of the police, immigration issues and the nature of contacts between the police and Latino community. TABLE OF CONTENTS......Page 6 Introduction......Page 12 Latinos and the Criminal Justice System......Page 18 Police-Minority Community Relations......Page 25 Immigration to the Midwest......Page 42 Rural Communities......Page 51 Current Study......Page 61 Research Questions......Page 62 Research Design......Page 63 Site Selections......Page 64 Data Collection......Page 66 Data Analysis......Page 72 Theoretical Perspective......Page 78 Law Enforcement Agency Documents and Records......Page 84 Field Observations of Law Enforcement Patrol Personnel......Page 86 Law Enforcement Patrol Personnel Interviews......Page 90 Community and Government Leader Interviews......Page 125 Community Member Focus Groups......Page 152 Conclusion: Bridging the Gap between Latinos and the Police......Page 176 Principal Findings......Page 177 Methodological Concerns and Limitations......Page 187 Bridging the Gap......Page 188 Recommendations for Future Research......Page 190 NOTES......Page 192 REFERENCES......Page 196 A Patrol Officer Interview Form......Page 226 B Community/Government Leader Interview Form......Page 230 C Community Focus Group Interview Form......Page 232 D......Page 234 L......Page 235 P......Page 236 Z......Page 237 This book describes how 3 mid-western U.S. law enforcement agencies adapted to increasingly diverse populations while maintaining current relations with the majority population. The findings show that the relationship between law enforcement and the majority communities was positive and supportive. There were several challenges, however, to the development of a cooperative police-Latino relationship. These included the language barrier, fear of the police, immigration issues and the nature of contacts between the police and Latino community