SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS IN DETROIT: AN ASSESSMENT OF PROCEDURAL JUSTICE AND POLICE LEGITIMACY PERCEPTIONS By Vaughn Joel Crichlow A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Criminal Justice – Doctor of Philosophy 2014 ABSTRACT SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS IN DETROIT: AN ASSESSMENT OF PROCEDURAL JUSTICE AND POLICE LEGITIMACY PERCEPTIONS By Vaughn Joel Crichlow Little is known about procedural justice and police legitimacy perceptions in the business community, particularly in high-crime urban areas. This dissertation comprises a study on the attitudes of small business owners toward the police in the city of Detroit. The main assumption of procedural justice and police legitimacy theory is that individuals will be less inclined to question the legitimacy of police if they believe police are making quality decisions and treating them with respect. Although existing research indicates that procedural justice is a stable predictor of legitimacy across race, ethnicity and community contexts, there is a paucity of research on the factors that shape business owners’ perceptions of policing. This study contributes to research on procedural justice and police legitimacy theory by presenting a conceptual framework on the influence of race, culture and experiences with crime and victimization on attitudes toward police. The research goals are three-fold. The study examines the applicability of procedural justice and police legitimacy perceptions as explanations for small business owners’ attitudes toward the police in high-crime areas. It also examines whether the attitudes of small business owners toward the police are influenced by the type and location of business, prior victimizations, fear of crime, race and ethnic origin. In addition, it explores whether these factors also influence the likelihood of business owners reporting crimes to the police, and their willingness to assist the police. This research uses a mixed methods approach. The data were gathered through an exploratory survey of Detroit business owners (n = 63) as well as from a sample of in-depth interviews with business owners (n = 39). The findings indicate that procedural justice perceptions have a significant influence on police legitimacy perceptions. The results also highlight the importance of race, type of business and the risk of victimization and their impact on the willingness of business owners to report crimes to the police. These findings have implications for police practice as well as policies on urban small business support and development. Meaningful interactions between police and small business owners, particularly immigrant-owners, could potentially enhance police-community relations. These interactions could also be crucial to the survival of business activity and the socio-economic health of urban neighborhoods. Copyright by VAUGHN JOEL CRICHLOW 2014 To Cindy, Arielle and Caiden. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation is the culmination of a decade of training and personal growth which began on the day I walked into my first criminal law class in the University of London’s external program. Back in 2004 I was a high school teacher on a Caribbean island trying to expand my academic horizons by taking classes at night. I had no idea that the pursuit of a law degree would lead to criminal justice research and training at two universities in the United States. It’s been an exciting journey, and I was happy to share it with my wife Cindy. I know it must have been difficult at times to be married to an international graduate student. I know that migrating from Trinidad and handling life in different parts of the US while being the mother of two young children was not easy, yet she handled it all with perseverance and grace. My research focus on communities and crime has been shaped by several experiences over the years, however, my involvement in grant funded projects in Michigan with my supervisor Dr. Edmund McGarrell had the greatest influence. Along with Dr. McGarrell, I appreciate the support and guidance of Drs. Mahesh Nalla, Christina DeJong and Steven Gold. I’m also grateful for the assistance provided and insightful words expressed by informants from the city of Detroit, scholars, practitioners, students and well-wishers. I’m sobered by those seemingly random conversations often in the strangest of places that caused me to introspect, learn and grow. The names of these excellent individuals are too numerous to mention. Without them, perhaps I would not have seen this project through to its successful completion. Furthermore, I will always be thankful for the Hand that guided me through the many storms that threatened to destroy this immigrant’s dream. Now, I look to the future with even greater expectations. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... The Research Problem ..................................................................................................... Theoretical Significance of the Study .............................................................................. Research Questions .......................................................................................................... 1 1 3 7 CHAPTER TWO: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ........................................................... 9 Procedural Justice, Legitimacy and Process-based Policing ........................................... 9 Legitimacy and the State ................................................................................................ 11 Community Context and Attitudes toward the Police ................................................... 14 Power-Distance Beliefs and Legitimacy ........................................................................ 17 Urban Decline and Business Activity: The Case of Detroit .......................................... 19 Significance of the Current Study .................................................................................. 22 CHAPTER THREE: DATA AND METHODS ........................................................................ Research Design............................................................................................................. Survey and Sampling Procedure .................................................................................... Survey Items and Analysis............................................................................................. Interview Sampling and Recruitment of Participants .................................................... The Interview Instrument and Analysis ......................................................................... 26 26 28 32 37 44 CHAPTER FOUR: SURVEY FINDINGS ON ATTITUDES TOWARD POLICE................. A Description of Business Owners’ Perceptions ........................................................... Bivariate Analysis .......................................................................................................... Multivariate Analysis: Police Legitimacy Perceptions .................................................. Multivariate Analysis: Reporting Crime and Assisting the Police ................................ Chapter Summary .......................................................................................................... 46 46 57 67 75 80 CHAPTER FIVE: LEGITIMACY PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES WITH CRIME AND DISORDER................................................................................................................................ 83 An Overview of the Salient Themes .............................................................................. 83 The Qualitative Analysis................................................................................................ 90 Respect, trust and confidence ............................................................................ 90 Long-standing perceptions of police .................................................................. 95 Recent encounters with police ........................................................................... 98 Police responsiveness and legitimacy perceptions ............................................ 99 Victimization and crime affecting business ..................................................... 102 Concerns about the safety of family members ................................................. 108 vii Legal cynicism and the performance of city officials ...................................... 109 Confidence, fairness and dealing with negative stereotypes ........................... 112 The salience of race, location and type of business ......................................... 114 Race and ethnic differences .................................................................. 114 Location ................................................................................................ 118 Type of business ................................................................................... 119 Chapter Summary ........................................................................................................ 120 CHAPTER SIX: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION .......................................................... Integration of Findings ................................................................................................. Procedural justice and legitimacy perceptions ................................................. Location and types of businesses ..................................................................... Risk and fear of victimization .......................................................................... Race and culture ............................................................................................... Reporting Crimes to Police and Assisting Police ............................................ Limitations and directions for future research ................................................. Broader Implications .................................................................................................... 124 124 124 127 129 130 134 135 139 APPENDICES ......................................................................................................................... Appendix A: Tables ..................................................................................................... Appendix B: Survey instrument and consent form ...................................................... Appendix C: Interview instrument and consent form .................................................. Appendix D: IRB approval .......................................................................................... 144 145 150 159 163 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................ 164 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Description of survey and interview participants (n = 63) .......................................... 30 Table 2: Racial/Ethnic diversity of survey sample (n = 63) ...................................................... 31 Table 3: List of concepts/variables used in the study ................................................................ 34 Table 4: Interview sample – Types of business, city regions, country of origin & race (n = 39) ……………………………………………………………... 42 Table 5: Police Legitimacy – Individual items and composite measure (n = 63) …………….. 47 Table 6: Confidence in police – Individual items and composite measure (n = 63) ................. 47 Table 7: Procedural Justice – Individual items and composite measure (n = 63)...................... 48 Table 8: Distributive Fairness – Individual items and composite measure (n = 63) ................. 49 Table 9: Legal Cynicism – Individual items (n = 63) ................................................................ 50 Table 10: Personal interactions with police – Individual items (n = 63) ................................... 50 Table 11: Power-distance beliefs – Individual items and composite measure (n = 63) ............ 51 Table 12: Risk of victimization – Individual items and composite measure (n = 63) ............... 52 Table 13: Fear of victimization – Individual items and composite measure (n = 63) ............... 53 Table 14: Willingness to report crimes, Willingness to assist police (n = 63) .......................... 54 Table 15: Neighborhood identification – Individual items and composite measure (n = 63) …………………………………………………………………... 55 Table 16: Social disorder/incivilities (n = 63) ........................................................................... 56 Table 17: Zero-order correlations – composite variables (n = 63) ............................................ 60 Table 18: Zero-order correlations – Individual items included (n = 63) ……………………… 61 Table 19: Table 18: Zero-order correlations – Individual items included (n = 63) …………... 66 Table 20: Chi-Square Test – Police legitimacy* by Middle Eastern/other (n = 63).................. 66 ix Table 21: OLS Regression on police legitimacy with procedural justice (n = 63) ................... 68 Table 22: OLS Regression on police legitimacy with selected control variables (n = 63) …… 68 Table 23: OLS Regression on police legitimacy with procedural justice and controls (n = 63) .................................................................................................................. 69 Table 24: OLS Regression on police legitimacy with selected theoretical variables (n = 63)…71 Table 25: OLS Regression on police legitimacy with procedural justice, additional theoretical variables, and controls (n = 63) ………………………………………………………………. 73 Table 26: OLS Regression on likelihood of reporting crimes to police (or willingness to call) with police legitimacy (n = 63) .................................................................................................. 76 Table 27: OLS Regression on likelihood of reporting crimes to police with controls (n = 63) ................................................................................................................ 76 Table 28: OLS Regression on likelihood of helping police find suspect (or willingness to assist) with police legitimacy (n = 63) ……………………………………...77 Table 29: OLS Regression on likelihood of helping police find suspect with all theoretical variables and controls (n = 63) .................................................................................................. 78 Table 30: Outline of Qualitative Analysis ......................................................................... …… 84 Table 31: Comparisons across race, location and type of business ……………………….…. 116 Table 32: OLS Regression models on police legitimacy with interaction term – Middle Eastern x Type of Business (n = 63) ………………………………………….….… 145 Table 33: OLS Regression on police legitimacy with interaction term along with theoretical variables, and controls (n = 63) ……………………………………………………….……….146 Table 34: OLS Regression on police legitimacy with controls including Neighborhood ID and Disorder & Incivilities (n = 63) ……...……………………………………………….…. 147 Table 35: OLS Regression models on willingness to report crime to the police with the interaction term – Middle Eastern x Type of Business (n = 63) ……………………………… 148 Table 36: OLS Regression models on willingness to assist the police with the interaction term – Middle Eastern x Type of Business (n = 63) ………………………………………...... 149 x LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Conceptual framework on business owners’ attitudes toward police .......................... 6 Figure 2: Concurrent triangulation design (Creswell et al., 2003) ............................................ 26 Figure 3: Flow chart – snowball sampling ................................................................................. 40 Figure 4: Procedural justice, race, victimizations, years in business and police legitimacy ..... 67 Figure 5: Theoretical concepts and police legitimacy ............................................................... 71 Figure 6: Full model with police legitimacy perceptions .......................................................... 72 Figure 7: Full model with willingness to call or assist the police .............................................. 75 Figure 8: Conceptual framework: Findings on business owners’ attitudes toward the police ....................................................................................................................... 125 xi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION “[T]here must be eyes upon the street, eyes belonging to those we might call the natural proprietors of the street. The buildings on a street, equipped to handle strangers and to ensure the safety of both residents and strangers, must be oriented to the street.” ― Jane Jacobs, ‘The Death and Life of Great American Cities,’ 1961: 35 Criminal justice research has paid very little attention to the perceptions and experiences of small business owners in high-crime environments. Yet, small businesses play a vital role in the survival and success of many urban communities. They provide goods and services, employment, public spaces for commercial activity, and daily social interactions that are typical of many thriving communities (Brodwin, 2012). With the necessary support from local government and law enforcement agencies, small businesses can help to address the problem of urban decline despite the threat of violent crime and the fear of victimization (Dymski, 1996; Greenbaum & Tita, 2004). Neighborhoods with high-levels of violent crime that bear the outward signs of neglect may be deemed high-risk and unprofitable by big box retailers and department chains. However, in such neighborhoods it is not unusual to find resilient store owners who comprise the core of business activity (Gold, 2010; Krysan & Bader, 2007). This study therefore focuses on business owners in these areas and their attitudes toward the police. The Research Problem Business owners in disadvantaged areas often strive to overcome the adverse circumstances that discourage both existing and future entrepreneurship (Dymski, 1996). They 1 must be resilient in order to survive in areas characterized by declining homeownership levels, abandoned buildings, failing schools, joblessness, residential segregation, financial mismanagement, high crime rates, and under-staffed police stations (Krysan & Bader, 2007; Welch 2012). They must also face the conflict and distrust that has defined the relationship between ethnic merchants and some members of the Black community. This conflict seems to permeate the cognitive landscapes of America’s urban communities such as New York, Los Angeles and Detroit, and on several occasions it has led to riots and other public disturbances (Fine, 1989; Light & Gold, 2000; Shogan & Craig, 1976; Swan, 1971). In these contexts, many store owners experience vandalism, burglary and robbery, and in some cases become the targets of violent hate crimes (Fine, 1989; Welch 2012). It is no surprise that members of the business community have also been skeptical of politicians’ promises and the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies in maintaining safe communities (Gold, 2010). Despite these adverse factors, many business owners and store managers develop meaningful relationships with the inner-city residents and commuters that comprise their regular customers (Gold, 2010). These business owners can be viewed as the eyes and ears of the community on the street, and their influence can provide a key crime prevention resource for local police (Duneier, Hasan & Carter, 2000; Jacobs, 1961). Furthermore, it may be desirable for police officers to partner with small business owners in order to successfully achieve their crime reduction goals, but this approach will have little hope of success if business owners, and the community at large, question the legitimacy of the police. These may be important concerns, however, there is still a paucity of research on business owners’ attitudes toward the local police. This study seeks to address this gap by presenting an empirical assessment of business owners’ experiences with crime and disorder and 2 their attitudes toward the police. It aims to make a contribution to research on procedural justice and police legitimacy perceptions, and also discusses strategies for encouraging meaningful interactions between the police and the business community. Theoretical Significance of the Study Decades of racial conflict and increasing mass media coverage of controversial policecitizen encounters led to extensive scrutiny of police-community relations in the 1980s and 1990s. In response to these controversies, and with the growing support of federal grants for the study of community policing, researchers developed theoretical frameworks in order to understand the relationship between the police and the community, and gave increasing attention to the attitudes of citizens toward the police (Greene, 2000). Procedural justice and police legitimacy theory emerged as a prominent explanation for citizens’ levels of trust and confidence in the police, and its core argument is that citizens’ attitudes toward the police are largely influenced by process-related policing issues (Tyler, 1988). Procedural justice and police legitimacy were distinctive concepts that scholars have combined into one theoretical framework (Gau, 2012). Procedural justice is defined as the perceived fairness of the criminal justice process. It is based on the rules of natural justice and the principle that all persons are entitled to the due process of law. Although it generally includes individuals’ attitudes toward the outcomes of criminal justice decisions, prior research has conceptualized it in terms of how individuals perceive their treatment by the police and other agents of the state. More specifically, it is the quality of decision making, quality of treatment and the trustworthiness of the police (Tyler & Wakslak, 2004). 3 Police legitimacy, on the other hand, can be defined as citizens’ perceptions of this process and it is believed to affect attitudes and behavior associated with legal rules and institutions of control. If individuals believe the police are treating them with respect and making quality decisions, they will be less likely to question the legitimacy of the police (Gau, 2011; Tyler & Wakslak, 2004). Police legitimacy is generally measured in terms of citizens’ trust, confidence and satisfaction in the police: ‘Police are legitimate when the public views them as possessing the moral—not merely legal—authority to issue commands, keep the peace, and enforce the law’ (Gau et al., 2012: p. 334). Despite the fact that scholars have measured perceptions of procedural justice and legitimacy in many different ways, prior research generally indicates that the effects of procedural justice on attitudes toward the police are fairly stable. These outcomes are consistent regardless of race, class and community context (Cao, 2011). Procedural justice models have also provided meaningful explanations for community members’ attitudes toward the police. However, there is still a gap in the literature when it comes to the influence of race, culture and business owners’ experiences with crime and policing, on their attitudes toward police. It is also unclear whether factors such as location and type of business play a role in business owners’ attitudes toward police. This study will therefore make a contribution in this area by presenting a conceptual framework on the factors that are believed to influence business owners’ perceptions of police. This framework includes the key concepts – police legitimacy, procedural justice, confidence in police performance, distributive fairness and legal cynicism. Additional concepts related to experiences with crime, race, ethnicity and cultural norms, as well as characteristics of small businesses are also incorporated into this framework. The goal of this research is to increase 4 knowledge on how procedural justice and police legitimacy processes work in the business community, particularly in high crime areas, by presenting a mixed methods analysis. Using a concurrent triangulation design (Creswell et al., 2003), the study integrates findings from a survey of business owners and qualitative findings from in-depth interviews. The conceptual framework used in this study is presented in Figure 1. This framework comprises the factors that are believed to influence police legitimacy and procedural justice perceptions among business owners in high crime areas. The main contribution of this framework is that while perceptions of the police are related to process-related factors (such as issues of fairness and the quality of decision-making), there are additional issues related to race, culture and the context of operating a business in a neighborhood characterized by disorder and violence, that should also be accounted for. The following are the key hypothesized relationships presented in this framework: The dependent variables are derived from business owners’ likelihood (or willingness) to report crimes to the police and their willingness to assist the police in identifying suspects. The independent variables are derived from concepts related to legitimacy perceptions and processrelated perceptions (Police legitimacy perceptions is also used as a dependent variable in the analysis). The concepts related to legitimacy perceptions are police legitimacy, confidence in police, and legal cynicism. The concepts related to process-related perceptions are procedural justice and distributive fairness. Additional variables related to race, ethnicity, culture and business context, are also hypothesized to influence legitimacy perceptions as well as business owners’ willingness to report crimes to the police or assist the police. All of these relationships will be discussed extensively in Chapter Two. 5 Figure 1: Conceptual framework on business owners’ attitudes toward police  Police Legitimacy Perceptions Procedural Justice Perceptions          Distributive Fairness Legal cynicism 6 Willingness to Call the Police Willingness to Assist the Police Type of business Race and ethnic origin Cultural Norms (Power-distance) Prior victimizations Perceived risk of victimization Fear of victimization Research Questions The study is guided by the following research questions: 1. Do procedural justice and police legitimacy perceptions provide valid explanations for small business owners’ attitudes toward the police in high-crime areas? 2. Do the following process-related concepts: confidence in police performance, distributive fairness and legal cynicism play a role in business owners’ attitudes toward police? 3. Are the attitudes of small business owners toward the police also influenced by: a) Type and location of business? b) Prior victimizations and the fear of crime? c) Cultural norms? d) Race and ethnic origin? 4. Do the factors that influence business owners’ attitudes toward police also influence their willingness to report crimes to the police, and their willingness to assist the police? Chapter Two places the study in the context of prior research on procedural justice and police legitimacy perceptions. It also addresses the problems facing the city of Detroit. The third chapter comprises a description of the mixed methods approach used in the study as well as the data collection procedures and analyses. Chapter Four presents an assessment of survey findings on business owners’ attitudes toward the police, and the fifth chapter presents the analysis of findings from the in-depth interviews with business owners. Chapter Five also explores a number of salient themes related to police legitimacy such as trust, respect and confidence in police performance. Chapter Six concludes the study with the integration of findings from the 7 quantitative and qualitative components of the study. It presents the contribution to theory, some directions for future research and a discussion of the broader implications of this research. 8 CHAPTER TWO: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Procedural Justice, Legitimacy and Process-based Policing Process-based policing has garnered increasing attention due to the demand for effective community-oriented strategies and also the ease with which process-based models can be translated to real-world situations. Process-based models are based on the understanding that formal institutions of control cannot effectively manage crime without the cooperation of the community, and the extent of public deference and trust in these institutions will determine levels of citizens’ cooperation (Cao, 2011; Gau & Brunson, 2010; Gau et. al., 2012; Tyler & Fagan, 2008). Existing research on the psychology of legitimacy, a crucial component of process-based models, indicates that individuals are more inclined to comply with the institutions that they trust (Jost & Major, 2001; Tyler, 2006), and more likely to obey the law if law enforcement agencies are viewed as legitimate (Tyler & Fagan, 2008). Policing scholars have examined the perspectives that define the relationship between the individual and the state and incorporated them into procedural justice and legitimacy models. Tyler (2002) presents the concept of legitimacy in two categories – subjective and objective measures of legitimacy. Subjective measures of legitimacy are based on the attitudes of community members toward the performance and conduct of police officers, whereas objective legitimacy refers to measures of crime rates and observed levels of community disorder. Existing research on legitimacy generally focuses on subjective measures of legitimacy, and has established that police treatment of community members has a stronger effect on legitimacy than 9 the outcomes of police work and the quality of police performance (Bradford, Jackson & Stanko, 2009; Sunshine & Tyler, 2003). Individuals’ perceptions of procedural justice also had a stronger impact on legitimacy than the personal evaluations of distributive fairness in the allocation of police resources (Tyler & Fagan, 2008). Here, distributive fairness pertains to the extent to which citizens believe the resources and services of law enforcement are equitably distributed across different social and racial strata (Gau et al., 2012). In the police legitimacy literature, distributive fairness, though closely related to measures of procedural justice and confidence in the police, had a much weaker impact in shaping perceptions of encounters with the police than perceptions of procedural justice (Tyler & Fagan, 2008). The impact of police performance and unfavorable personal experiences must also be considered. Although unfavorable personal experiences with police have a detrimental effect on the evaluation of future police contacts (Skogan, 2006), it has been suggested that when police exercise their authority with fairness, there will be a greater impact on levels of deference to the police (Tyler & Huo, 2002; Taylor & Lawton, 2012). Furthermore, despite the evidence that the performance of the police has a moderate effect on legitimacy, the effect of procedural justice on legitimacy remains strong even when performance measures are removed (Tyler & Fagan, 2008). Similarly, when respondents used ethical judgments of the appropriateness of police actions rather than their perceptions of the outcomes of police procedures, these perceptions of fair and respectful treatment determined levels of legitimacy (Tyler, 1988; Tyler & Huo, 2002). Regardless of whether prior experiences with police produced favorable or unfavorable outcomes, legitimacy increased if citizens felt the police used fair procedures (Tyler & Fagan, 2008). According to these studies, perceptions of personal experiences with police are highly 10 influential in shaping attitudes regarding future encounters with police. Also, perceptions of legitimacy will increase independent of the effect of individuals’ personal outcomes, if individuals experience positive procedural justice in their personal encounters with police. Legitimacy and the State Attitudes toward the police tend to follow the same rubric as attitudes toward the state. The state cannot govern effectively without public support, and the law enforcement agencies that exercise powers on behalf of the state clearly have a stake in citizens’ trust as they seek to use it as leverage for the co-production of security (Tyler & Fagan, 2008). Like the police, the legal system itself also needs legitimation to stay intact, and despite allegations of serious policy failures, legal systems may continue to maintain public deference when individuals view them as legitimate (Beetham, 1991). Citizens accept the state’s exercise of power when they view the authorities as morally appropriate. Such attitudes are based on a process of internalization in which the members of dominant and subordinate groups share similar beliefs about authority, and these beliefs help to sustain law and order in civil societies (Tyler, 2006b; Tyler & Fagan, 2008). Legitimacy is therefore the product of interactions that sustain the shared moral reasoning and values between the state and the individual (Beetham, 1991). According to Weber, citizen cooperation is based on the normative judgments of the exercise of power rather than the sanctions and incentives that are designed to shape behavior, and the development of this cooperation is related to the manner in which the authorities exercise their power over time (Weber, 1978). Legitimacy, moreover, can be viewed as a social response to the prestige that 11 citizens grant to the state, and it can be sustained by long-standing traditions, charismatic political leaders, and citizens’ trust in the rationality of the rule of law (Weber, 1978). This is consistent with John Locke’s perspective that legitimacy in civil societies depends on a transfer of authority that is based on the consent of individuals and their willingness to commit to a social contract with the state (Locke, 1990; 1690). Legitimacy then fuels the obligation to obey, and if the conditions of legitimacy are not met, then citizens would no longer feel obliged to obey the instructions of the agencies that enforce the law (Weber, 1991; 1918). Furthermore, the legitimacy of political authority is derived from the social values and obligations associated with citizenship, rather than self-interest, and the authorities often try to appeal to this legitimacy in order to gain cooperation and deference to the law (French & Raven, 1959; Kelman & Hamilton, 1989; Tyler & Darley, 2000). Another perspective is that citizens’ attitudes about the state, as well as the legal system, can be based on either subcultural or attenuated values (Warner, 2003). According to the subcultural approach some individuals are immersed in an oppositional culture from an early age, and they internalize definitions of behavior that reject mainstream values (Cohen, 1955; Kornhauser, 1978). These individuals possess an unfavorable attitude toward the rule of law and a negative disposition toward police officers and other agents of formal social control (Leiber, Nalla, & Farnworth, 1998). This subculture, sometimes described as a ‘street culture’ with its own code of conduct, operates within the rubric of community disadvantage and social isolation that fosters disaffection with the police (Anderson, 1999; Wilson, 1987). In such contexts the police are viewed as ineffective or inaccessible to members of the community who do not want to be labeled as ‘snitches’ (Rosenfeld, Jacobs & Wright, 2003). This gives rise to legal cynicism which 12 can be defined as the perception that the law and agents of the law are ill-equipped to ensure public safety (Kirk and Papachristos, 2011). Legal cynicism is also conceptualized as a cultural frame in which individuals see the agencies that exercise powers on behalf of the state as illegitimate. It is therefore a product of the cognitive landscape in these communities where the informal settling of disputes is a much more desirable option than calling the police for service (Carr, Napolitano & Keating, 2007). An alternative perspective is that citizens possess attenuated and potentially paradoxical views regarding police, crime and the criminal justice system in general. With such attenuated values there is no clear rejection of mainstream values. Rather, an individual might be intolerant of crime while maintaining an unfavorable disposition toward the police (Sampson & Bartusch, 1998), and the normative values that sustain supportive dispositions toward police can be attenuated and replaced by legal cynicism (Warner, 2003). In other words, some individuals’ resistance of the law is not necessarily an indication that they are wholly oppositional to the law (Ewick & Silbey, 1998). A study of respondents in three neighborhoods (Carr, Napolitano & Keating, 2007), provided evidence to support the procedural justice-cultural attenuation approach in which unfavorable dispositions are context-based rather than a wholesale rejection of formal control. The attenuated values thesis could be more reflective of the views of ethnic minorities in violent urban contexts than the subcultural thesis. Attenuation can also be thought of as a crisis of belief when it comes to the authorities and it usually exists when levels of legal cynicism are high. This study does not measure attenuated values per se, however it is suggested that the presence of high levels of legal cynicism among business owners can reflect attenuated perspectives of authority. 13 Community Context and Attitudes toward the Police Racial profiling and racialized attitudes in the police legitimacy literature must also be considered in the analysis of attitudes toward police. Prior research on citizens’ perceptions of the injustice of police policies and practices, establishes that members of the black community who live in depressed urban neighborhoods are more likely than their white counterparts to question the legitimacy of the police (Huq, Tyler & Schulhofer, 2012; MacDonald et al., 2007; Sharp & Johnson, 2009; Taylor & Lawton, 2012; Weitzer, 2000). Perceptions of the degree to which policing practices are racially biased, whether racial profiling is practiced, and whether police reform is needed, are largely determined by factors related to respondents’ race and ethnicity (Bradford et al., 2009; Cao, 2011; Taylor & Lawton, 2012; Tyler & Wakslak, 2004; Weitzer & Tuch, 2005). Residents’ perceptions were affected by the degree to which they identified with their neighborhoods and cared about their communities (Tyler & Fagan, 2008). Inner-city residents’ perceptions were also negatively affected by the physical environment and the signs of social disorder such as abandoned buildings, and incivilities such as vandalism and prostitution (Taylor & Lawton, 2012). Community context clearly does matter when it comes to explaining observed racial differences. Existing research on racialized attitudes toward the police presents a confluence of factors that includes demographics, class and prior contacts with police. These factors help to explain the complexity of observed racial differences as people living in the same area, who happen to belong to the same racial group tend to have similar experiences and attitudes toward police. Findings on the importance of social context within urban neighborhoods indicate that the presence of collective efficacy is associated with more favorable attitudes 14 toward police and could also help to ultimately reduce crime levels (Sampson, Raudenbush & Earls, 1997). Collective efficacy refers to the willingness of members of a community to be actively involved in stabilizing their neighborhoods, and their role as agents of social control. Areas with high-levels of efficacy are characterized by social cohesion, trust in police, concern for the neighborhood (Sampson, 2012), and also the degree to which people identify with the neighborhood (Tyler & Fagan, 2008). Although the current study does not examine collective efficacy, it is important to note that studies have argued that observed racial differences in attitudes and experiences can be related to levels of efficacy and cohesion in ethnic minority neighborhoods. The small businesses examined in this study exist mainly in disadvantaged communities and thus the structural dynamics of these neighborhoods should not be ignored. Racial differences can also be partially explained by the perceived disparate treatment of racial minority populations in terms of heightened police scrutiny and the discriminatory treatment of individuals based on race, ethnicity, or perceived religion (Gau et al., 2012; Rice & Parkin, 2010; Nguyen, 2005). For black and Latino respondents, for instance, their perceptions were shaped by the crime concerns in their neighborhoods reported via mass media sources and also through their interpersonal contacts, rather than their own personal experiences (Weitzer & Tuch, 2005). The intense policing enforcement and over-enforcement against racial minorities clearly had a negative impact on citizens’ attitudes toward police (Fagan & Davies, 2000; Saxe et al., 2001). Furthermore, while fairness judgments are affected by the perceived treatment of persons belonging to a respondent’s own ethnic group, there may be ‘spillover effects,’ which means that individuals can also be influenced by the way members of other ethnic groups are being treated by the police (Tyler & Wakslak, 2004). Studies presented evidence of these effects in terms of how respondents’ attitudes toward police were negatively influenced by the perceived 15 mistreatment of those who belonged to other ethnic groups (Huq, Tyler & Schulhofer, 2012; Jonathan & Weisburd, 2010; Rosenbaum et al., 2005; Tyler, 2005). According to a conflict perspective of racialized attitudes, differential perceptions can be explained by the belief that dominant social groups are treated more favorably by the authorities than subordinate groups (Simon & Burns, 1997). When members of dominant groups believe the status quo is threatened, or that there is competition for scarce resources, this can lead to social conflict. Such conflict is often manifested in behaviors that perpetuate hierarchies of race, class and gender in which certain social groups are oppressed by dominant groups (Sheldon, 2001; Taylor & Lawton, 2012; Brunson, 2007; Brunson & Miller, 2006). When examining civil rights abuses in the US, researchers also found that subordinate groups, disproportionately comprised of racial minorities, were less likely to trust the criminal justice process which was perceived to be largely controlled by the dominant racial majority (Blalock, 1967; Blumer, 1958). These findings are also relevant to racial minorities in Canada and other industrialized nations where aboriginal communities, and other oppressed groups, are overrepresented in prisons, and these trends have influenced citizens’ fairness judgments about systems of law and justice (Christmas, 2012). An alternative perspective suggests that such inter-group conflicts may be more aptly characterized by class differences rather than racial differences. If it can be assumed that these differences have more to do with class than race, then we would expect to find that white adolescents in poor urban neighborhoods are treated as poorly by police as black youth in poor neighborhoods (Carr et al., 2007; Taylor & Lawton, 2012). Yet another perspective argues that interpretations of prior police contacts could be conditioned by race, class, and region, and that racialized differences in perceptions were heightened by factors such as whether the 16 communities have complex problems that are aggravated by residential segregation and concentrated poverty (Brown & Benedict, 2002; Gau & Brunson, 2010; Halim & Stiles, 2001; Taylor & Lawton, 2012). These studies agree that any observed difference across racial groups in attitudes toward the police cannot be viewed as a conclusion in itself. Rather, there are layers of macro and micro factors that reveal a richer and more nuanced explanation as to why racial differences exist (Brunson, 2007; Chermak, McGarrell & Weiss, 2001). Understanding cultural differences could be the key to answering some of these questions about racial differences. Power-Distance Beliefs and Legitimacy As indicated earlier, deeply rooted cultural beliefs can help to explain observed racialized attitudes toward police. Huq, Tyler and Schulhofer (2012) examined the effect of prior experiences of Muslim immigrants on their current attitudes to the police, and concluded that the experiences of these immigrants in their early years in non-democratic contexts impacted their expectations of the local police in the receiving countries. These immigrants generally possessed unfavorable attitudes toward police due to past experience of an oppressive police force. This was consistent with findings from the Brockner et al. (2001) study in which respondents who belonged to cultures that were characterized by a significant distance between those who held positions of formal power and those who did not, were less likely to question the authority of law enforcement, and also less likely to participate in the exercise of authority. Such cultures were often characterized by high power-distance values, and matters regarding the exercise of power were reserved for the appropriate leaders, and citizens generally had no desire to participate in decision-making or even question authorities. 17 The conceptualization and measurement of power-distance values were first established in the work of Hofstede (1980) and in other non-criminal justice studies within the fields of social psychology and organizational behavior. Power-distance was defined as the degree to which inequality among persons in positions of power was viewed as desirable or a natural part of the social order (Hofstede, 1980). In high power-distance cultures, inequalities in decisionmaking power were legitimized, whereas in low power-distance cultures, usually identified as Western-democratized countries, the need to reduce the distance in decision-making power was an established cultural norm (Hofstede, 1980). Although procedural justice models have been well defined in Westernized contexts, it is possible that these effects are not universal given that cultures comprised of high power-distance values might process fairness judgments differently (Brockner et al., 2001). This was indicated in Ivkovic and Hagan (2011), where perceptions of distributive fairness were more influential on attitudes toward the courts than procedural justice perceptions among inhabitants of Central European regions. Furthermore, despite the evidence that interpretations of prior interactions with police have some influence on citizens’ perceptions of the words and actions of police officers (Brandl, Frank, Worden, & Bynum, 1994; Brunson, 2007; Gau & Brunson, 2010; Rosenbaum et al., 2005; Tyler, 2006), it is possible that these interpretations of police contacts were shaped by pre-existing attitudes related to power-distance cultures. Existing research indicates that levels of power-distance were related to perceptions of fairness and whether citizens have a ‘voice’; and this pertains to respondents’ perceptions of the degree to which they have a say in the decision-making process (Brockner et al., 2001; Lind, Tyler & Huo, 1997; Tyler, Lind & Huo, 2000). 18 There is limited research on the role of culture in shaping attitudes toward police. These studies however, help to provide a conceptual framework and some justification for this research. Across ethnic groups it is clear that there are deeply-rooted cultural factors that influence individuals’ perceptions of life in the city. More specifically, it is expected that their attitudes to local police, which is of particular importance in high-crime settings, will be one of the major features of the daily-life of immigrant business owners, and one that is worthy of assessment. This dissertation also examines a chain of relationships based on prior research. Scholars have suggested that race and ethnicity, along with procedural justice and police legitimacy perceptions, are associated with the likelihood that citizens will report crimes and assist police with investigations (Tyler & Fagan, 2008; Viki et al., 2006). It has also been argued that the decision to assist police and report crimes to police is a function of helplessness and the fear of reprisal from criminal elements in the community (Davis & Henderson, 2008). This is also a concern in communities with large immigrant populations comprised of persons with negative experiences of police in their countries of origin which may affect their willingness to assist the police (Kidd & Chayet, 1984). Urban Decline and Business Activity: The Case of Detroit Detroit, the research site for this study, is the most populous city in Michigan with a population of approximately 700,000 in the city and 5 million in the Metro area (U.S. Census, 2010). The city has experienced a population decline of approximately 63 percent since it peaked at almost 2 million residents in 1950, and it provides a compelling opportunity for this research due to its pervasive socio-economic problems that have influenced this decline (Harris, 2013). After the subprime mortgage crisis in 2008, Detroit’s actual jobless rate was close to 50 percent, 19 and the weight of acute joblessness continues to rest heavily on the most vulnerable inner-city neighborhoods (Pepitone, 2009). The truly disadvantaged, similar to Chicago and other large American cities (Wilson, 1987; 1996), are members of the black community who now comprise more than 80 percent of the residential population (Gold, 2010; Krysan, & Bader, 2007). At the time of writing, Detroit was the largest American city to ever file for bankruptcy, had a violent crime rate that was almost five times the national average, and was also listed for the fourth straight year as the most dangerous city in the country (Dudar, 2013; Forbes, 2013). Small business owners and urban residents face an uncertain future as the Detroit Police Department is saddled with a consent decree due to a range of abuses1, as the city tries to overcome the consequences of neglect, corruption in high office, financial mismanagement and gross misconduct. These were evident in the resignations of police chiefs and city council members, the federal conviction of former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, and the widely unpopular austerity measures of a state-appointed emergency manager (Dudar, 2013; Kaffer, 2013; Kurth, Wilkinson & Aguilar, 2013). Business closures increased due to concerns about crime victimizations and general public safety, less than adequate police response time to lifethreatening emergencies, high business taxes, and the seemingly sudden and aggressive enforcement of business codes and regulations (Dalmia, 2013; Dudar, 2013). The city also provides a dynamic tapestry of structural disadvantages such as joblessness, poverty and income inequality (Harris, 2013). Some businesses thrived in a context defined by a growing disadvantaged class that has experienced economic and environmental inequality, with some evidence of racial and class-based disparities in the award of private sector loans and the 1 This consent decree was an agreement between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the City of Detroit regarding police policies that needed to be changed. The problems identified by the DOJ were the use of force, in the Detroit Police Department’s arrest and detention practices and in the conditions of the holding cells it used to temporarily confine arrested persons (Damron, 2013). 20 distribution of racial groups around environmental hazards (Krysan & Bader, 2007; Kurth, Wilkinson, & Aguilar, 2013). There were few big-box retailers, department stores or chain groceries in the city, and the retail industry was still underdeveloped and unable to support the needs of a large population, in terms of commodities and also employment opportunities (Welch, 2012). It is noteworthy that scholars examined the positive impact of black leaders in the postcivil rights era and the commitment and involvement of African Americans in politics, unions, schools and religious organizations (Darden & Thomas, 2013), along with their ongoing contribution to the development of the city (Farley et al., 2000; Gold, 2010; Harris, 2013). However, despite evidence of a growing black, prosperous elite, and an active black middle class, there is still the harsh reality that approximately one third of the population still lives below the poverty line (Harris, 2013; Krysan, & Bader, 2007). Generational poverty has been fueled, at least in part, by the loss of jobs in the automotive sector, and the unintended consequences of failed infrastructure and housing development programs that have exacerbated problems of racial distrust and class segregation (Darden et al., 1987; Kurth, Wilkinson & Aguilar, 2013; Pepitone, 2009). The movement of white residents to suburban communities (‘White flight’), compounded by the gradual departure of middle class blacks, many of whom have moved to Southfield and other suburbs, have also adversely affected inner city neighborhoods (Darden et al., 1987; Kurth, Wilkinson & Aguilar, 2013; Wilson, 1996). A history of racial conflict and latent distrust has marred interactions between Arab and Chaldean small business owners and their predominantly black customer base (Gold, 2010; Light & Gold, 2000). It has been argued that the small business industry has done little to enhance the lives of black residents in particular, which could be one of the main sources of the inter-racial 21 distrust and conflict (City Data, 2011; Krysan, & Bader, 2007). This conflict could also be rooted in the perception that many immigrants overtake US born residents in the mobility race by quickly establishing their own businesses and retreating to their comfortable suburban homes, as they seem to benefit from the patronage of their customers while failing to re-invest their earnings in the surrounding communities (Darden & Thomas, 2013; Gold, 2010). Detroit politics is another factor that contributes to the complexity of these relationships as business owners have given money to local police and politicians to curry favor, while politicians play to opposing groups in the community in order to reap benefits from both sides (Gold, 2010). Yet another historical factor to be considered is the phenomenon of businesses being looted by opportunistic members of the community as a result of public anger toward the police (Fine, 1989). In the midst of such conflicts, it is alleged that well-favored store owners were protected by local residents, whereas those who treated customers and residents poorly might have been identified as acceptable targets of hostility or boycotts (Chang, 1995; Swan, 1971), and such permutations are similar to what occurred in the Korean-American business community of Los Angeles after the riots in 1992 (Chang, 1995; Chung, 2005). These historical and contextual factors provide an important backdrop to this study, and they also help to inform a discussion on the role of personal experiences with crime and victimization in shaping the attitudes of business owners toward the police. Significance of the Current Study This study focuses on small business owners in Detroit. It presents comparisons across race, location and type of business. It also presents an assessment of immigrant and nonimmigrant business owners in the city. The majority of immigrant business owners who 22 participated in this study are of Middle Eastern ancestry. This is important given the large and influential Arab and Chaldean communities in Detroit. Most Chaldeans in Detroit can trace their roots to a northern Iraqi province, and unlike their Muslim counterparts who speak Arabic, their religious affiliation is Roman Catholicism and their native language is Aramaic. The Arabs in Detroit are generally Muslim and come from a range of Middle Eastern countries. In this study, ‘Middle Eastern’ loosely refers to persons originating from countries in Southwest Asia between Egypt and India. ‘Middle East’ is an imperfect term, and it is clearly inadequate in describing such a wide range of cultures and ethnicities (Schopmeyer, 2011), however, it is not used in this study as a defining label or a code word for cultural or political identity. Rather, it is used as an organizing category for the purpose of analysis. Examining Arab and Chaldean responses within this category was useful in producing meaningful comparisons and identifying common experiences among business owners in Detroit. There is limited research on these communities. The few studies on business owners in Detroit have generally used a socio-historical approach in exploring interactions between immigrant owners and their customers (Gold, 2010) as well as the challenges to African American business and development in the African American community (Darden & Thomas, 2013; Gold, 2010). Studies have also used socio-historical and economic models in examining family arrangements in Metro Detroit and the success of Arab and Chaldean-owned businesses (Archer, 1991; Smith, Tang & San Miguel, 2012; Spurlock & Raymond, 2013). Yet, none of these studies have examined attitudes toward the police, and at the time of writing, there was no published work on procedural justice perspectives within the urban business community. This study seeks to make a contribution to the research on procedural justice processes in areas that are comprised of large immigrant business communities. As described earlier, Detroit 23 is of particular interest given the issues of crime, joblessness and general urban decline. Racerelated perceptions that stem from interactions with the predominantly black residential population, which comprises the customer base for these businesses, must also be considered. The overarching significance of this research rests on the fact that Detroit, like other urban centers, desperately needs successful small businesses and these businesses will not survive if there is no infrastructure to sustain them, and their demise could be hastened if the threat of violent crime is not properly addressed. In this context, the relationship between the city authorities and small business owners is crucial, and if crime prevention efforts are to reap sustainable benefits, the relationship between the business community and the police should be assessed. The prior research discussed in this chapter suggests that the reported differences in attitudes toward the police across ethnic groups could be affected by differential cultural experiences and beliefs. These attitudes must also be understood within physical and social contexts where respondents are concerned about violent crime and affected by prior experiences of victimization. There is also a need to understand how encounters with the police shape attitudes toward local police and perceptions of authority in general. It is an additional concern that prior research on disorder and crime has highlighted the role of institutions of control when it comes to combating the cycle of disorder in disadvantaged communities (Bursik & Grasmick, 1993; Skogan, 1992). This cycle is often characterized by macro-level forces such as disinvestment, unemployment and population loss which are believed to influence levels of crime which will in turn impact perceptions of public safety. Skogan describes this as a ‘spiral of decay’ that is evidenced by increasing social and physical disorder (1992, p.4). Social disorder comprises problems such as public drinking and prostitution, and 24 physical disorder includes problems such as graffiti and vandalism. This cycle can potentially impact every facet of life in the city, including the success of small businesses (Jacobs, 1961). In response to these problems many community members must choose ‘fight’ or ‘flight,’ while those who cannot fight or flee become passive or cynical, and in some cases become active contributors to the decline. Although small businesses in such areas may be affected in various ways by the cycle of disorder, they could play an important role in addressing the decline if adequately supported by the city authorities. Small businesses could be effective as institutions of control in troubled neighborhoods. Bursik and Grasmick (1993) and others, suggest that community-based institutions in disadvantaged areas could positively influence the quality of community life. Small business operators could potentially play a role in enhancing communities and intervening in social issues that directly impact the communities in which their businesses are located. The findings from this study could also have implications for police practice as well as urban development policy, as urban neighborhoods have experienced the detrimental effects of violent crime and the fear of victimization. Meaningful interactions between police and small business owners, particularly ethnic minority owners, will be crucial to the survival of business activity, the socio-economic health of urban neighborhoods, and the hope of effective crime reduction efforts in Detroit. 25 CHAPTER THREE: DATA AND METHODS Research Design The main goal of this research is to explore the attitudes of small business owners toward police in Detroit. The study presents a conceptual framework that explores a range of factors that are believed to influence business owners’ perceptions of police in high-crime areas. The study comprises a mixed methods approach. It uses a concurrent triangulation design (See Figure 2) which provides an assessment of findings from a survey conducted with small business owners (n=63), integrated with findings from in-depth interviews with a sample of business owners (n=39). Figure 2: Concurrent triangulation design (Creswell et al., 2003) QUAN + QUAL QUAN Data Collection QUAL Data Collection QUAN Data Analysis QUAL Data Analysis Data Results Compared 26 The qualitative data used in this study provide rich description and add context to the quantitative findings. While the survey data was being collected and analyzed participants were also being recruited for in-depth interviews. Researchers who use concurrent triangulation designs agree that this is a useful approach especially when exploring under-researched phenomena, given that two different methods are used to cross-validate findings in a single study (Creswell et al., 2003). In a concurrent triangulation design, data collection is concurrent which means that both quantitative and qualitative data are collected during the same time-period. In using this approach, some difficulties are avoided such as the risk of a history effects occurring during the course of a large multi-stage research project. In other words, although an intervening event can threaten the validity of findings in mixed methods research, this can potentially be avoided when data is collected concurrently. A concurrent triangulation design can also help to increase knowledge on different levels of a selected phenomenon (Creswell et al., 2003). For example, the phenomenon of citizens’ trust in the police can be examined through participants’ responses to survey questions, and also through their responses to questions posed during in-depth interviews. Thus, the phenomenon of trust will not only be examined in terms of whether a participant agrees or disagrees with certain statements about police but also through their own personal descriptions of their interactions with police in free and open discourse. The triangulation of methods can also enhance a study and overcome some of the weaknesses in using one single method (Silverman, 2010; Steckler et al., 1992). One such weakness is the ability to present valid explanations that either confirm hypothesized relationships or clarify unexpected results. This approach can also help to increase the external validity of findings despite the inherent challenges to mixed methods approaches and the use of 27 relatively small samples. Furthermore, the use of multiple methods can increase knowledge on under-researched phenomena (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 1998). The potential shortcomings of concurrent triangulation approaches and implications for future research are discussed further in Chapter Six. The data used in this study were collected between November 2013 and April 2014. A survey was conducted with 63 small business owners and in-depth interviews were conducted with a separate sample of 39 business owners. The interviews were 45 minutes to two hours in length and loosely structured in order to allow participants to discuss their concerns freely and openly. Survey and Sampling Procedure The survey was designed primarily to measure the procedural justice and police legitimacy perceptions of small business owners. The survey was mailed to 500 businesses selected from a publically available online directory of Detroit businesses (Detroit White Pages, 2014). The directory allowed users to browse businesses by category. The types of businesses included on the mailing list were based on preliminary interviews with business owners as well as conversations with two experienced police officers from the Detroit Police Department. It is also established in prior research that certain types of businesses tend to be associated with problematic public spaces (Brantingham, 1984). Furthermore, research on crime hotspots has examined crime generators, attractors and enablers, and determined that these public spaces often attract street crimes and disorderly behaviors (Braga, 2008; Brantingham & Brantingham, 1995). Based on this understanding, gas stations/convenience stores and liquor stores/party stores were oversampled on the mailing list. This was done in order to increase the 28 chances of obtaining respondents with experience in high-risk situations for the purpose of meaningful comparisons. The mailed survey included 200 gas stations and 100 liquor stores, in addition to a range of different types of businesses from the North East, East Side, Midtown, West Side and South West regions of the city. These businesses were purposefully selected from the following ten categories in the directory: grocery, check cashing, auto repair, barber shop, beauty supply, bar, restaurant, electronics, bakery and pharmacy. One business was selected from each of these categories until a total of 200 was reached (20 in each category). The survey and consent forms were mailed to the potential participants with business reply envelopes along with an invitation to a raffle as an incentive. Fifty of these surveys were ‘returned to sender’ as it was reported that these businesses no longer existed. This was not surprising given the reports that every year scores of businesses are closing down and some business owners are also choosing to leave the city and set up businesses elsewhere (Dudar, 2013). Follow-up efforts were implemented through phone calls and hand delivered replacement questionnaires over a period of two months. Interview participants were also asked to complete survey questionnaires and for many of them the survey was conducted orally given the reluctance of some immigrant business owners to complete the survey by themselves. The initial mailed survey yielded a response rate of 5 percent, however, after follow-up efforts the response rate increased to 10 percent. There was therefore a total of 63 completed survey questionnaires. The characteristics of the survey and interview samples are presented in Table 1. 29 Table 1: Description of survey and interview participants (n = 63) Characteristics Survey n=63 % Interview n=39 % Age: Less than 30 9 14% 8 21% 30 – 40 23 37% 23 59% 41 – 50 9 14% 4 10% 22 35% 4 10% White 19 30% 8 21% Black 15 24% 12 30% Latino 1 2% 0 0 28 44% 19 49% Yes 29 46% 13 33% No 34 54% 26 67% 9 15% 8 21% 5 – 10 25 40% 17 44% 11 – 20 10 16% 8 21% 21 – 30 11 18% 5 14% 7 11% 0 0 Yes 5 8% 3 8% No 58 92% 36 92% 51 81% 34 87% 10 – 20 8 13% 5 13% More than 20 4 6% 0 0 Above 50 Race: Middle Eastern Immigrant? Years in business: Less than 5 More than 30 More than one business? Number of employees: Less than 10 30 A comparison of the survey sample to the interview sample indicates that the percentages across these general categories are similar. The age range of the participants in the study were from 24 to 65 with a large percentage between the ages of 30 and 40 and also above 50 years of age. Almost half of the participants were of Middle Eastern race or ethnicity with white and black participants accounting for 30 and 24 percent of the sample respectively. Most of the participants had less than 20 years’ experience operating businesses in Detroit (71%) and 11 percent possessed more than 30 years’ experience. Only eight percent indicated that they owned or operated more than one business in the city. A noticeable majority of the participants had less than ten employees (82%), however, there were 24 respondents (38%) who indicated that they had more than 20 employees. None of the business owners with more than 20 employees agreed to participate in an interview. Table 2: Racial/Ethnic diversity of survey sample (n = 63) Countries of Origin n % Bangladesh 1 2% France 1 2% 11 17% Jordan 1 2% Lebanon 9 13% Mexico 1 2% 34 54% Yemen 2 3% Did not respond 3 5% 63 100% Iraq USA Total 31 Regarding the ethnic diversity of the sample, Table 2 presents a list of the countries of origin that were reported. This list includes five Middle Eastern countries, one European country and one Latin American country. France and Mexico were only represented by one participant each and these respondents were not a part of the interview sample. Approximately half of all respondents indicated that they were born in the United States. Iraq had the second largest number of respondents with 17 percent of the sample. Survey Items and Analysis Data collected from the survey were analyzed in SPSS using bivariate correlations and OLS regression to examine the following key hypothesized relationships: (1) Procedural justice perceptions will have a positive influence on police legitimacy perceptions; (2) Police legitimacy perceptions will have a positive influence on the willingness to report crimes to the police and the willingness to cooperate with the police. As indicated in Chapter One, dependent variables were derived from business owners’ likelihood (or willingness) to report crimes to the police and their willingness to assist the police in identifying suspects. The independent variables related to legitimacy perceptions were police legitimacy, confidence in police, and legal cynicism. Independent variables related to process-related perceptions were procedural justice and distributive fairness. It was also expected that race, ethnicity, culture and business context would influence legitimacy perceptions as well as business owners’ willingness to report crimes to the police or assist the police. Variables derived from these concepts were used as controls in the regression analysis – Age, Number of years in business, Race/ethnicity (Middle Eastern), Ever been robbed and Ever been a victim of crime. 32 The survey items related to procedural justice and police legitimacy were based on measures developed by Tyler & Fagan (2008) and Gau et al. (2012). It incorporated items on power-distance beliefs developed by Brockner et al., (2001) as well as items related to contacts with police and the fear of crime (See Appendix A). The items related to the key concepts were tested for reliability by generating Cronbach’s alpha scores for each of the scales. Most of the composite measures produced co-efficients that were above .7, which reflects a reasonable level of reliability (Bachman & Paternoster, 2009): Police legitimacy (.82), Procedural justice (.87), Confidence in police (.76), Fear of victimization (.83) and Neighborhood identification (.74). The other composite measures produced Cronbach’s alpha scores as follows: Distributive fairness (.6), Legal Cynicism (.53), Power-distance beliefs (.65), Risk of victimization (.68). The measures that reported lower alpha scores are discussed further in Chapter Four. For ease of reference, Table 3 provides a list of the variables used in the study. The legitimacy related variables are police legitimacy, confidence in police and legal cynicism. The following items were based on a four-point scale ranging from ‘Strongly Disagree’ to ‘Strongly Agree.’ Five items developed by Tyler & Fagan (2008) measured police legitimacy perceptions: (1) Overall, the Detroit Police Department is a legitimate authority and people should obey the decisions that Detroit police officers make; (2) I should accept the decisions made by police, even if I think they are wrong; (3) I should do what the police tell me to do even when I don’t understand the reasons for their decisions; (4) I trust the leaders of the DPD to make decisions that are good for everyone in the city;((5) People’s basic rights are well protected by the police in Detroit. 33 Table 3: List of concepts/variables used in the study Legitimacy-related perceptions 1 Police legitimacy (Tyler & Fagan, 2008) 2 Confidence in police 3 Legal cynicism (Tyler & Fagan, 2008) Process-related Perceptions 4 Procedural justice (Tyler & Fagan, 2008) 5 Distributive fairness (Gau, et al., 2012) Interactions with Police 6 Likelihood of reporting to police (or willingness) 7 Likelihood of assisting police (or willingness) 8 Personal interactions with police Culture-related perceptions (Cultural norms) 9 Power-Distance (Brockner et al., 2001) Social context 10 Risk of victimization (McGarrell, 2012) 11 Fear of victimization (McGarrell, 2012) 12 Neighborhood identification (Tyler & Fagan, 2008) 13 Social disorder/Incivilities (Taylor & Lawton, 2012) Business Context 14 Type of business 15 Number of employees 16 Number of years operating business 17 Ever been robbed or burglarized 18 Ever been a victim of crime 34 Table 3: (cont’d) Personal Characteristics 19 Race/Ethnicity/Immigrant 20 Native language English 21 Age The confidence in police items were: (1) I have confidence in the ability of Detroit police officers to protect me from crime; (2) I have confidence in the ability of Detroit police officers to prevent crime. The legal cynicism items were (Tyler & Fagan, 2008): (1) People in power use the law to try to control people like me; (2) The law does not protect my interests. The processrelated variables in the study were procedural justice and distributive fairness. Procedural justice perceptions were measured using the following items (developed by Tyler and Fagan, 2008): (1) Detroit police officers treat people with dignity and respect; (2) Detroit police officers treat people fairly; (3) Detroit police officers take the time to listen to people; (4) Detroit police officers explain their decisions to people they deal with. The items for distributive fairness perceptions were (Gau, et al., 2012): (1) Detroit police officers provide better services to wealthier citizens; (2) Detroit police officers give minorities less help because of their race. Power-distance is the culture-related concept used in this study. The items measuring power-distance beliefs were (Brockner et al., 2001): (1) There should be established ranks in society with everyone occupying their rightful place regardless of whether that place is high or low in the ranking; (2) Even if a person believes that he/she has been treated unfairly by the police, it would be disrespectful to complain to the authorities; (3) People are better off not questioning the decisions of leaders and people in authority; (4) Government officials are 35 superior to average citizens; (5) Communications with the authorities should always be done using formally established procedures. The key items related to the business and social context were the likelihood of reporting crimes to the police (or willingness to call the police), willingness to cooperate/assist the police, perceptions of the risk and fear of victimization and neighborhood identification. The following items used a five point scale ranging from ‘Very likely’ to ‘Not likely at all’: Willingness to call the police (Tyler & Fagan, 2008): (1) How likely would you be to call the police to report a crime that occurred at your place of business? (2) How likely would you be to report dangerous or suspicious activity in the community where your business is located? Willingness to cooperate/assist the police used one item (Tyler & Fagan, 2008): (1) How likely would you be to help the police to find someone suspected of a crime if you had some information about the crime? Participants’ perceived risk of victimization (McGarrell, 2012) was captured with the following items using a scale of 1 to 4 (1 = not likely at all; 4 = very likely): (1) How likely do you think it would be for someone to break into your business while you are there? (2) How likely do you think it is that someone who has a gun or knife would try to rob you in the area where your business is located? (3) How likely do you think it is that someone will assault you in the area where your business is located? Fear of victimization (McGarrell, 2012) was measured as follows (1 = not at all afraid to 4 = very afraid): (1) How afraid are you of someone breaking into your business while you are there? (2) How afraid are you of someone robbing you with a gun or a knife in the area where your business is located? (3) How afraid are you of someone assaulting you in the area where your business is located? 36 Race/Ethnicity was also a key concept due to the core assumption that there are racial and ethnic differences in attitudes towards the police. Respondents were asked to ‘fill in the blank’ regarding racial/ethnic origin. There were also items that captured immigration status and native language. Some additional concepts included in the survey were prior encounters with local police, prior victimizations and social disorder/incivilities (Taylor & Lawton, 2012) and general perceptions of the neighborhood in which the participant’s business was located. The results of the analysis are presented in Chapter Four. Interview Sampling and Recruitment of Participants Preliminary interviews were conducted with three Chaldean business owners on the East Side of the city in an area known for high violent crime rates. The participants were recruited with the assistance of a senior representative from the Chaldean Chamber of Commerce. These interviews were influential in the development of the research questions as well as the interview instrument. The preliminary interviews also guided sampling considerations regarding the size of businesses that should be included in the sample frame. The Small Business Administration (SBA) defines small businesses according to a number of industry standards that include the annual earnings of businesses as well as the number of employees. According to SBA standards a small business can have as many as 1500 employees (U.S. Small Business Administration, 2012). However, based on alternative definitions regarding healthcare and certain types of business loans, a small business is generally defined as a for-profit enterprise comprising less than 50 employees (Cooper, 2012). 37 Furthermore, researchers have indicated that even within this definition of ‘small’ there can be a range of factors that make smaller enterprises quite different in comparison to larger ones, and these factors can include location and type of business (Lepoutre & Heene, 2006). There are also locations which may reduce or eliminate the importance of street-level interactions as well as procedural justice and legitimacy considerations. For example, a law firm located in a high-rise building in downtown Detroit with 40 employees may have little in common with a gas station on the North East with three employees, despite the fact that they both are considered small. Furthermore, the businesses with fewer employees in high-crime areas are more likely to experience procedural justice and policing issues as they often involve interaction with community members, and they may also be more vulnerable to street crime (Tilley, 1993). With these issues in mind, it was decided that businesses with 30 employees or less would be the focus of this research. It was also likely that businesses in the central business district, such as law firms like the one described above, were outside the scope of the themes examined in this research. Therefore, businesses located in the central business district in downtown Detroit were not included in this study. The businesses in the interview sample were selected using snow ball sampling from six principal residential areas of the city — the North East, the East Side, Midtown, Indian Village, the West Side and the South West regions. The Eastern and Western regions were selected due to their neighborhoods’ shared challenges regarding blight (vacant houses and general deterioration), high levels of street gang activity and violent crime (The term ‘regions’ is used loosely here to describe large areas of the city that include multiple districts). One such example was the Osborn neighborhood in the North East. In 2011 it was identified by city authorities as one of the most violence-prone 38 neighborhoods in the city and it became the target of several community development programs (Hunter & Wilkinson, 2011). Business owners from this area were included in this study in order to facilitate comparisons between business owners in high risk areas and those in areas with less reported violent crimes such as Midtown and Indian Village. Regarding the recruitment of participants, several approaches were used. Six informants with connections to the business community assisted in identifying potential participants. The informants included two representatives from non-governmental organizations, a retired city official with extensive knowledge on business compliance and inspections, an influential technocrat who led a grant funded crime prevention project in the city, a chamber of commerce representative, and a college professor with significant experience in the Metro area. Early in the data collection process it became clear that the use of informants and inperson visits to businesses were much more effective than ‘cold’ phone calls to potential participants, even with the promise of small monetary incentives ($20 for interview and $15 for a successful referral). Thus, a snow-ball sampling approach that utilized a chain of relationships within the business community was implemented. The interview procedure continued until it was clear that the same issues and concerns were recurring across subjects and saturation had been achieved. Figure 3 depicts the snowball sampling procedure used in the study. Some business owners were initially reluctant to participate in this research. Initially, many of the Arab and Chaldean business owners were not inclined to talk openly. Despite the challenges with potential participants canceling appointments or not responding to messages, it made a difference when I was introduced in person by the informants. 39 Figure 3: Flow chart – snowball sampling 1. NGO rep 101 2. 102 103 105 104 NGO rep 201 202 203 309 310 311 City official 301 4. 207 206 205 204 308 2. 106 302 305 304 303 306 307 Technocrat 307.1 305.1 401 5. Chamber Rep 401.1 401.2 401.3 6. College professor 701 501 501.1 501.2 601 501.3 40 602 603 702 The former city official was particularly helpful in providing access to gas station operators (All of whom were Arabs). During the course of his consultancy work he assisted a number of business owners who were facing challenges with their unpaid property taxes and their applications for business licenses. Many of them needed guidance in navigating the bureaucracy involved in obtaining business licenses. He often served as a liaison between the business owners and the officials at City Hall and he allowed me to ‘shadow’ him over a period of four weeks. I accompanied him on his travels through-out the city which included several visits to City Hall, as well as the Michigan District Court to provide moral support to a business owner who faced legal proceedings for business violations. The representatives from non-profit organizations were also helpful in providing access to a number of businesses that were involved in community development and outreach programs in several disadvantaged neighborhoods on the East Side. These informants agreed to assist while working on a separate project called Ceasefire Detroit, aimed at violence prevention in the city. In total, 39 participants were recruited (See Table 1). The majority of them were below the age of 40 (80%). Regarding race and ethnicity, 19 participants were of Middle-Eastern origin (48%) and 16 were immigrants. Eight operated a business in Detroit for less than five years, 17 had between 5 and 10 years’ experience, and 14 had more than 10 years’ experience. Only three of the participants operated more than one business, and most businesses comprised less than 20 employees (95%). There were six female business owners in the interview sample (A total of 9 in this study). 41 Table 4: Interview sample – Types of business, city regions, country of origin & race (n = 39) Location/Case 1 2 Type Number of Country Race/ Employees of Origin Ethnicity North East 101* Movie Theatre 4 USA Chaldean 102 Marketing 2 USA Black 103 Grocer 9 Iraq Chaldean 104 Daycare 2 USA Black 105 Funeral Home 3 USA Black 106 Finance 2 USA White 307 Gas Station 5 Lebanon Arabic 307.1 Gas Station 5 Lebanon Arabic 201 Catering 4 USA White 202 Wholesale 7 USA White 302 Gas Station 3 USA Arabic 303 Auto Repairs 4 Iraq Arabic 304 Gas Station (3) Lebanon Arabic 305 Gas Station 4 Yemen Arabic 305.1 Gas Station 3 Yemen Arabic 310 Gas Station 5 Jordan Arabic 306 Auto Repairs 2 USA Arabic 308 Pizza Store 4 USA Chaldean 309 Liquor Store, Mini 13 Lebanon Arabic 3 Lebanon Arabic East Side 10 Mart & Cell Phone Store 311 Electrical Services 42 Table 4: (cont’d) 3 401.1 Barber 4 USA Black 401.2 Barber 3 USA Black 701 Fast Food 4 USA Black 702 Fast Food 3 USA Black 205 Bakery 5 USA White 206 Grocery 9 USA Chaldean 501 Groceries (2) 11 Iraq Chaldean 401 Barber 6 USA Black 501.2 Grocery 8 Iraq Chaldean 601 Transportation 3 USA Black 602 Landscaping 5 USA White 603 Bar 2 USA White 14 USA White Midtown & Indian Village 4 West Side & South West 203 Construction 204 Cleaning Services 4 USA Black 207 Finance 3 USA Black 401.3 Barber 3 USA Black 501.1 Liquor Store 2 Iraq Chaldean 503.3 Grocery 11 Iraq Chaldean 301 Gas Station Lebanon Arabic 3 *Case numbers are based on the informants, i.e. informant #1 provided access to participants: 101, 102, 103, 104, etc. (See Figure 3 for snow ball sampling chart). 43 Table 4 depicts the types of businesses contained in the interview sample as well as the areas where they were located. For the North East region there were nine business owners, 14 from the East Side, eight from Midtown and Indian Village areas, and seven from the West Side. There were seven gas station owners, four grocery store owners, four barbers, three owners of fast food franchises and two liquor store owners. Other types of businesses represented were a bar, an auto repairs shop, a small construction company, a small financial consultancy firm, a transportation service, a funeral home, electrical services and cleaning services. The Interview Instrument and Analysis The interview protocol was divided into two sections. The first section included general questions about the participant’s origin, the characteristics of the business and the challenges of operating a business in Detroit. It explored a range of issues including the experience of immigrants in Detroit, cultural norms, the challenges of running a business in the city and crime prevention issues. The second section reflected the scope of procedural justice and police legitimacy concerns presented in the previous chapter, including prior interactions with police, the performance of police and experiences with racial prejudice and the fear of victimization (See Appendix B). The interview also examined the level of community awareness among business owners and whether their perceptions of the police were rooted in an understanding of the community. It was an additional concern whether business owners felt connected to their communities, and some insight was gained on interpretations of encounters with the police. The interviews consisted of open ended questions posed in a loosely structured manner which allowed participants to speak freely on related issues. 44 The coding and analysis was guided by Silverman (2010) as well as Miles & Huberman (1994) regarding the use of keywords and how to efficiently organize data. These data were also coded for relevant themes using categories such as police response time, confidence in police, confidence in city officials, prior victimizations, fear of victimization, willingness to assist the police and willingness to report crimes. These categories were developed based on the research questions and salient themes such as trust, respect and police responsiveness were identified within each category. After the first stage of coding was completed a coding protocol was created. Data from the transcripts were then grouped according to theme and relevant labels were created under each conceptual heading. In order to establish reliability an alternative coder with experience in qualitative research was asked to code a sample of eight cases using this coding tool. It is generally accepted that an agreement coefficient of .8 (80%) indicates acceptable reliability (Gwet 2012; Miles & Huberman, 1994). Inter-rater reliability was assessed based on the coding of two separate coders and this produced a Cohen’s Kappa statistic of .86. Chapters Four and Five comprise the analysis of the data from the quantitative and qualitative components of the study respectively. 45 CHAPTER FOUR: SURVEY FINDINGS ON ATTITUDES TOWARD POLICE This chapter presents an assessment of the survey findings on business owners’ attitudes toward the police. It provides descriptive analyses of findings on procedural justice and police legitimacy perceptions, along with the other key concepts in the study. The results of bivariate correlations on composite measures of these variables, as well as some selected individual items are also examined in this chapter. Furthermore, a number of comparisons are presented across race and ethnic origin regarding police legitimacy perceptions. A Description of Business Owners’ Perceptions The central tendency results on the composite measure of police legitimacy perceptions indicate that overall views were generally mixed. Participants in the survey were not given a ‘neutral’ or ‘I don’t know’ option on the four-point likert scale, and thus, they were encouraged to agree or disagree with the statements provided. This was the case for all of the key variables in the study. Moreover, regarding the spread of responses presented in Table 5 the results indicate that all of the responses across the five police legitimacy items were within one standard deviation of the mean. The results on the individual items also reflect a mix of favorable and unfavorable responses toward the police but with a slight lean toward unfavorable perceptions of police. Police legitimacy Item #1 was noteworthy, as 60 percent of the business owners surveyed agreed that overall the DPD is a legitimate authority and that people should obey the decisions that police officers make. 46 Table 5: Police Legitimacy – Individual items and composite measure (n = 63) Police Legitimacy (Individual Items) 1 Mean (4=Strongly Agree; 1=Strongly Disagree) 2.8 2 S.D. .71 Mode (4=Strongly Agree; 1=Strongly Disagree) 3 2.2 .73 3 2.2 4 Frequency Agree a Disagree of mode % % % 60% 73% 27% 2 54% 30% 70% .78 2 51% 32% 68% 2.1 .88 3 35% 38% 62% 5 2 .78 2 44% 29% 71% Composite* Measure 2.3 .59 2 52% 41% 59% *Cronbach’s Alpha: .82 a Agree = (Agree + Strongly Agree); Disagree = (Disagree + Strongly Disagree) Corresponding items: (1) Overall, the Detroit Police Department is a legitimate authority and people should obey the decisions that Detroit police officers make; (2) I should accept the decisions made by police, even if I think they are wrong; (3) I should do what the police tell me to do even when I don’t understand the reasons for their decisions; (4) I trust the leaders of the DPD to make decisions that are good for everyone in the city; (5) People’s basic rights are well protected by the police in Detroit. Table 6: Confidence in police – Individual items and composite measure (n = 63) Confidence in police (Individual Items) 1 2 Composite* Measure Mean (4=Strongly Agree; 1=Strongly Disagree) 1.8 1.9 1.8 S.D. .78 .68 Mode (4=Strongly Agree; 1=Strongly Disagree) 2 2 .72 2 Agree a % Disagree % 41% 54% 17% 18% 83% 82% 52% 24% 76% Frequency of mode % *Cronbach’s Alpha: .76 a Agree = (Agree + Strongly Agree); Disagree = (Disagree + Strongly Disagree) Corresponding items: (1) I have confidence in the ability of Detroit police officers to protect me from crime. (2) I have confidence in the ability of Detroit police officers to prevent crime. 47 However, a slight majority disagreed with the statement that ‘I should accept the decisions made by police even if I think they are wrong.’ Most also disagreed that they should accept the decisions of police officers when they don’t understand the reasons for their decisions. In Table 6, confidence in the police, which refers to perceptions of the crime prevention capabilities and performance of police, indicated that responses were less favorable toward police. The majority response for each of the two items was ‘disagree’ which reflects that a large number of respondents were not confident in the ability of local police to prevent crime and to protect them from crime. Table 7: Procedural Justice – Individual items and composite measure (n = 63) Procedural Justice (Individual Items) Frequency of mode % Agree a % Disagree % .79 Mode (4=Strongly Agree; 1=Strongly Disagree) 2 41% 33% 67% 1 Mean (4=Strongly Agree; 1=Strongly Disagree) 2.2 S.D. 2 2 .84 2 35% 5% 95% 3 2.2 .62 2 57% 32% 68% 4 2.1 .51 2 73% 21% 89% Composite* Measure 2.1 .6 2 59% 32% 68% *Cronbach’s Alpha: .87 a Agree = (Agree + Strongly Agree); Disagree = (Disagree + Strongly Disagree) Corresponding items: (1) Detroit police officers treat people with dignity and respect; (2) Detroit police officers treat people fairly; (3) Detroit police officers take the time to listen to people; (4) Detroit police officers explain their decisions to people they deal with. Furthermore, the results on the procedural justice composite measure presented in Table 7 indicate that respondents generally disagreed with police officers’ treatment and the quality of their decision-making. A large number of respondents disagreed that Detroit police officers treat 48 people with dignity and respect, treat people fairly or take the time to listen to people. Strong disagreement was also reported for the statement that Detroit police officers explain their decisions to people they deal with. In addition, acceptable Cronbach’s alpha scores were generated for the police legitimacy, confidence in police and procedural justice measures (They were all above .7), and this confirmed the reliability of the measures. Table 8: Distributive Fairness – Individual items and composite measure (n = 63) Distributive Fairness (Individual Items) Frequency of mode % Agree a % Disagree % .43 Mode (4=Strongly Agree; 1=Strongly Disagree) 3a 81% 37% 63% 1.7 .81 1a 43% 13% 87% 2.7 .39 3 59% 37% 63% S.D. 1 Mean (4=Strongly Agree; 1=Strongly Disagree) 2.9 2 Composite* Measure *Cronbach’s Alpha: .6 a Agree = (Agree + Strongly Agree); Disagree = (Disagree + Strongly Disagree) Corresponding items: Reverse coded (1) Detroit police officers provide better services to wealthier citizens; (2) Detroit police officers give minorities less help because of their race. Regarding distributive fairness (See Table 8), respondents frequently disagreed that police officers provide better service to wealthier citizens, and these responses were closely clustered together (sd = .43), in contrast, many agreed that police officers give minorities less help because of their race. This apparent disjuncture in responses, along with the fact that there are only two items in the scale could partially explain the composite measure’s low Cronbach’s alpha score (.6). The concerns of unequal treatment and perceptions of racism were probed more 49 deeply in the interview component of this research which could help to shed more light on this issue. Table 9: Legal Cynicism – Individual items (n = 63) Legal* Cynicism (Individual Items) S.D. 1 Mean (4=Strongly Agree; 1=Strongly Disagree) 2.3 2 2.3 .65 .62 Mode Frequency Agree a (4=Strongly of mode % % Agree; 1=Strongly Disagree) 2 49% 57% 2 46% 56% Disagree % 43% 44% *Cronbach’s Alpha: .53 a Agree = (Agree + Strongly Agree); Disagree = (Disagree + Strongly Disagree) Corresponding items: (1) People in power use the law to try to control people like me; (2) The law does not protect my interests. Table 10: Personal interactions with police – Individual items (n = 63) Personal interactions with police (Individual Items) 1 Mean (4=Strongly Agree; 1=Strongly Disagree) 2.5 S.D. .69 Mean (4=Strongly Agree; 1=Strongly Disagree) 3 2 2.2 .74 2 a Frequency Agree a of mode % % Disagree % 57% 59% 41% 43% 41% 59% Agree = (Agree + Strongly Agree); Disagree = (Disagree + Strongly Disagree) Corresponding items: (1) In my most recent encounter with the Detroit police I was treated with respect; (2) I am generally pleased with the outcomes of my interactions with the Detroit police. Table 9 indicates that the legal cynicism measure also produced a fairly poor reliability score (.53) which may similarly be explained by the fact that there were only two items in the scale (The relatively small sample size may be another explanation for this). Responses on the 50 individual items – ‘People in power use the law to try to control people like me’ and ‘The law does not protect my interests’ were also mixed, with close to 50 percent of the respondents disagreeing on both counts. Regarding personal interactions with police (See Table 10), which measured perceptions of the outcomes of recent encounters with the police, responses were mostly favorable on the first item and mixed on the second. A majority of respondents agreed that they were treated with respect on their most recent encounter with police, but the responses were less positive about the notion of being generally pleased with the outcomes of their recent encounters with the police. Table 11: Power-distance beliefs – Individual items and composite measure (n = 63) Powerdistance beliefs (Individual Items) 1 2 3 4 5 Composite* Measure Mean (4=Strongly Agree; 1=Strongly Disagree) 2 1.6 1.6 1.5 2.4 1.8 S.D. .8 .66 .63 .53 .59 .52 Mean (4=Strongly Agree; 1=Strongly Disagree) 2 2 2 1 2 2 Frequency of mode % Agree a % Disagree % 40% 46% 48% 51% 49% 66% 32% 11% 8% 2% 48% 5% 68% 89% 92% 98% 52% 95% *Cronbach’s Alpha: .65 a Agree = (Agree + Strongly Agree); Disagree = (Disagree + Strongly Disagree) Corresponding items: (1) There should be established ranks in society with everyone occupying their rightful place regardless of whether that place is high or low in the ranking; (2) Even if a person believes that he/she has been treated unfairly by the police, it would be disrespectful to complain to the authorities; (3) People are better off not questioning the decisions of leaders and people in authority; (4) Government officials are superior to average citizens; (5) Communications with the authorities should always be done using formally established procedures. 51 Table 11 shows that the power-distance measure produced low scores across the sampled responses, and this could reflect low levels on power-distance beliefs among the sampled business owners. Respondents generally believed in having a voice in public affairs and they were not willing to accept that those with power in society should make decisions without scrutiny. For instance, there was frequently strong disagreement expressed regarding the notion that ‘Communications with the authorities should always be done using formally established procedures.’ Respondents were also strongly opposed to the statement that government officials are superior to average citizens. The responses to these statements were clearly what would be expected of typical American citizens who have a sense of freedom and are aware of their rights. Table 12: Risk of victimization – Individual items and composite measure (n = 63) Risk of victimization (Individual Items) 1 Mean (4=Very likely; 1=Very unlikely) S.D. Mean Frequency (4=Very likely; of mode % 1=Very unlikely) Likely a % Unlikely % 2.3 .75 2 48% 40% 60% 2 2.6 .78 2 41% 54% 46% 3 2.7 .74 3 57% 68% 32% Composite* Measure 2.5 .59 2 60% 32% 68% *Cronbach’s Alpha: .68 a Likely = (Likely + Very likely); Unlikely = (Unlikely + Very unlikely) Corresponding items: (1) How likely do you think it would be for someone to break into your business while you are there? (2) How likely do you think it is that someone who has a gun or knife would try to rob you in the area where your business is located? (3) How likely do you think it is that someone will assault you in the area where your business is located? A description of perceptions of the risk of victimization is presented in Table 12. The results for Item #3 contrasted with the other items. Respondents frequently indicated that it was likely that someone would assault them in the area where their business was located, and this is 52 not surprising given the challenges to public safety in many parts of the city, and specifically the problem of strong-arm robberies. The perceived likelihood of someone breaking into the business while the respondent was there, or the likelihood that the respondent would be robbed with a weapon seemed to be slightly lower. Table 13: Fear of victimization – Individual items and composite measure (n = 63) Fear of victimization (Individual Items) 1 Mean (4= Very afraid; 1= Not at all afraid) 2.3 S.D. .9 Mean (4= Very afraid; 1= Not at all afraid) 2 Frequency of mode % Afraid a % Not afraid % 59% 30% 70% 2 2.7 .92 2 41% 52% 48% 3 2.8 .86 2 41% 54% 44% Composite* Measure 2.6 .77 N/Ab N/A 54% 44% *Cronbach’s Alpha: .83 a Afraid = (Afraid + Very afraid); Not afraid = (Not afraid + Not at all afraid) b No clear mode was generated and therefore there was no result on the frequency of the mode. Corresponding items: (1) How afraid are you of someone breaking into your business while you are there? (2) How afraid are you of someone robbing you with a gun or a knife in the area where your business is located? (3) How afraid are you of someone assaulting you in the area where your business is located? Regarding the fear of victimization presented in Table 13, there seemed to be a fairly even mix of positive and negative responses, however, on Item #1 more than 60 percent were not afraid that ‘someone would break into their business while they were there.’ The measures on willingness to report crimes and assist police (Table 14) indicated the strongest trend among the key measures presented. The top end of the scale (5=Very likely) indicated willingness to call or assist police and respondents frequently gave this response in more than 40 percent of the sampled responses for each of the items. This indicates that most of the business owners within 53 the sample were likely to call the police to report crimes at their business and crimes in general in the area where their businesses were located. Table 14: Willingness to report crimes, Willingness to assist police (n = 63) Report/Assist police (Individual Items) 1 a Mean (5=Very likely; 1=Not likely at all) a 3.7 S.D. Frequency of mode % 1.1 Mean (5=Very likely; 1=Not likely at all) 5 43% 2 3.8 1.1 5 43% 3 3.8 .75 5 41% Respondents were required to respond on a scale of 1-5. Corresponding items: (1) How likely would you be to call the police to report a crime that occurred at your place of business? (2) How likely would you be to help the police to find someone suspected of a crime if you had some information about the crime? (3) How likely would you be to report dangerous or suspicious activity in the community where your business is located? Table 15 indicates that the neighborhood identification measure generated high scores across the individual items indicating that respondents were generally proud to own a business in the community, and identified with community members in terms of the things that community members stand for, as well as the respect they receive from community members. A noticeable majority of respondents agreed that the things people stand for in the community are important to them, and that when others praise the achievements of persons in the community that it feels like a personal compliment. A clear majority also believed that people in the community respected their values and value what the respondent contributed to the community. Although these results reflect a potentially harmonious relationship between business owners and the community, the 54 analysis of interviews in the next chapter provides some important context for the challenges that arise in the relationship between business owners and their immediate communities. Table 15: Neighborhood identification – Individual items and composite measure (n = 63) Frequency of mode % Agree a % Disagree % .6 Mean (4=Strongly Agree; 1=Strongly Disagree) 3 73% 89% 11% 2.8 .58 3 73% 79% 21% 3 2.7 .54 3 68% 71% 29% 4 2.9 .58 3 75% 84% 16% 5 2.9 .45 3 79% 89% 11% 2.8 .39 3 51% 53% 47% Neighborhood identification (Individual Items) S.D. 1 Mean (4=Strongly Agree; 1=Strongly Disagree) 3 2 Composite* Measure *Cronbach’s Alpha: .74 a Agree = (Agree + Strongly Agree); Disagree = (Disagree + Strongly Disagree) Corresponding items: (1) I am proud to have a business in the community. (2) Things that people stand for in this community are important to me. (3) When someone praises the achievements of others in the community, it feels like a personal compliment to me. (4) Most of the people in the community respect my values. (5) Most of the people in the community value what I contribute to their neighborhood. Regarding some additional descriptive characteristics, Table 16 presents a list of 29 issues that exist in many urban communities pertaining to social disorder and incivilities. Respondents indicated on a scale of 1 – 5 (1 = Not a problem at all; 5= A serious problem) whether they thought each of the stated issues were a serious problem. The results showed that the top five problems were (1) Graffiti on sidewalks and walls, (2) Lights out, too dark, (3) Abandoned buildings, (4) Crime in general, and (5) Illegal drugs. 55 Table 16: Social disorder/incivilities (n = 63) Item # Items Mean (5=A serious problem; 1=Not a problem at all) 3.8 1 Graffiti on sidewalks and walls 2 Lights out, too dark 3.7 3 Abandoned buildings 3.7 4 Crime in general 3.5 5 Illegal drugs 3.2 6 Panhandling/begging 3.3 7 Groups of unsupervised teenagers 3.1 8 Gun violence 3 9 Robbery 3 10 Littering and illegal dumping 3 11 Burglary 2.8 12 Gang activity 2.8 13 Prostitution 2.8 14 Public drinking 2.6 15 Hearing gunfire 2.6 16 Abandoned cars 2.6 17 Speeding and reckless driving 2.7 18 Bad stores 2.5 19 Public urination 2.3 20 Double parking 2.3 21 Drunk driving 2.3 22 Loud or noisy neighbors 2.3 23 Dumpster divers 2.3 56 Table 16: (cont’d) 24 Loud parties 2.2 25 Trespassing 2.2 26 Street vending 2.1 27 Fights/brawls 2.1 28 Traffic congestion 2 29 Car repair on the street 2 The results presented in Table 16 suggest that despite the problems of gun related crime and violent crime in general, there is clearly a perceived problem of disorder and incivilities in these neighborhoods. It is possible that these visible signs of urban decline may be more of a priority to business owners than violent crime. It should also be noted that the findings for the variables discussed in this section are all descriptive and in need of deeper context in order to draw any conclusions about the general perceptions of business owners. The bivariate analysis provides some additional context to these results. Bivariate Analysis The results generated from Pearson’s bivariate correlations are presented in Table 17. The results indicate that there was a strong significant relationship between procedural justice and police legitimacy perceptions (r = .791; p < .01). This is consistent with prior research on process-related perceptions and attitudes toward the police. Also consistent with expectations, was the reasonably strong positive correlation between procedural justice and confidence in police (r = .553; p < .01), thus, respondents were more confident in the police when they perceived that they were being treated with respect and that the police were making quality 57 decisions. Procedural justice was also associated with age (r = .452; p < .01). The respondent’s age mattered regarding perceptions of the treatment and decision-making of the police, and this could suggest that older business owners were more likely to view police favorably. Furthermore, both police legitimacy (r = .434 <.01) and procedural justice (r = .283 < .05) were significantly associated with the number of years operating a business. Procedural justice (p = -.296; p < .05) and police legitimacy (p = -.365; p < .01) were inversely related to the perceived risk of victimization, in other words, an increase in the perceived risk of victimization was associated with unfavorable perceptions of police. An increase in the number of times business owners reported being robbed or burglarized in the last 12 months was also associated with unfavorable perceptions of police (r = -.316; p < .05). Inverse relationships were also reported for police legitimacy and number of times robbed (p = .299; p < .05), and confidence in the police and number of times robbed (r = -321; p < .05). These results suggest that the frequency of business owners’ experiences with crime is associated with their view of the local police. In regard to business owners’ willingness to call police to report crimes or assist the police, there was a positive relationship between police legitimacy perceptions and the likelihood of calling the police (r = .357; p < .05). Willingness to call the police was also positively related to age (r = .325; r < .05) and number of years operating the business (r = .317; p < .01). There was a positive association between the willingness of business owners to report suspicious or dangerous activity in the community and police legitimacy (r = .277; p < .05), as well as between the willingness to report crime and procedural justice (r = .270; p <.05). Whether the respondent had ever been robbed was also related to the likelihood of reporting crimes (r = .255; p < .05). 58 There was a negative relationship (.05 level) between whether the participant is of Middle Eastern origin and the likelihood of reporting crime to the police (-.276; p < .05). The likelihood of assisting the police in finding someone suspected of a crime if the respondent had information on the crime was also negatively associated with whether the respondent was Middle Eastern (r = -.291; p < .05). This suggests that the business owners who identified as Middle Eastern were less likely to report crimes and assist the police. The likelihood of assisting police was positively associated with police legitimacy (r = .35; p < .01), procedural justice (r = .364; p < =.01) and confidence in police (r = .38; p < .01). Thus, favorable perceptions of police were related to the likelihood of calling the police. Similar to the likelihood of reporting crimes, the willingness to assist the police was positively associated with the respondent’s age (r = .293; p < .05), and also the number of years operating the business (r = .305; p < .05). Regarding Type of business (Coded as 1 = Gas station and 0 = Other), it was believed that being a gas station owner would be associated with unfavorable perceptions of the police due to the influence of factors related to the gas station business in Detroit (This is discussed further in Chapter Five). Although there was no evidence of a significant correlation between Type of business and Police legitimacy, the direction of the relationship was consistent with expectations (r = -.232). Also consistent with expectations, Type of business was inversely related to Procedural justice (-.388) and this relationship was significant at an alpha level of .01. Furthermore, Type of business was significantly correlated with Middle Eastern (r = .346; p < .01), which was not surprising given the concerns expressed by Arab business owners and the fact that all of the sampled gas station owners were of Arab origin. This is discussed extensively in subsequent chapters. 59 Table 17: Zero-order correlations – composite variables (n = 63) Ite m# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 Police legitimacy 2 Procedural justice 3 Distributive fairness .080 .037 4 Confidence in police .511** .553** .106 5 Power-distance .331** .406* .035 .586** 6 Risk of victimization .365** -.296* -.002 -.241 -.175 - 7 Fear of victimization -.129 .052 -.010 .015 .132 .284* - 8 Call the police .357** .409** .079 .385** -.053 -.091 .013 9 Assist police .350** .364** .065 .380** -.023 -.048 -.005 .870** 10 Neighborhood ID .204 .104 -.053 .132 -.020 .065 .190 .037 .034 11 Middle Eastern -.246 -.311* -.149 -.052 .009 -.146 .245 -.276* -.291* .137 12 Type of Business -.232 .388** .068 -.053 -.106 -.129 .041 -.061 -.093 -.189 .346** .434** .452** .137 .449** .217 -.332** -.048 .325** .293* .048 .048 -.071 - 13 Age 14 15 .791** - - 14 Ever victim -.028 .079 -.067 .081 .188 .113 .282* .056 -.005 .023 -.061 -.131 .054 15 Disorder & Incivilities -.060 -.131 -.069 -.054 .109 .160 .110 .021 .099 -.139 .163 .257* -.164 *significant at the .05 level; **significant at the .01 level. 60 -.045 - Table 18: Zero-order correlations – Individual items included (n = 63) Item # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 Distributive fairness 1a 2 Distributive fairness 2 3 Legal cynicism 1b .140 .083 4 Legal cynicism 2 .062 -.148 .368** 5 Call the police 1c .169 -.088 .206 .592** 6 Call the police 2 -.139 -.088 .026 .524** .761** 7 Ever robbed -.307* -.140 -.129 -.026 .022 .255* - 8 Power distance 1 -.170 -.039 .248 .270* .135 .166 .116 - .169 .040 .284* .234 .325** .126 .023 .114 .101 -.147 .196 .281* .317* .159 .118 -.024 .720** -.011 -.312* .011 -.137 -.276* -.216 .149 -.071 .048 .140 - 9 Age 12 13 14 15 .472** - - 10 Years in business 11 Middle Eastern 12 Type of business .115 -.029 -.124 -.054 -.061 -.047 -.064 .354** -.071 .048 .140 13 Police Legitimacy .135 -.034 .301* .347** .357** .277* -.080 .257* .434** .307* -.246 -.232 14 Procedural justice .034 .029 .229 .333** .409** .270* .004 .502** .452** .283* -.311* .388* * .791* * 15 Disorder & Incivilities .000 -.158 -.053 .079 .021 .056 .206 .133 -.164 -.095 .163 .257* -.060 *significant at the .05 level; **significant at the .01 level. 61 - -.131 - Table 18: cont’d Individual items included in the analysis a Distributive fairness: (1) Detroit police officers provide better services to wealthier citizens; (2) Detroit police officers give minorities less help because of their race. b Legal Cynicism: (1) People in power use the law to try to control people like me; (2) The law does not protect my interests. c Call the police: (1) How likely would you be to call the police to report a crime that occurred at your place of business? (2) How likely would you be to report dangerous or suspicious activity in the community where your business is located? An additional variable was included in the analysis, Disorder and incivilities, using a 29 point scale in order to measure business owners’ perceptions of the disorder and incivilities in the communities where there businesses are located. It was assumed that an increase in perceptions of disorder and incivilities would be associated with unfavorable perceptions of the police. While there were no statistically significant relationships regarding the relationship between disorder and legitimacy perceptions or process-related perceptions, the directions of these relationships were consistent with expectations. Furthermore, Disorder and incivilities was positively associated with Type of business (r = -.257; p < .05), which indicates that being a gas station owner was significantly correlated with perceptions of disorder and incivilities. This finding is also consistent with expectations given that the gas station owners interviewed expressed a great deal of concern about the physical signs of decline, neglect and general lawlessness in the areas where there businesses are located (This is discussed in Chapter Five). In addition, it is noteworthy that there were no strong correlations between Type of business and 62 Call the police or Assist the police. Issues related to disorder, incivilities, the type of business and the willingness to report crimes, and the willingness to assist the police, are examined further in Chapter Five. Given the lower Cronbach’s alpha score on the distributive fairness measure (.6), the two items that comprise this measure were included separately in the analysis (It was determined that these items were not collinear). Furthermore, given that a positive response on the likert scale (‘agree’) reflected a low score on the distributive fairness measure, these items were reverse coded to better aid the interpretation of findings. Regarding Item #2 presented in Table 18, perceptions on whether the police give minorities less help because of their race was negatively associated with the Middle Eastern variable (r = -.312; p < .05). This suggests that whether respondents were of Middle Eastern origin mattered in regard to perceptions of police treatment of racial minorities. However, distributive fairness was not associated with any of the other key variables in the study. While this could reflect a measurement issue and the need for more carefully constructed questions on fairness, it could also reflect that perceptions of fairness regarding the treatment of others might not be an influential factor when it comes to business owners’ attitudes toward police. The Legal Cynicism variable also indicated a low Cronbach’s alpha score (.53) and as a result the individual items were run separately in the analysis (See Table 9). Regarding legal cynicism item #1, perceptions that people use the law to control people like me was inversely related to police legitimacy (r = -.301; p < .05), and also inversely related to confidence in the police (r = -.382; p < .01). This is consistent with prior research. Regarding Item #2, the perception that the law does not protect my interests was negatively associated with police 63 legitimacy (-.347; alpha level=.01), procedural justice (r = -.333; p < .01) and confidence in police (-.316; p <.05). These findings indicate that legal cynicism (As well as perceptions regarding the illegitimacy of the law) are associated with unfavorable perceptions of the police. It was also consistent with expectations that a decrease in power-distance was associated with an increase in legal cynicism on item #1 (r = -.427; p < .05). This item was also inversely associated with the power-distance item that people are better off not questioning decisions of leaders and people in authority (r = -.328; p < .01). Furthermore, this item was significantly associated with three out of the five power-distance items. These findings reflect the assumption that respondents with low levels of power-distance will be more likely to voice their disapproval of the law (Or the agencies that exercise legal authority) if they believe it does not protect their interests. Regarding the Middle Eastern variable, while it was not significantly related to the composite police legitimacy variable, however, there were some notable findings when it was correlated with some individual items. For instance, there was a negative relationship between Middle Eastern and several individual police legitimacy items. Being Middle Eastern was negatively associated with perceptions of the DPD as an overall legitimate authority (Item #1) in Detroit (r = -.345; p < .01), and negatively associated with the notion of people’s basic rights being well protected by the police (r = -.284; p < .05). There was also a negative relationship between Middle Eastern and the composite procedural justice variable (r = -.311; p < .05), as well as significant associations with all of the individual procedural justice items. It is noteworthy that overall the Middle Eastern variable reported a negative valence in each of its relationships with variables that measure perceptions of the police. Fear of victimization was not associated with any of the process-related variables in the study. However, it was positively related to the risk of victimization (r = .284; p < .05). It was 64 also positively associated with ever been robbed or burglarized (r =.299; p < .05) and positively associated with ever been the victim of armed robbery (r = .282; p < .05). It is not surprising that frequency of victimization has an impact on perceptions of risk. The risk of victimization variable also reported a negative relationship with police legitimacy (p= -365; p < .01), and procedural justice (r = -.296; p < .01), but an inverse relationship with age (r = -.322; p < .01). Therefore, the greater the risk of victimization perceived by business owners the less favorable their perceptions of police. The composite power-distance variable was positively associated with confidence in the police (r = .566; p < .01). However, this was not found to be significantly related to any of the other variables related to perceptions of the police. As suggested earlier, the five power-distance items were also included in the analysis. Item #3 – There should be established ranks in society with everyone occupying their rightful place regardless of whether that place is high or low in the ranking, reported significant relationships at the .01 level with confidence in police (r =.487; p < .01), and also procedural justice (r = .502; p < .01). This could indicate that respondents who believe in the status quo and established ranks in society were more likely to be confident in the performance of police. Table 19 presents crosstabulations that focus on the difference in perceptions across race and ethnicity. The majority of the business owners in the sample could be divided into three racial groups – White, Black and Middle Eastern (n=62). The term Middle Eastern includes respondents who identified a Middle Eastern country as their country of origin (Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Bangladesh), or in the case of those who did not indicate a country of origin, that they were of Arab or Chaldean ethnicity. 65 Table 19: Crosstabulations – Police legitimacy* by race/ethnicity (n = 62) Agree Disagree Total Race n % n % n White 16 84% 3 16% 19 100% Black 14 93% 1 7% 15 100% Middle Eastern 15 54% 13 46% 28 100% Total 45 17 % 62 *Overall, the Detroit Police Department is a legitimate authority and people should obey the decisions that Detroit police officers make. n.b. Respondents of Middle Eastern origin when compared to 'other' produced a Chi-square statistic of .014. Table 20: Chi-Square Test – Police legitimacy* by Middle Eastern/other (n = 63) Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) Value df Pearson Chi-Square 10.582a 3 .014 Likelihood Ratio 11.823 3 .008 7.387 1 .007 Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases 63 a. 4 cells (50.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 1.33. The results indicate that 45 out of 62 respondents (73%) agreed that overall the DPD is a legitimate authority and people should obey the decisions that Detroit police officers make (This is Item #1 on the police legitimacy scale). Of the three groups, Middle Eastern had the strongest representation in the sample (28) followed by white respondents (19) and then black respondents (15). An overwhelming majority of the black respondents agreed with the statement (93%), followed by white (84%), and then Middle Eastern (54%). In a second crosstabulations analysis a Chi-square test was employed using this police legitimacy variable and the dichotomous Middle 66 Eastern variable (Whether the respondent was Middle Eastern). This is indicated in Table 20, and the results show a p-value of .014. This suggests that there is a significant difference at an alpha level of .05 between the legitimacy perceptions of Middle Eastern respondents and the other respondents in the sample. While the Chi square test does not speak to the direction of the relationship between ethnicity and police legitimacy, it does indicate that we have less than a 5 percent risk of being wrong that there is a significant relationship between respondents being Middle Eastern and their perceptions regarding the legitimacy of the Detroit Police Department. Multivariate Analysis: Police Legitimacy Perceptions Due to the relatively small sample (n = 63) it may not be possible to confidently test causal relationships. However, it is worth examining the key hypothesized relationships within procedural justice and police legitimacy theory. With this in mind, OLS regression analyses were generated on police legitimacy, the likelihood of reporting crimes to police and assisting police, along with a number of theoretically relevant variables. Figure 4: Procedural justice, race, victimizations, years in business and police legitimacy Procedural Justice Perceptions    Police Legitimacy Perceptions Race and ethnic origin Prior Victimizations Years in business 67 Figure 4 presents a number of conceptual relationships derived from the broader conceptual framework used in this study. It is hypothesized that procedural justice perceptions will predict police legitimacy perceptions among business owners. This key relationship was examined as well as the influence of race, prior victimizations and years in business on police legitimacy perceptions. The results of the OLS regression on police legitimacy with procedural justice are presented in Table 21. Table 21: OLS Regression on police legitimacy with procedural justice (n = 63) Unstandardized Coefficients Model 1 b SE Constant .602 .171 Procedural Justice .784 .078 R2 Standardized Coefficients β .791 T Sig. 3.518 .001 10.087 .000 .625*** *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001 Table 22: OLS Regression on police legitimacy with selected control variables (n = 63) Unstandardized Coefficients Model 2 b Standardized Coefficients β SE T Sig. 16.184 .000 Constant 2.197 .136 Middle Eastern -.340 .143 -.284 -2.373 .021 .018 .006 .356 2.990 .004 -.095 .142 -.080 -.666 .508 Num. years business Ever been robbed R2 .186*** *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001 68 The findings indicate that procedural justice is a significant predictor of police legitimacy (p < .001) with the model explaining 62.5% of the variation in police legitimacy perceptions (R2 = .625; p < .001). Table 22 presents the results of an OLS regression on police legitimacy with selected control variables – Middle Eastern, Number of years operating a business (In Detroit), and Ever been robbed (Or burglarized in Detroit in the last 12 months). Middle Eastern and Number of years in business were significant predictors of police legitimacy (p < .05). Table 22 indicates that not being Middle Eastern was associated with an increase in police legitimacy (β = -.284) and an increase in the number of years operating a Detroit business was associated with increasingly favorable police legitimacy perceptions (β = .356). When controlling for these variables the relationship between Ever been robbed and police legitimacy was not statistically significant. It is also noted that this model only explained 18.6% of the variance in police legitimacy perceptions (R2 = .186; p < .001). Table 23: OLS Regression on police legitimacy with procedural justice and controls (n = 63) Unstandardized Coefficients Model 3 b SE Constant .657 .201 -.013 .103 .005 Ever been robbed Procedural justice Middle Eastern Standardized Coefficients β T Sig. 3.268 .002 -.011 -.131 .896 .004 .105 1.240 .220 -.111 .095 -.094 -1.172 .246 .751 .087 .758 8.591 .000 Num. years business R2 .642** *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001 69 Table 23 indicates that when procedural justice was included in the model, the R square value increased noticeably from .186 to .642 (p < .01). There was a 45% increase in the explanatory power of the model and this is worthy of note. Also, when procedural justice was included with these controls it remained a statistically significant predictor of police legitimacy perceptions (p < .001). This is an indicator of the strength of the relationship between procedural justice perceptions and police legitimacy perceptions. In addition, when accounting for procedural justice perceptions the relationship between Middle Eastern and police legitimacy was no longer significant. Although this could be partly because Middle Eastern and Procedural Justice are significantly correlated (r = -.311), the VIF score generated by a collinearity test provided no evidence of multicollinearity. Still these findings must be interpreted cautiously. Furthermore, given the small sample size and the variability in these estimates, a nested F test was used in order to determine whether the R square change after procedural justice was included in the model was significant. A general formula for F was used as follows (Allen, 1997): The results indicate that the R2 change was statistically significant at the .01 level. Figure 5 presents the conceptual relationships regarding the main theoretical concepts (procedural justice, distributive fairness, legal cynicism and power distance), and their influence on police legitimacy perceptions. The analysis also incorporated race, risk of victimization and fear of victimization. It is believed that the process-related factors, along with factors related to culture, race and victimization, will have an influence on police legitimacy perceptions. 70 Figure 5: Theoretical concepts and police legitimacy Procedural Justice Perceptions Police Legitimacy Perceptions Distributive fairness Perceptions     Legal cynicism Power-distance Race and ethnic origin Perceived risk of Victimization Fear of Victimization Table 24: OLS Regression on police legitimacy with selected theoretical variables (n = 63) Unstandardized Coefficients Model 4 b Constant Standardized Coefficients β SE T Sig. 4.131 .000 2.192 .531 .115 .108 .126 1.068 .290 Legal cynicism a -.172 .116 -.179 -1.475 .146 Power-distance a .211 .096 .284 2.201 .032 Risk of victimization -.330 .122 -.321 -2.705 .009 Fear of victimization -.085 .098 -.109 -.866 .390 Distributive fairness a R2 .263*** *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001 a individual level measures were used. OLS regression analysis was conducted on police legitimacy with selected theoretical variables – Distributive fairness, legal cynicism, power-distance, risk of victimization and fear of victimization (See Table 24). The results indicate that the direction of the relationship between each of these variables and police legitimacy were consistent with theoretical assumptions. 71 However, the only statistically significant relationships were indicated by power-distance (β = .284; p < .05) and risk of victimization (β = -.321; p < .01). These results indicate that an increase in power-distance was associated with an increase in favorable perceptions of police, whereas an increase in the perceived risk of victimization resulted in less favorable perceptions of police. This model predicts 26.3% of the variance in police legitimacy perceptions. Figure 6 presents the full model which includes all of the process related factors and controls which are regressed on police legitimacy perceptions in the analysis. The variables included were procedural justice, distributive fairness, legal cynicism, middle eastern, powerdistance, prior victimizations, perceived risk of victimization and fear of victimization. Figure 6: Full model with police legitimacy perceptions Procedural Justice Perceptions   Distributive Fairness Legal cynicism       Type of business Race and ethnic origin Cultural Norms (Power-distance) Prior victimizations Perceived risk of victimization Fear of victimization Police Legitimacy Perceptions 72 Table 25: OLS Regression on police legitimacy with procedural justice, additional theoretical variables, and controls (n = 63) Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients β Model 5 b SE T Sig. Constant .725 .498 1.457 .151 Procedural justice .822 .115 .835 7.132 .000 Distributive fairness a -.002 .105 -.001 -.015 .988 Legal cynicism a -.121 .081 -.126 -1.485 .144 Power-distance a -.101 .079 -.137 -1.277 .207 Risk of victimization -.049 .098 -.047 -.493 .624 Fear of victimization -.070 .076 -.090 -.920 .362 Middle Eastern -.019 .119 -.016 -.163 .872 .002 .005 .038 .427 .671 Ever been robbed -.019 .104 -.016 -.186 .853 Type of business .106 .149 .068 .711 .480 Num. years business R2 .691 *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001 a individual level measures were used. When procedural justice, along with these controls were included in the model (See Table 25), procedural justice remained a significant predictor of police legitimacy (p < .001). 2 However, power-distance and risk of victimization were no longer statistically significant predictors of police legitimacy. It should also be noted that none of the other variables had a significant impact on police legitimacy perceptions. In addition, there was no evidence of 2 The independent variable—number of prior contacts with police, was not included in the analysis due to the large amount of missing survey data regarding contacts with the police. 73 collinearity in the model as the Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) scores that were generated through regression diagnostics were all under 2. Furthermore, as will be discussed in the next chapter, the in-depth interviews indicated that the type of business may be an important factor in shaping perceptions of crime, the police, and willingness to call the police. In particular, gas station owners, who are required to stay open on a 24-hour basis and who face some unique regulatory conditions, appeared to have distinctive perceptions. Consequently, a dummy variable (Type of business) was constructed and added to the model. As indicated earlier, Type of business was coded for ‘gas station’ and ‘other’ (1 = gas station; 0 = other), in order to compare gas station owners’ perceptions to the perceptions of participants who operate other types of businesses. It should be noted that type of business, which was believed to have an impact on police legitimacy perceptions was not statistically significant in this model. Furthermore, due to the fact that Middle Eastern and Type of business were correlated, and the possibility that this could be masking the effect of type of business on police legitimacy perceptions, an interaction term was created using the two independent variables (Middle Eastern x Type of Business). Two models were generated in the analysis. The first model included the original independent variables, Middle Eastern and Type of Business, and the second model included the original variables with the newly created interaction term. The results indicate that the interaction term is significantly related to police legitimacy perceptions (See Appendix A: Table 32; Table 33). It also shows that when the interaction term is included in the model, Type of business is significantly related to police legitimacy perceptions (p < .05). Another findings was that the relationship between procedural justice and police legitimacy perceptions remained statistically significant (p < .001) when the interaction term was included in the full model (See Table 33). 74 It should also be noted that additional regression models were used which included the independent variables Disorder & Incivilities and Neighborhood ID, however, these variables did not appear to influence police legitimacy perceptions (See Appendix A: Table 34). All of these relationships are examined further in the qualitative portion of this research. Multivariate Analysis: Reporting Crimes and Assisting the Police Regarding the second portion of the quantitative analysis, it is hypothesized that police legitimacy perceptions will predict the likelihood of business owners reporting crimes to the police (or their willingness to call the police), and the likelihood of business owners assisting the police in finding someone suspected of a crime. Furthermore, the additional theoretical variables and controls that were included in the previous regression analyses with police legitimacy perceptions, were also included in this section, as indicated in Figure 7. Figure 7: Full model with willingness to call or assist the police Police legitimacy perceptions Procedural Justice Perceptions   Distributive Fairness Legal cynicism       Type of business Race and ethnic origin Cultural Norms (Power-distance) Prior victimizations Perceived risk of victimization Fear of victimization   75 Willingness to Call the Police Willingness to assist the police Table 26: OLS Regression on likelihood of reporting crimes to police (or willingness to call) with police legitimacy (n = 63) Unstandardized Coefficients Model 1 Constant b .558 .712 .238 Police legitimacy R2 β SE 2.182 Standardized Coefficients .357 T Sig. 3.911 .000 2.987 .004 .128** *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001 Table 27: OLS Regression on likelihood of reporting crimes to police with controls (n = 63) Unstandardized Coefficients Model 2 b Standardized Coefficients β SE Constant 1.027 1.505 Police legitimacy -.072 .415 Procedural justice .703 T Sig. .682 .498 -.036 -.172 .864 .483 .359 1.457 .151 -.032 .312 -.013 -.103 .918 Legal cynicism .242 .247 .127 .982 .331 Power-distance -.049 .239 -.033 -.205 .839 Middle Eastern -.833 .353 -.349 -2.357 .022 Num. years business .028 .014 .273 2.053 .045 Ever been robbed .163 .307 .069 .532 .597 Type of business .805 .443 .260 1.816 .075 Risk of victimization .175 .292 .085 .598 .553 Fear of victimization .123 .228 .079 .542 .590 Distributive fairness R2 .327* *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001 76 Table 26 presents the OLS regression on likelihood of reporting crimes to police with police legitimacy as the lone independent variable, and the results indicate a statistically significant relationship (R2 = .128; p < .01). When the other theoretical variables were included (See Table 27), police legitimacy was no longer a statistically significant predictor of likelihood of calling the police or reporting crimes to the police. However, when controlling for the experiential and contextual characteristics presented in Table 27, being Middle Eastern was a significant predictor of the likelihood of reporting. This means that being Middle Eastern predicted a decrease in the likelihood of reporting crime to the police. In addition, an increase in the number of years in business predicted an increase in the likelihood of reporting crimes to the police. Although Type of business was not a significant predictor of the likelihood of reporting cries to the police the direction of the relationship was consistent with prior assumptions. Being a gas station owner was associated with an increase in the likelihood of reporting crimes to the police. The relationship between type of business and the likelihood of reporting crimes to the police is discussed further in the next chapter. Table 28: OLS Regression on likelihood of helping police find suspect (or willingness to assist) with police legitimacy (n = 63) Unstandardized Coefficients Model 1 Constant b .518 .647 .221 Police legitimacy R2 β SE 2.394 Standardized Coefficients .350 .123*** *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001 77 T Sig. 4.621 .000 2.921 .005 Table 29: OLS Regression on likelihood of helping police find suspect with all theoretical variables and controls (n = 63) Unstandardized Coefficients Model 2 b Constant Standardized Coefficients β SE 1.364 1.419 Police legitimacy .149 .391 Procedural justice .295 T Sig. .961 .341 .081 .381 .705 .455 .163 .648 .520 -.039 .294 -.017 -.131 .896 Legal cynicism .208 .232 .118 .893 .376 Power-distance .073 .226 .053 .321 .749 Middle Eastern -.820 .333 .371 -2.461 .017 Num. years business .027 .013 .288 2.126 .038 Ever been robbed .156 .290 .071 .540 .592 Type of business .639 .418 .223 1.530 .132 Risk of victimization .208 .275 .110 .757 .453 Fear of victimization .082 .215 .057 .383 .703 Distributive fairness R2 .302* *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001 Similarly, when police legitimacy was regressed on the likelihood of helping police find someone suspected of a crime, the results indicated that police legitimacy perceptions predicted the dependent variable — likelihood of helping the police (See Table 28). While police legitimacy perceptions as a single independent variable predicted the likelihood of helping police, the results indicated that when the controls were included, police legitimacy was no longer a significant predictor of the likelihood or willingness of helping police (See Table 29). 78 However, again, Middle Eastern (β = -.303; p = .026) and the number of years in business (β = .293; p = .024) were significant predictors of the dependent variable. These results indicate that there may be a racial or ethnic component in the willingness to report crimes to the police or assist the police which is explored further in the next chapter. In addition, it appears that the number of years that participants have been operating their businesses may play a role in their willingness to report crimes and assist the police, but no effect on perceptions of legitimacy or procedural justice perceptions. This must be interpreted cautiously given the size of the sample and the possibility of a selection bias in the age of respondents in the sample. In other words there would need to be a wider distribution in the age of respondents to conclusively determine whether older business owners are more inclined to report crimes to the police and assist the police. The direction of these relationships were also identical to those observed in the model comprising analysis on likelihood of reporting crimes to the police. Furthermore, it should be noted that procedural justice perceptions, which was influential when regressed on police legitimacy perceptions, was not a statistically significant predictor of the likelihood of reporting crimes to the police or the likelihood of assisting the police. Also, as was the case for the analysis on the likelihood of reporting crimes, type of business was not a statistically significant predictor of the likelihood or willingness to assist the police. In addition, the interaction term (Middle Eastern x Type of Business) was included in additional regression models to determine whether the effects of type of business on the willingness to report crimes and the willingness to assist the police were masked by the Middle Eastern variable (See Appendix A: Table 35; Table 36). The results indicated that neither Middle Eastern nor Type of Business was significantly related to the willingness to report crimes to the 79 police, and the willingness to assist the police.3 These findings raise some questions regarding the factors that influence business owners’ willingness to report crimes, and this issue is addressed extensively in the analysis of qualitative findings presented in the next chapter. It is possible that the likelihood of business owners reporting crimes to the police and assisting the police is much more complex than initially assumed, and there may be a contextual dimension regarding the nature of crimes affecting business owners that was not accounted for in the analysis of the survey. Chapter Summary In this chapter findings from the analysis of the survey data on business owners’ attitudes toward the police were discussed. Overall the descriptive findings were mixed regarding procedural justice and legitimacy perceptions. More than half of the business owners surveyed indicated that the local police were a legitimate authority, however, a large number of these respondents were not confident about the performance of the police and generally viewed the local police unfavorably. Despite these unfavorable perceptions many business owners were willing to call the police to report crimes and also willing to assist the police if they had information on a crime in the area where their businesses were located. There were a number of significant relationships generated in the bivariate analysis. Procedural justice perceptions were closely associated with police legitimacy perceptions, and distributive fairness to some extent was also associated with police legitimacy perceptions. Furthermore, the risk and fear of victimization were inversely related to police legitimacy and 3 In addition, when the independent variables Disorder & Incivilities and Neighborhood ID were included in the regression analysis, these variables did not appear to be related to the willingness to report crimes to the police or the willingness to call the police. There were no noticeable changes in the results generated when these variables were included. 80 confidence in the police. These findings indicate that influential factors associated with highcrime environments could have an impact on perceptions of the police. Regarding some additional relationships, it was clear that low power-distance levels were associated with increasing disapproval of the law, and high-levels of power-distance were associated with confidence in performance of police. This latter point simply means that if people are not engaged with public issues then they will not have a reason to view public officials unfavorably. However, respondents generally believed in communicating their disagreements with authority and were prepared to challenge the leaders if it was deemed that they were not protecting business owners’ interests. Respondents were also concerned about the risk of personal victimization and crimes against their businesses, and the frequency of their experiences with crime was associated with attitudes toward the police. Therefore, the greater the risk of victimization perceived by business owners the less favorable their perceptions of local police. In regard to race, the findings suggest that business owners who identified as Middle Eastern were less likely to assist the police and the overwhelming majority possessed less favorable perceptions of the police. Multivariate analysis indicated that procedural justice was a strong predictor of police legitimacy, which means that if business owners perceive that they are being treated with respect and that police are making quality decisions they are likely to have favorable perceptions of the police and to be more confident in policing. The results indicate that despite culture in terms of power-distance beliefs, and despite perceptions of the legitimacy of law and experiences of victimization, procedural justice perceptions matter to business owners. The results also indicate that the importance of police legitimacy perceptions when it comes to the willingness to call the police may have to be placed in context. The seriousness of the crime and the evaluation of risk 81 may be crucial when it comes to the likelihood of reporting crimes to the police, however these issues were outside of the scope of this analysis and can be the subject of future research. The regression analysis showed that the perceived risk of victimization and ethnicity (Middle Eastern), were stronger predictors of the likelihood of reporting crimes to the police and the likelihood of helping the police than police legitimacy perceptions. While the risk of victimization may very well play a role in the willingness to call or assist police, there may also be a complex of racial arrangements in the city that comprises the large Arab and Chaldean communities that must be examined further. It may not be that race per se causes a business owner to be disinclined to call or assist police. It could very well be that the type of business is important, however due to the wide range of businesses in a relatively small survey sample this could not be answered by this analysis. Still, given the results of the statistical analysis it is expected that there will be interesting differences across racial and ethnic groups. The next chapter provides qualitative analyses of interviews with business owners that fully examine many of the themes that emerged in the survey findings. 82 CHAPTER FIVE: LEGITIMACY PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES WITH CRIME AND DISORDER An Overview of the Salient Themes This chapter presents the analysis of findings from 39 in-depth interviews with business owners. It explores a number of themes related to police legitimacy such as trust, respect and confidence in police performance. Themes related to procedural justice such as perceptions of fairness, the quality of treatment and the decision-making of police officers along with perceptions of the law and public agencies are examined. Furthermore, the chapter incorporates an assessment of business owners’ experiences with crime and victimization, incivilities and disorder. These issues are examined through a number of comparisons across location, type of business, race and ethnic origin. Table 30 presents an outline of the qualitative analysis presented in this chapter. The research questions are presented with corresponding themes, and representative quotes which were selected based on the frequency of responses on each of the relevant themes. For ease of reference, the quotes are arranged according to the categories, ‘favorable’ and ‘unfavorable.’ The following discussion provides an overview of the major themes in the analysis along with a summary of findings that pertain to each of the research questions. Research question #1: ‘Do procedural justice and police legitimacy perceptions provide valid explanations for small business owners’ attitudes toward the police in high-crime areas?’ The main themes related to this question are respect, trust, long-standing perceptions (Mainly based on childhood experiences with police), and perceptions of encounters with police. 83 Table 30: Outline of Qualitative Analysis Research Question Salient Themes Representative Quotes Favorable 1. Do procedural justice and police legitimacy perceptions provide valid explanations for small business owners’ attitudes toward the police in high-crime areas? ‘I respect the police a lot because they put their lives on the line for the citizens and business people in Detroit every day.’ [501] ‘I trust them. They just get a bad rap because of a few bad ones.’ [105] ‘We were always taught to respect the police and to respect our elders’ [207] Respect Trust Long-standing perceptions Confidence ‘I would say I’m pleased. I haven’t had any problems with Detroit police’ [401] No favorable responses Fairness No favorable responses Racial perceptions & stereotypes N/A Encounters with police 2. Do the following process-related concepts: confidence in police performance, distributive fairness and legal cynicism play a role in business owners’ attitudes toward police? 84 Unfavorable 'I respect what they do, but we’re not the least bit of their concern’ [302] ‘I do not trust the police in Detroit at all’ [601] ‘…So it almost was the perception I had growing up. That the police were out for themselves and not necessarily out for our community’ [601] ‘Well I would say I am not one hundred percent pleased.’ [501] ‘The police will not come, even if you have their cell number. They don’t give a shit.’ [303] ‘For two years in the city of Detroit you go down there and they talk to you like a piece of crap. Every time we do something they shoot it down’ [301] ‘Somewhere down the line someone said, “Hey well, all you guys come to this country and you don’t pay any taxes” [101] Table 30: (cont’d) 3. Are the attitudes of small business owners toward the police also influenced by: Type and location of business? Prior victimizations and the fear of crime? Cultural norms? Race and ethnic origin? 4. Do the factors that influence business owners’ attitudes toward police also influence their willingness to report crimes to the police, and their willingness to assist the police? ‘…Because of where we are, things are not as bad as in some other areas. We have a good relationship with police.’ [205] ‘We don’t have all those problems because we have a different kind business.’ [101] Location Type of business Risk, fear & crimes affecting business No favorable responses given Safety of family members No favorable responses given Negative interactions with customers N/A Consequences of reporting crimes N/A Police responsiveness ‘No, it was never our experience, no. I always get a very good response time.’ [401] 85 ‘If I could put this business on wheels, I would push it to another city [310] ‘I have cousins with gas stations around the city. You hear the same story again and again.’ [304] ‘I have kids at home. I can’t risk my life for a quarter and a dollar. I’m willing to trade everything if it came down to the point where my life was at risk and someone had a gun pointed at my head.’ [302] ‘I’m concerned about someone following me home. I got a family. So I park five blocks away from my house’ [501.1] You can get busted windows flat tires from these customers that are upset with you. [308] ‘Most of us fear calling the cops and here’s another reason why we fear calling the cops-for fear of retaliation from the consumers.’ [310] The only time they come right away is if you say ‘Please help me, there is a man pointing a gun at me.’ Police don’t do their job right.’ [304] The findings indicate that participants who respect the police are generally mindful of the challenging nature of policing in Detroit and they also acknowledge the constraints that impact police work. Participants who did not respect the police believe that police do not care enough about small business owners, particularly those who operate businesses in the most disorderly areas of the city. For these participants, respect for police is related to perceptions of the responsiveness of police and the performance of police in the communities where their businesses are located. The participants who claimed to trust the police believe that most police officers care about the city, and that the violations and abuses perpetrated by a few police officers spoil the image of the entire department. In contrast, business owners who expressed a lack of trust in the police believe that police officers do not take their jobs seriously and are not concerned about reducing crime or serving citizens. Long-standing perceptions about policing also appear to impact individuals’ perceptions of the police. Participants with favorable perceptions of police grew up with an understanding that police should be respected. Similarly, many participants who possessed unfavorable perceptions could trace these perceptions to negative experiences with police in the past. Regarding recent encounters with police, those who were satisfied with their encounters with police indicated that they were treated with respect and that they understood the reasons for police decision-making. Furthermore, perceptions of encounters with police were closely associated with perceptions of the responsiveness of police to calls for service. In other words, participants may be generally satisfied with the treatment they receive from police officers during regular encounters or in instances where the police responded to a call. However, due to the many instances where police officers were not responsive and did not show up on time, the few 86 instances in which police officers may have been courteous or helpful could not mitigate the overall feelings of frustration regarding their non-responsiveness to calls for service. Moreover, some participants chose to answer the question – ‘Are you satisfied with your recent encounters with police?’ by expressing their general disapproval of police performance. The interesting relationship between encounters with police and the performance of police is discussed further in a later section. Research question #2: ‘Do the following process-related concepts play a role in business owners’ attitudes toward police? — Confidence in police performance, distributive fairness and legal cynicism? The main themes related to this question are confidence, fairness and responses to racial perceptions and stereotypes. It is noteworthy that there were no favorable responses regarding confidence in police performance or the fairness of city authorities and police. This means there were no participants who were confident in the performance of police, and no one expressed the belief that city authorities are fair in their dealings with business owners. However, the results indicate that while many participants were not confident in police performance, some respondents had a mixed or neutral view regarding the ability of the police to prevent crime and protect citizens. Moreover, these participants felt more comfortable giving a percentage to describe their level of confidence, for example – ‘I am 70 percent confident in the ability of the police to prevent crime.’ [103] Regarding the issue of fairness there were also no favorable responses given. This reflects growing disapproval toward city officials and increasing perceptions that the authorities are not supportive of business owners. In addition, there were views expressed regarding racial prejudice 87 and negative misconceptions held by city authorities, particularly toward the immigrant business owners in the sample. The performance of city authorities is a major issue in this study given the views expressed by participants who operate businesses in some of the most challenging environments in the city. Furthermore, this issue could reflect a strong connection between attitudes toward police and attitudes toward city officials, which is explored further in this chapter. Research question #3: ‘Are the attitudes of small business owners toward the police also influenced by — Type and location of business? Prior victimizations and the fear of crime? Cultural norms? Race and ethnic origin? The emerging themes were location, type of business, risk, fear and crimes affecting business, safety of family members and negative interactions with customers. As indicated by the representative quotes in Table 31, participants believe that businesses located in the lower crime areas such as Midtown and Indian Village are better served by police when it comes to police patrol and calls for service. Participants in these areas were more likely than their counterparts on the East Side to have good relationships with police officers. The findings also indicate that certain types of businesses were associated with a higher frequency of victimizations and negative experiences with customers. An assessment of risk, fear and crimes affecting business, will highlight the importance of exploring comparisons between certain types and locations of businesses. Moreover, participants who operate businesses that attract disorderly customers and experience a high frequency of interactions with customers on the street level, generally had less favorable views of police officers. These participants also expressed greater concern about the safety of their family members. One of the main 88 comparisons highlighted in this analysis is the contrast between gas station owners’ perspectives and those of the participants who operate other types of businesses. In addition, the degree to which race and culture influence perceptions is unknown, and it is clear that a discussion of types of businesses in Detroit must also explore the racial arrangements and ethnic niches that exist within the small business community. How these issues influence participants’ perceptions of local police as well as the institution of policing are discussed in this chapter. Research question #4: ‘Do the factors that influence business owners’ attitudes toward police also influence their willingness to report crimes to the police, and their willingness to assist the police?’ The representative quotes in Table 31 reflect that participants are concerned about the consequences of reporting crimes to the police and the responsiveness of police. Some participants were not deterred by the likelihood that police would not respond to their calls, however, most of the gas station owners indicated that they were reluctant to report certain crimes to the police due to concerns about the retaliation of disorderly customers. It must also be determined whether the factors that influence legitimacy perceptions also influence the willingness to call the police. Based on the findings it appears that business owners continue to call the police regardless of whether they respect or trust the police or have confidence in the police. The risk and fear of victimization appear to lead them to report crimes, and assist police with the identification of suspects. Furthermore, the type and location of a business matters when it comes to participants’ perceptions of the risk of victimization. These themes are examined further with supporting quotes in the following sections of the analysis. 89 The Qualitative Analysis Respect, trust and confidence Based on the findings, 20 participants (51%) indicated that they trust the police. However, only 5 participants (13%) indicated that they were confident in the ability of the police to protect them from crime. When asked about their perceptions of police performance, only four participants (10%) indicated that they were satisfied with the performance of the police. Furthermore, 40 percent referred to the challenges of policing in their responses and agreed that being a police officer in Detroit was a difficult and impossible job at times. However, 25 participants (64%) believed that many police officers were not as committed and diligent as they should be. A Chaldean grocery store owner on the East Side expressed: I respect the police a lot because they put their lives on the line for the citizens and business people in Detroit every day. And while they are overwhelmed with their calls some of them I think take their jobs for granted. All they want to do is put in their time. They really don’t put an effort into their job. And I think that hopefully it would change with the new Chief of Police [501] A Lebanese gas station owner on the East Side, along with many other participants, agreed with this statement, ‘I’m not talking about the new police chief and his new tactics, I respect what they do, but we’re not the least bit of their concern’ [302]. Business owners were generally frustrated by the quality of service provided by the police. A Lebanese liquor store owner when asked whether he thought the police treated him with respect responded, ‘I do feel like they treat me with respect. But that’s when you do see them. When I do see them they usually come stopping by, ‘Hi how’re you doing?’ That’s it. But in terms of performance? I grade them a D minus’ [309]. Most participants did not want to condemn the police outright. However, they believed the performance of police officers could be addressed with good leadership and the proper use of 90 city resources. It was frustrating to some that these necessary adjustments were not being implemented. Another Lebanese gas station owner on the East Side expressed his frustration: They’re saying that in selling loose cigarettes you’re attracting certain types of crime, and certain types of people. Me personally, I stopped doing that a long time ago. But with the current DPD authority now getting on national TV, telling about ‘We’re coming after loose cigarettes’ we’re coming after this, we’re coming after that…This is what I have to say to them. I respect that, that’s the law, that’s not to be broken I understand. But that’s bull crap. [307.1] When asked whether they trust the police, participants often referred to the performance of the police, and this suggests that trust and respect for police are closely associated with perceptions of police performance. For example, participants from the most violent and disorderly areas such as the Osborn neighborhood in the North East, and the Conner area on the East Side, rated police performance unfavorably and because of this they had difficulty trusting the police. A Yemeni gas station owner gave an account of how he got arrested for food stamp irregularities at his store. He had just returned from a trip to Yemen. When he got off the plane the police arrested him, took him into custody and subsequently he faced criminal proceedings at the District Court. He was very emotional when describing this experience and expressed the embarrassment of being arrested like a criminal in front of his family. It was clear that he had difficulty getting over this experience. He said adamantly that the police were not seeking the best interest of the small business community [305.1]. A white owner of a bar in the Midtown area also indicated that he was not confident that police were effective in solving crimes and protecting citizens. He also called for a greater police presence at night: ‘When we have to go through Detroit on the evenings we don’t feel as safe. There are not enough police around’ [603]. The black owner of a cleaning service on the West Side added to this by saying, ‘I understand the police are trying their best, but they’re struggling out here. They can’t stop the violence.’ [204]. In addition, a black female owner of a 91 transportation business in the Midtown area, stated ‘I have not had a direct bad experience but I do not trust the police in Detroit at all’ [601]. This statement indicates that the negative reputation of policing in the city is so influential that it can shape individuals’ perceptions regardless of whether individuals have negative first-hand experiences with police or not. This also suggests that even in the less violent areas such as Midtown and Indian Village, business owners have serious concerns about crime and safety in the city. Perceptions that the police were not reciprocating respect was another issue that was highlighted. The theme of respect is a key component in the conceptualization of procedural justice, in that, if individuals believe that police do not treat them with respect they would be less inclined to trust the police and see them as legitimate. Seventeen participants (44%) indicated that the police did not treat them with respect. A Lebanese gas station owner on the East Side made a comment that reflected this perception: My parking lot is private property, and I had a situation where a traffic cop pulled over a customer. And the customer pulled into the parking lot and he came in after him, and he was blocking (the) number one pump. And the way my pumps are set up, it’s either one way in or one way out. I had four people being held up by this (police) car pulling over this (other) car. So (I asked the police officer) could you please nicely back up your car so these people can leave, that’s all I’m asking.’ He said ‘When I’m done I’ll do it.’ How do you deal with a policing authority that shows you no respect? [302] Due to the frequency of statements such as this one, it was clear that being treated with respect mattered to business owners. Those who believed they were not being treated with respect were clearly disillusioned by the performance of police and not confident that police were seeking the best interest of citizens. Another finding was that some participants possessed a more sympathetic view of police despite the poor quality of service. There is a good example of this among the gas station owners who were interviewed. Out of the eight gas station owners, seven were from the North East or 92 the East Side, and one was located in the South West area. The Lebanese owner in the South West believed the police were underpaid, and indicated that this was undermining their ability to be effective. He also believed that many police officers still cared about the city: This is out of their control I think. Now whether they care…Yes, they do care. But I really think that they would care more if they make more money. It’s just as simple as that. When you tell somebody I want you to do all of this but I’m going to cut your pay by 20%. Screw you. I’m not going to do it. Any employee would do that. If I go tell my employees now I’m giving you a 20% pay cut starting tomorrow, you think they’re gonna be happy? No, they’re not gonna work, they’re not gonna come in to work. [301] When asked whether poor police performance affected his confidence in the police, a black barber on the East Side was also sympathetic: ‘No, absolutely not, because there are a lot of good people in the police department. There really is. And they try really hard. You know we become friends, and they really care’ (401.2). This was the view of four out of the five African American participants. They talked about having relationships with members of the DPD and believed that police were working hard despite circumstances that were outside of their control. The following excerpt is from a senior barber in the Midtown area who agreed with the sentiment that police officers have a difficult job to do and that they are under-paid: I stopped looking at police in a negative way and started looking at police like they would see me going in the back door of the store and they would pull up (and ask) ‘What’s going on?’ And I started looking at that as they’re looking out, as opposed to they’re just messing with me. You know what I mean? It was a good thing if they pulled up and stopped me if I was going in the back of the store. And with what they have to work with right now, they have the lowest number of police officers they ever had on the police force. All the police officers in the country make more than Detroit police officers. You know, and to me that’s a hard job. You can lose your life doing that job, and they’re paid the lowest in the country. And that’s a hard job. Especially in the city of Detroit. It’s a hard city to live in. [401] Most of the Middle Eastern business owners were not as sympathetic about the challenges of being a Detroit police officer. However, one Chaldean owner of a movie theatre in the North East expressed a similar view to the black barbers: 93 You know, I haven’t had any serious issues with cops. There have been a couple issues and they’ve kind of got on my case about it and I hit the panic button and three, four of them showed up pretty quick. That was good but they told me you can’t really use the panic button unless you’re getting held up. But if you call 911 and we say there’s teens fighting in here, you know there’s probably other priorities out there. Sometimes murders and other stuff. So I can understand it. But am I generally pleased with the performance? I think it can get better. I think the police chief has plans to make it better. [101] Overall, perceptions were mixed regarding attitudes toward the police. Although most participants respected and trusted in the institution of policing, most agreed that the performance of police officers needed to be addressed. It is noteworthy however, that a large number of business owners were sympathetic to police officers and saw them as individuals working in a difficult situation, and there were no simple answers to questions about trust, respect and police performance. Arab and Chaldean business owners were not shy about expressing their opinions about the police and there was no evidence that they were constrained by power-distance beliefs. Although some of the Middle Eastern business owners had more recently arrived in the U.S. such as participant #305 and #307.1, who both appeared to struggle with the English language, they clearly wanted to have a voice in public affairs, and after the interviews got going they were more relaxed and spoke freely and openly. It should also be noted that early in the interview process it became clear that Middle Eastern business owners when it comes to issues of fairness, respect and confidence in police performance, were no different from their US born counterparts. Their standards of fairness and expectations of the police were no different, and though they were less inclined to be sympathetic toward police, they understood the serious challenges of community safety in the city. They felt there was no excuse for police not to be prepared for these challenges. 94 Long-standing perceptions of police Attitudes toward police could also be traced to childhood experiences. Most participants (80%) indicated that they had been taught or socialized to respect the police while growing up. One Chaldean grocery store owner in the Indian Village area stated: Back then we were always taught to respect our elders, the police, the teachers, you know and everybody that were our elders (and) the authorities we were taught to respect them. So I think even here coming to the United States, we brought that same attitude with us and I’m sure many people brought that too with them. Respect for the police. [501] Respect for police growing up was not unique to any one race or culture. U.S. born business owners also possessed the same value of respect for authority. However, what emerged was the fact that negative experiences with police during childhood could be quite difficult to overcome, regardless of ethnicity or nationality. One black barber expressed: I think people feel like the police are almost picking on them. Instead of being around when we actually needed them. They’re only around to satisfy something that will benefit them, like if they needed to find a shooter or they needed to bust one more crime. So that’s when they hung around the neighborhood, to do something that benefits the police department or make the police department look good. And so it almost was the perception I had growing up. That the police were out for themselves and not necessarily out for our community [601] This perspective was not limited to African Americans and Arab-Americans. A white owner of a bar in the Midtown area said that for as long as he could remember he did not trust the police. He had a negative experience with police coming to his house and upsetting his mother, which he said he would never forget: I’ve always been distrustful of the police just in general, and given all my interactions with the police in general I don’t trust them. I think that I’ve had run-ins with police at concerts, bars, political rallies, and just in general. I think that they have a sense of empowerment and superiority over citizens, and you know in my experiences I’ve never seen a cop exercise it in a positive way. It’s like I’m the f_____ (expletive) cop and I’m going to tell you what’s going on. [603] 95 When asked about perceptions of the police while growing up in Detroit one barber shop owner gave an account of being wrongfully accused of stealing when he was a child by a fast food server and a white police officer: Well, this time this police officer told me you know, ‘You come in here and not pay yesterday?’ and I said ‘No sir.’ He said ‘Yes you did,’ and I said ‘No I didn’t.’ You know he snatched me down from the chair took me out to the police car put me in the back seat and he called me all kinds of names. He said ‘Yes you did nigger, you stole that hamburger yesterday,’ and he went on and on. And by this time I’m wailing, I’m crying. [401] He also indicated that after that experience it took a long time before he could trust or respect the police again. He got into a great deal of trouble with the law as a young man, but as he got older he got wiser. Another business owner from the West Side, a black owner of a fast food franchise expressed a similar point-of-view in that as he got older he also realized that racism could be shown by anyone: ‘I’ve had black police officers treat me bad, and I’ve had white police officers treat me bad’ [701]. These experiences, especially what was expressed by participant #401, can be understood within the context of Detroit’s history of race and policing. Approximately 80 percent of the residential population in the city is black and 60 percent of the police force is also black. African Americans occupy many of the top public positions in the city and by the strictest of definitions cannot be described as a racial minority in the city. However, it can be argued that many of the city’s residents have internalized the cognitive leanings of an oppressed minority, because they live in a country that may still comprise the remnants of a racist past. These issues played out in the 2013 election of the city’s first white mayor in decades, and also in the public discourse regarding the governor’s appointment of an emergency manager, a move that was perceived by some participants as a signal of the disenfranchisement of the nation’s premier ‘Black City’. It can be argued that many of the residents of the city are not as empowered as the black business 96 owners in the study, and many of them may find it difficult to make the adjustment in attitude toward police that this particular barber shop owner made as he got older. Furthermore, despite the fact that such a large proportion of the police force is black may not necessarily mean that black residents would see the police more favorably, and there has been a reasonable amount of research to support this (Dulaney, 1996; Weitzer, 2000). In addition, the history of race relations in the city and the riots of 1967 have been well documented. Participant #401 who had been operating his business for over twenty-five years discussed the fact that the police force used to comprise a white majority, and there were numerous complaints about racism and discrimination in the city. He stated that back in the 1960’s there were a lot of ‘rednecks’ on the police force and that things were very different back then. He also indicated that although race relations had improved, that the social fabric of Detroit and the quality of life had deteriorated ever since then. ‘After the riots things started to go downhill,’ he said. He also referenced the large population of immigrant business owners and the possibility that perceptions of police could be shaped by each group’s unique history in the city. Understanding Detroit’s history and the long-standing beliefs about policing in the city are important here. When asked about whether race had influenced the way she sees the police, the black owner of a successful catering company, who also grew up in Detroit, indicated that she had never had the experience of being racially profiled by the police: ‘But being in an urban neighborhood for most of my life I do have bias against the police. It is because of the perception in our neighborhood. I feel like it has had an impact on how I view the police’ [201]. 97 Recent encounters with police All of the participants had interacted with police officers within the last 12 months. It can be argued based on the findings that frequent encounters with police officers could be a fairly regular occurrence for individuals who operate businesses in high crime areas. Participants were asked about their general perceptions of encounters with the police. Some participants indicated that they had friends that were police officers (40%) but had a neutral view regarding police performance. Moreover, most indicated that they were not one hundred percent satisfied with their most recent encounters with police: ‘Well I would say I am not one hundred percent pleased. I would say, you know (I’m) 70 percent pleased’ [501]. One gas station operator from Yemen on the East Side referred to the issue of police officer retention in his response: ‘I used to have a relationship with the police during the night shift. One gave me his cell number. But I stopped trying (to have a relationship) because they change so often. Some cops work with us, some don’t. Some say (only) if they got a gun call us’ [305]. In this response he referred to the police feedback that some business owners were received based on the incidents they reported. Some police officers did not want to be called unless there was an incident in which the perpetrator clearly had a gun. This reflects the precinct’s limited resources and the commander’s intention to channel resources toward fatal and non-fatal shootings, which were deemed as the most serious crimes. Four participants found this to be a very insensitive and unrealistic policy (#302, #304, #310 and #501.1). If police believed that business owners should only call them when a gun was seen it could lead to tragic situations that could otherwise be prevented. Furthermore, there were gun crimes that could be prevented if police responded to the threat of violence promptly. Business owners were generally skeptical of the crime prevention capabilities of the police and 98 this unofficial policy did not have a positive impact on their perceptions. One Chaldean liquor store owner on the West Side in response to this policy stated that, ‘If I had the money I would invest in the police. They need help.’ [501.1] Police responsiveness and legitimacy perceptions An emerging theme in participants’ responses to questions about police performance was police response time to calls for service. Twenty-six participants (67%) across a range of businesses and ethnicities indicated that they were not satisfied with police response times. Some participants had a great deal to say regarding how response times affected their confidence in the DPD. Many participants also described crimes and disorderly behavior at or near their businesses and the apparent futility of calling the police: ‘The police will not come, even if you have their cell number. They don’t give a shit.’ [303]. Furthermore, although 30 participants were not satisfied with police response times, what was more striking was that all eight of the gas station owners who participated in interviews, as well as the two liquor store owners, had serious concerns about reporting crimes to the police. An Iraqi gas station operator on the East Side stated: If I catch (members of the community) selling drugs in the area and I tell them to stop, they respond by saying ‘I’ll blow up that bitch.’ If I call at four in the morning, maybe they’ll (the police) come at nine in the night. The only time they come right away is if you say ‘Please help me, there is a man pointing a gun at me.’ Police don’t do their job right. They don’t give a f___ (expletive). [304] The most high-risk situations with potentially violent customers were experienced by business owners who interacted regularly with customers at convenience stores/gas stations and liquor stores. All of these participants were of Middle Eastern origin. A Lebanese gas station operator on the East Side described his experience during a recent night shift: 99 I’m behind the counter, and the guy says ‘I’m not leaving here until I get my mother f-ing money.’ I was scheduled to leave at twelve (midnight) it was like 11:50 and there’s no way I’m walking out of here safely until that guy leaves. So we call the cops and with all due respect to the Detroit Police department, they still didn’t show up. (The dispatcher) when she responded, said we’ll send a car over there. They didn’t come. It’s like, what’s the point of me calling if you’re not gonna show up? Then when a situation happens, where a clerk pulls out a gun or something gets escalated to another level, then it’s automatically come charge the gas station guy, come charge the gas station clerk. You understand what I’m saying? It’s like I’m the one that needs you. There’s people terrorizing my place of business. Should I call these folks (the police)? ‘Cause every time, I’m the problem, I’m the problem. [302] This theme emerged in the responses of business owners on the East Side as well as the West Side. The frustration over response times seems to affect legitimacy perceptions and confidence in police performance. In the following excerpt, an Arab American gas station owner with Lebanese parents provides an account of a frustrating experience about trying to report a crime to the police: It was 4 o’clock in the afternoon. It was a busy Friday, a lady runs into the store while I have five customers in line. ‘Close the door, close the door. There’s two guys following me with a gun.’ So I hit the automatic switch, I lock her in, I lock all of my customers in, my customers are panicking. ‘Oh, don’t let him in they’re gonna come in here and shoot us.’ So I did the right thing, I locked the door. I’m not gonna let these folks in. They stood by the door for 15 minutes. After the minute I called in, ‘Excuse me 911 there’s an emergency, two guys outside my door with a weapon. A customer claims they’re trying to kill her. I have about six people inside the store and we need your response immediately.’ They stood out there with guns in broad daylight for fifteen minutes and no DPD unit responded. So as a business owner how does that make me feel about Detroit police. I mean honestly they’re over here, currently they’re probably doing their job now, but the media is hyping it up a little bit. But that situation right there, we’re talking about a person’s life plus six people inside a store, plus my life. And these two guys are in a major city with guns in front of a business and the Detroit police cannot respond. So they finally got bored and left. Six hours later Detroit police responded. Oh, ‘We heard somebody had a gun.’ This is what I told them, it was like being sarcastic. I’m like, ‘She’s dead and we buried her yesterday.’ [302] In another experience with the threat of violence, a Yemeni gas station operator indicated that he was in a fight for his life with an apparently drunk man who was out of control and pulled down all the shelves in the store. He expressed frustration at the fact that the police did not arrive 100 on the scene until the perpetrator had already gone [305]. The owner of a grocery in a neighborhood on the outskirts of Midtown had a more balanced view, but he also agreed that the response times of police were unacceptable: ‘I feel confident in calling them but it’s responding times that is another story. Because that’s an issue we have with the police department. The response time is not good’ [501]. The black female owner of a transportation business also in the Midtown area had a similar view. She indicated that after a non-fatal shooting incident involving one of her drivers and the passengers of one of her vehicles, it was assumed that the police would not come quickly: It actually took them (the police) quite some time to arrive at the hospital. I don’t know how long they took to arrive at the crime scene because we left pretty quickly. But the assumption is that they took a long time. And the shooter was not ever apprehended. And in such a large crowd it should not have been so difficult to find the shooter. And then at the hospital, it’s almost as though they are making out the victims to be the bad people. ‘What were you doing there?’ And basically, ‘Why has this happened to you?’ [601] The owner of a landscaping business in the Indian Village area, a relatively safe community in the city, was asked about his perception of the performance of the police. He gave an account regarding the theft of his business equipment and gave a reason for not calling the police: When it comes to dealing with Detroit the answer is absolutely no. We didn’t even report. Well I guess we told the police officer in Indian Village, but we didn’t even file a police report because it would have taken them forever just to get down there for it. I don’t even know if we told them, now that I think about it. The year before that, when we had all of our equipment stolen, we called the police department and waited for an hour and they never showed up. And then we were going to a Detroit yacht club and a manager he tried to get a hold of them when the guys were working out there. And they never showed up. Never called…nothing. [602] As a result, this participant generally preferred to deal with customers in the suburbs rather than in the city. This indicates that some business owners in the safer areas of the city share the views of those in areas that bear more of the outward signs of neglect. However, there are some owners 101 in the less violent areas that did not have a serious problem with police response times. The owner of a barber school in the Midtown area stated: No, it was never our experience, no. I always get a very good response time. And that probably is true depending on when you call. Response time has a lot to do with the time of the day and what's going on in that area, in that district. I mean if there's ten other crimes going on at that exact same time you’re gonna have a problem [401] Most business owners acknowledged that police response times to calls for service needed to be improved. Participants from the North East and the East Side, in particular, possessed less favorable perceptions on the response times of police. Victimization and crime affecting business In regard to crimes affecting business, 37 participants (95%) indicated that there was a crime problem in the area where their business is located. Twenty-six participants (67%) reported that they had been robbed recently and most of these crimes had occurred at their places of business. It is noteworthy that only eight participants indicated that they live in Detroit, and some were willing to commute a long distance from home to come to their stores. This in itself reflects the general feeling about the quality of life in the city. There were 24 participants (62%) who reported that they were concerned or afraid that they would be a victim of crime in the future. Although some of the participants had experienced violent crimes while operating their businesses, the majority had experienced theft and other property crimes. Furthermore, the gas station owners were regularly dealing with shoplifting, vandalism and threats of violence from customers. Disorderly and disrespectful customers appeared to be an even larger issue than crime per se for some participants. The following excerpt from a Lebanese gas station owner on the East Side involves an argument over gas prices: 102 He goes ‘No, you’re not supposed to f-ing charge me for debit price.’ He ended up pulling a weapon on me. Thank God I was behind the safety…and he got out his car. The car was parked right in front of the cashier’s clerk window, and I’m looking at him and he’s brandishing a weapon. All over 5 bucks in gas. And everything was displayed. It wasn’t like a form where I didn’t have that displayed like this is my cash or credit price. But it was right there and a couple customers tried to explain to him, look it’s right on the board. So he brandished a weapon. [302] During this incident the participant was fearful for his life. In retrospect, he did not think it was worth risking one’s life over the price of gas, and that was the day he decided that he would eventually look for a way out. He no longer wanted to operate a business in Detroit. He had to think seriously about the wellbeing of his young family and who would take care of them if he was murdered while at the store: I have kids at home. I can’t risk my life for a quarter and a dollar. I’m willing to trade everything if it came down to the point where my life was at risk and someone had a gun pointed at my head. I would tell him go ahead take the whole store and leave me for my kids. Because that is the objective as you grow older, you know you don’t care about yourself, you care about the future of your kids. [302] He also had a message for the police chief and the other leaders on the force: Come down to the city, come down. Talk to these gas station owners. They’ll tell you about the crime, they’ll tell you about these dope houses. I grew up in Hamtramck. I’ve never seen crack cocaine, I’ve never seen blow, I’ve never seen a heroin needle, I’ve never seen these pills until I got here. I’ve seen everything now. [302] The Lebanese gas station owner in the South West also talked at length about delinquency and neighborhood disorder affecting Arab business owners in particular who operated their businesses in often deplorable environments. The impact of prostitution on his business was a major concern. He was also concerned that the police refused to do anything about it: ‘Prostitution comes. It’s (here) all the time. The police know about it, the police see them all the time…The police station is right there, literally’ [301]. He tried several times to do something about the problem and even made some suggestions, but he could not get support from the commander in charge of the precinct: 103 The reason we want this to be taken care of is because this cost me so much business. These women out there, it doesn’t help my business it’s disgusting. All year long. It is absolutely disgusting. So what do you do? The police doesn’t take care of it. Nobody does. I went and I complained…The commander who was in place, he told me explicitly, ‘Don’t bother me with this anymore. Deal with the homeless community like everybody else.’ That’s exactly what he said. He said, ‘Stop bothering me with it.’ The reason they’re here (is) because there’s a lot of drugs and heroin that’s here. So who takes care of this problem? That is a police issue, if you can’t pick up prostitution you have to go the other way around and that is in cleaning up from the other side. [301] Business owners expressed similar sentiments about the crimes affecting their businesses. Many of them were frustrated that the police saw various types of delinquency as mainly a business issue: ‘Drug sales in the area is a state, a city and a police issue. It was never a business issue. I mean if you can’t get rid of it in your own city, what makes you think I can get rid of it on my block? I don’t wanna get shot. And these kids don’t care really, they’ll shoot you and it’s nothing’ [301]. Many participants were concerned about the lack of quick and meaningful consequences for drug selling in their communities. Participant #302 also referred to the absence of respect for police at the community level. Drug sellers in Detroit were so bold it was clear that they had no respect for the police: The typical mindset of a consumer that’s selling drugs is like this. He feels like he’s not gonna get caught. You blaming him for selling the drugs, but you have to blame the policing authority for letting him think he can get away with it…for being so lax. You understand what I mean? He’ll come in (and say) ‘I’ve got the pills on deck, who wants some pills?’ Inside of a public place. Do that in Mount Clemens. Do that in Grosse Pointe. Do that in Dearborn. Even if they were drug dealers there they wouldn’t have the balls to do that. Because the policing authority there has respect. But this is the mindset in Detroit, and the only way to clean up crime here. Raiding these drug houses is a step, don’t get me wrong, but you have to educate these people. You have to show them that this particular thinking is wrong. [302] Gas station owners were not the only ones dealing with the risk of victimization. Participant #207 a financial consultant and #311 an electrical technician both expressed their concern about the risk of victimization and how it influenced their decisions on the jobs they could take and in what parts of the city. Participant #601 who operated a transportation business gave an account 104 of a non-fatal shooting in which one of her rentals went ‘terribly wrong’. This was an incident involving shots being fired with the police taking a long time to arrive at the scene of the crime and also at the hospital afterwards. A group that was going to a local bar were involved in an altercation inside the bar: They came out of the bar and they were shooting. They were shooting at our passengers. You know in an altercation like that you tend to run for your vehicle, run to the vehicle that brought you. We had this large amount of people running towards the bus. The passengers were shot and our driver rushed them all to the hospital and this was like a kind of ambulance. [601] A white bar owner in the Midtown area also had experiences with theft. He talked about a guy suspected of stealing their crates. The guy was confronted one day with a crate in his hands and asked if he was stealing the crates. The business owner pulled out a pistol and exclaimed, ‘Are you sure you want to steal our crates?’ The guy dropped the crate and ran away. [603] In terms of crimes against customers, a Chaldean business owner in the Osborn neighborhood talked about the security of his parking lot. He had to hire a full-time security guard to protect his patrons’ vehicles because so many catalytic converters were being stolen [101]. His employees were also victims of robberies on their way to and from work, which was another theme that emerged during the interviews. It seemed that the risk of robberies perpetrated against employees during their commute or while waiting at bus stops was a concern. The barber school owner described an experience of a robbery while he was at his business: I got robbed one morning when I was opening up. I opened the safe and he tell me come on let's go. He takes me and he puts me (in) the basement. Now I'm thinking I'm gonna get shot. He takes me to the basement and going into the basement there's a big steel beam that we put on the door at night, so if somebody comes into the basement from the outside, they couldn’t get upstairs. And I’m saying, shit I’m gonna get killed. [401] Participant #401 experienced another armed robbery sometime afterwards: ‘We open at 9 o'clock and at 9 o'clock some guys came in and took the cash register and they didn't hurt anybody, just 105 took the cash register’ [401]. An Iraqi owner of an auto repair shop in the East Side was also concerned about the risk of victimization. He indicated that one of his closest friends, also a business owner, was shot and killed while taking a bag of credit card receipts to the bank. The perpetrator thought it was a bag of money: ‘He was killed for nothing. People get killed for shit like that [303]. Ever since then he changes cars whenever he goes to the bank. His cousin who owned three gas stations (Two in the East and one in the West), said that his businesses had been robbed by men carrying AK 47s possibly about fifteen times [304]. He was frustrated about constantly being targeted. At one time he owned seven businesses in Detroit but was forced to sell three of them because of the difficulty in getting employees to stay. He carried a gun in his belt for protection which was sometimes quite visible. When asked about a solution to the problem of victimization he suggested that all law-abiding citizens should be carrying guns, however, his cousin who sat close by during the interview strongly believed that more guns were not the answer. He believed that people in Detroit needed to be educated about right and wrong and showed a better way to live. A Lebanese owner of an auto repairs shop also had experiences with crime in the vicinity of his business. He described one incident in which a shooting had occurred when a guy came into his business with a gun looking for a place to hide. He sternly instructed the man to leave and fortunately he left without incident. When asked how he copes with the threat of violence he responded by saying, ‘I just focus on me.’ [306]. An East Side gas station owner from Jordan was also fed up of the violence and having to be constantly on the alert for con-artists and shoplifters: ‘If I could put this business on wheels, I would push it to another city [310]. A White business owner who operated a construction business on the West Side expressed similar views: ‘This nonsense would not be tolerated in any other city.’ [203] 106 Some business owners also experienced violence and the threat of violence from customers. The gas station owners in particular talked about the retaliation they experienced when they stopped selling loosies (Loose cigarettes). Some customers expressed their disapproval by destroying property, particularly the vehicles in the parking lot. Participants #305 and #304 indicated that customers seemed to forget that they were no longer selling loosies. Their forgetfulness may have something to do with the fact that they were often drunk or high. During a night shift a customer came in and broke everything inside the store owned by participant #305. When he came from behind the counter to clean up, the perpetrator came back and seized the business owner’s shotgun and tried to shoot him. They wrestled for a few minutes as the perpetrator tried to shoot the business owner. Eventually, the perpetrator left with the weapon. A close relative advised him not to put his life at risk like that again and that he should stay behind the counter even if they break everything. Vandalism, theft and the hiding of illegal drugs in store shelves were frequent incidents reported by gas station owners. Participant #302 described an incident of vandalism that he found extremely discouraging: I just remodeled my store four or five days ago, I spent $80,000. I changed my islands, we bought nicer pumps gave it a fresh paint job, gave it a nicer look. Not considering my neighborhood behind me is half gone. And I woke up this morning I just spent a half hour, someone spray painted my pump, spray painted the new cement slab we just put in...Spray painted all the pumps, I just spent a half hour right before you came in washing the spray paint off. I mean like, I got kinda discouraged. Like here I am trying to better this place so people feel safe, feel welcome and hopefully attract a nicer crowd and you gotta wake up to that stuff. [302] This captures the ongoing frustration of property damage and the helplessness that business owners experience. Participant # 310 expressed that these problems clearly reflect the failure of the police: The customer says oh you snitched on me, it’s that same thing that these neighborhoods have. Reason why we fear retaliation is because our cars sit outside like ducks. And most of the time I don’t personally have the problems but I hear stories. I have cousins that 107 own businesses all over Detroit, busted windows flat tires from these customers that are upset with you. But if we had a strong policing authority, and the customers know this, he’s more likely to opt out of doing certain things in our businesses or even in their own neighborhoods. [310] Again, this participant echoed the sentiment of police failures which were causing the crime problem to escalate. The use of counterfeit bills by customers was another common problem. The owner of several successful businesses on the East Side, [309] including a liquor store and a cell phone store, gave an account of a customer who paid for items with a fake $100 bill. The rule is that business owners are not supposed to return counterfeit bills, so he held on to it. However, the customer retaliated by pulling out a gun and pointed it at him. He then proceeded to destroy the store. Incivilities such as these were experienced by other business owners in the sample. The participant called the police at 8 pm but they did not come until 12 midnight: ‘The guy threatened to come back and kill me when I got off work.’ He asked the police for protection but they refused. They suggested that he park his car out front. He asked the police if they would take him to his car but the answer was no: ‘If the guy came again, I would give him back the fake $100 bill and he could get 100 more from me…if I don’t give him, maybe he kill me…it’s not worth it.’ Concerns about the safety of family members A Yemeni business owner who was recently married indicated that he would never bring his wife anywhere close to his business [305]. He was afraid for her safety and also afraid that she would be disrespected by some of the customers. She was also concerned about his safety. She asked him not to work at the gas station anymore and asked him to consider working in a restaurant instead. She was particularly concerned after a drive-by shooting occurred outside the business. He stated that he kissed his mother before leaving home every day saying he might not 108 be coming back because of the threat of crime. When asked why he chose to continue with the business he responded that he needed the money to pay for his wedding. During a follow-up visit he was working the cash register, and he showed me his shotgun which he had leaning against the wall in plain view of the customers. He said it was there as a deterrent. The owner of a movie theatre in the North East indicated that he was concerned about the safety of his girlfriend: ‘I’m always telling her to call me when you’re here and make sure I know when you get close so I can meet you in the parking lot…At night it’s a different animal you know everyone always says don’t stop at red lights and stuff like that. It’s just to be aware of what’s going on’ [101]. Another business owner on the East Side said that he constantly thinks about the safety of his family because of the reputation of the ‘dirty east.’ Yet, another participant who owned a liquor store on the West Side stated that he parks five blocks away from his house because of concerns about being targeted by criminals [501.1]. This is the reality that many of the participants face daily. Legal cynicism and the performance of city officials All of the interview participants expressed varying degrees of displeasure with the performance of city officials. Arab business owners were the most cynical toward city officials. They were tired of the many trips to City Hall they had to make and having to pay thousands of dollars in taxes and fees with so little to show for it. Their frustrations with public officials seemed to reflect a general framework of disillusionment with authority figures in the city: ‘I’m not just talking about the police. I’m talking about politicians. People in leadership positions within society, elected officials. I’m talking about governance, local government and of course the police are very much a part of that’ [305.1]. 109 The findings from interviews with business owners such as #301, #305.1 and #503.3 highlighted the level of empowerment of some immigrant business owners and their desire to have an influential voice in the city (These participants clearly possess low power-distance beliefs). They were seeking a united voice to express their concerns to city authorities. Several business organizations were being established to represent different districts around the city such as the Osborn business association, the South West business association and the Lebanese association. These organizations were formed to address the common concerns of business owners with a goal of enhancing and revitalizing business communities and engaging with city authorities. There was evidence of strong ethnic niches within the Chaldean, Lebanese and MuslimIraqi communities to support these common interests. On the other hand, there were a few Middle Eastern participants such as the business owner from Jordan #310, and a business owner from Yemen #305.1, who seemed disconnected from their ethnic communities. Both indicated that they were not involved in business associations and #310 stated that other Arab business owners did not provide him with much support. When asked about this he indicated that it might be because he is from Jordan and there are ‘so few of us.’ An additional theme was the belief that city officials were not doing enough to support small businesses. In fact, many believed city officials were doing the opposite through the austere requirements for business licenses. Participants in the most dilapidated areas talked about their efforts to grow their businesses and the fact that city officials were rejecting most of their ideas, despite their community-oriented strategies. One owner of a fast food franchise on the West Side indicated that he had been let down repeatedly by the city. Participant #301 also lamented: 110 For two years in the city of Detroit you go down there and they talk to you like a piece of crap. Every time we do something they shoot it down, oh this is too much. One at the zoning board, at the zoning hearing said ‘It’s too overwhelming.’ And I had a question, overwhelming? How overwhelming? Are we overwhelmed by all the abandoned houses? And there’s a middle school right behind us and children get out of school and they have to walk by ten abandoned homes or they rather walk by a fresh produce market they can come into with their family, and a complete stop in this whole entire area. Yes, this was a gas station, we wanted to open up an urban gas station to have all fresh vegetables and so on and so forth for people to come like a destination neighborhood…and to pull the whole neighborhood together, overwhelming how? And you spend so much money on planning and they keep shooting it down [301] Many business owners were also concerned about the challenging business compliance requirements and inspections: ‘Why do we have to pay to build a $30,000 wall for kids to come and paint it, and now it looks ugly? Why can’t we put trees instead?’ [301]. He was frustrated that his plans were rejected repeatedly, despite the fact that he had an urban planner from a local university assisting with his presentation to the City Board. Regarding business licenses, participants were daunted by the many hoops they had to jump through in order to get approvals. Most believed the multiple inspections were unnecessary, and there were complaints about high and often unreasonable property taxes: ‘There are too many pockets in Detroit,’ said one business owner [304]. Another participant expressed his frustration about being made responsible for taxes on a property going back ten years before he purchased it: ‘Before I bought the business, if someone told me that I have to pay an additional 70 or $80,000 in property taxes, I would not buy it. Why would I want to do that? Or to go through inspection after inspection after inspection?’ [301] He also complained about the treatment he received from members of the fire department regarding their yearly inspections: You should see the fire department guys when they come in here, how they talk to us. They take $50,000 a year for a one time visit, and they talk to us like we’re pieces of crap. They didn’t even show up for the last 3 years, and they send us bills for the last 3 111 years…Just because they pushed some numbers and they say hey you owe us $30,086. No you didn’t forget to bill me, you never showed up. [301] Confidence, fairness and dealing with negative stereotypes Several Middle Eastern business owners were unhappy about unfair perceptions and stereotypes. For example, one barber shop owner (#401) indicated that Chaldeans and others from the time they first arrive in the US do not pay taxes for seven years. He said that after seven years they transfer the title of their businesses to relatives who have recently arrived and are able to avoid taxes for another seven years. This opinion plays into the narrative that Middle Eastern business owners are parasites in black urban neighborhoods, taking advantage of the working class and running ‘dirty’ businesses. This is linked to the perspective that these business owners do not re-invest in the community and also take away jobs from U.S. born residents: ‘African Americans don’t like for anybody of other ethnicities or cultures to be in the Detroit area. They feel they are here taking their jobs and taking their money’ [501]. In response such perspectives a Lebanese business owner said sarcastically: ‘Somewhere down the line someone said. Hey well, all you guys come to this country and you don’t pay any taxes. Well I wish. I wish that was true, I really do’ [101]. Another participant responded to this directly and said: That’s a myth. That is a myth. I just paid the state of Michigan about 4 grand today...And the city of Detroit, about $7,500 for licenses. It is a lot of money, that’s why I said earlier most of these small businesses, that are barely making it or on the verge, are going to exit the market. Now you have abandoned houses and abandoned businesses. And this is tax revenue that the city of Detroit really needs at this point in time with their current financial status. [301] Another participant responded to the negative perceptions from customers which also play into the prejudicial narrative on Middle Eastern business owners: Some of these customers, with all due respect to race and things like that, they come in and they automatically think you came here rich and you have preferred treatment. They also talk about the myth where we don’t pay taxes for 7 years. What they fail to realize is 112 I’m a product of Detroit Public Schools. I was born and raised in this country. My father came here in 1969 worked at Chrysler Motors, retired from there after 36 years. I started in Detroit Public Schools…I’m just like anybody else in this country. I might have an accent, but I was born and raised here. [305] In addition, there was the issue of ‘dirty’ businesses in the city. Several participants referred to the illegal activities that take place in and around some of the small businesses in the city. It was also stated that some of these businesses were actually fronts for illegal gambling and drug activity. However, a few of the participants focused on the gas stations and indicated that many of them were hot-beds for criminality because the owners were aiding and abetting criminality. In response to this participant #302 stated: You can’t paint everyone with the same brush, I know this may sound like a cliché but it’s so true. And when someone comes and they open up a business in an area that’s really bad, I think instead of beating them with a stick give them some support, give them the tools to succeed and to turn everywhere around them maybe attractive for businesses…As opposed to making them pay all these crazy fees and making them responsible for drug sales in the area. [302] Another participant criticized the unfair focus of some police officers regarding raids on gas stations: They’re going around (The police) raiding gas stations as they show on the news. And they blame the gas station owners, ‘You’re the one who let him sit here. You’re the one who let him sit in your store, sell weed, hide his product in your shelves,’ and do this and that. And I know this for a fact, because I have a cousin down the street, about a month ago he got raided, and the guy’s a real nice guy. He’s not the type of person you know…(he’s) very nice he’ll come at you nicely, nicely and most of us fear calling the cops and here’s another reason why we fear calling the cops for fear of retaliation from the consumers. [310] He also talked about the conundrum of having to ask loiterers to stop selling marijuana outside their businesses. The police believe these incidents are a business problem. However when business owners try to handle them they are often not effective. Participants indicate that undesirables who hang around their businesses do not listen even though you speak to them over and over again: 113 We used to have a site on the East Side over and over again (we talked to them) and nobody listens. You speak to their parents it’s like speaking to a wall. You speak to their grandparents, they don’t want to listen to you. What do you do with them? You call the police, the police can’t do anything. I mean seriously what can the police do? We used to have this one site, the police station closed down, so when the 5th precinct closed down, we closed down our business. [301] In response to this conflict, participant #503.3 called for dialogue between small businesses owners and the residential community, as well as a meeting between the business community and city officials. He indicated that these misconceptions needed to be cleared up so that all can work together for the overall wellbeing of the city. However, due to all the distrust and unfavorable perceptions, added to the pressures of a struggling economy and high crime rates, the city was becoming a pressure cooker that would soon explode. Still, aside from all the criticisms and the frustrations expressed by the respondents who were interviewed, many of them indicated that they still love the city and hope that one day soon things start to turn around. The salience of race, location and type of business Race and ethnic differences Table 31 presents a number of key comparisons across race, location and type of business. The police legitimacy perceptions of Arab and Chaldean business owners toward police were less favorable than participants of other racial and ethnic groups. Participants of Middle Eastern ethnicity and/or origin generally expressed less respect for police and were less confident about police performance. It was also notable that among Middle Easterners in this study, the Arabs were less trusting of the police than their Chaldeans counterparts. While the white and black participants did express similar frustrations regarding police performance the black business owners, along with some Chaldeans, were more sympathetic about the challenges facing police in Detroit. 114 As indicated earlier, there were mixed perceptions regarding procedural justice across racial groups. However, Arab business owners were more likely to have the belief that police were not treating them with respect or making quality decisions. Also, regarding legal cynicism, Arab business owners were more cynical about the law and public agencies than all other groups in the study. Arab business owners also reported more victimizations and experienced a greater perceived risk of victimization than their counterparts of other ethnic groups. These experiences however, may have more to do with the fact that many of the Arab business owners who were interviewed were operating gas stations which clearly involved a greater risk of victimization. There were no clear racial differences in the likelihood or willingness to report crimes to the police. Business owners from all racial groups expressed that they were concerned about the effectiveness of the police and many believed that reporting crimes to the police was useless. It was also apparent that Arab business owners were not likely to assist the police in finding a suspect in cases where they feared reprisals from criminals. They were not willing to assist the police in circumstances where the police were not willing to provide them with the necessary protection from the retaliation of community members. In regard to power-distance beliefs it was assumed that immigrant business owners would have higher power-distance beliefs than their native-born counterparts. This was based on the notion that immigrants coming from Middle Eastern countries such as Iraq and Lebanon would have a differential cultural experience from Americans that would affect the way in which they viewed power relations in society. 115 Table 31: Comparisons across race, location and type of business Key Concepts Police Legitimacy perceptions Procedural Justice perceptions Legal cynicism Race/Ethnic differences Differences in location Differences in type of business Arab and Chaldean business owners viewed police less favorably than their counterparts of other racial/ethnic groups.  The Arab business owners were less trusting and less confident in police performance.  Black business owners were the most sympathetic about the challenges facing police in Detroit.  Overall there were mixed views regarding procedural justice perceptions.  However, Arab business owners were more likely to believe police were not treating them with respect or making quality decisions. Arab business owners were more cynical about the law and public agencies than their counterparts. Business owners in the more violent and disorderly areas, such as the North East and the East Side, viewed police less favorably than their counterparts in the less disorderly and comparatively safe areas, such as Midtown and Indian Village. Gas station owners and liquor store owners viewed police less favorably than all other types of business owners included in the study. Business owners in the more violent and disorderly areas were more likely to complain about uncaring or disrespectful police officers than their counterparts in other areas. Gas station owners were more likely to believe the police were not treating them with respect or making quality decisions.     116 Legal cynicism was expressed across a range of locations. Business owners in the Midtown and Indian Village areas were less cynical about the law and public agencies.  Gas station owners were the most likely to possess a cynical view of the law and public agencies. Gas station owners were particularly concerned about seemingly unfair business compliance requirements. Table 31: (cont’d) Victimizations Reporting crimes and assisting police Power-distance beliefs  Arab business owners reported more victimizations and experienced a greater perceived risk of victimization than their counterparts of other ethnic groups. (This may be due to the fact that the Arabs in the sample operated higher-risk businesses). There was no clear difference in willingness to report crimes across racial groups. However, some Arab business owners expressed that they were not likely to assist the police in finding a suspect because they believed the police were ineffective. It was assumed that immigrant business owners would have higher power-distance beliefs than their native-born counterparts. However, no differences were found. Business owners in the more violent and disorderly locations were more concerned about the risk of victimization and were more fearful of victimization than those in less violent and disorderly locations.  Locations on the East aside and the West Side in which business owners experienced a higher perceived risk of victimization were more likely to report crimes to the police. Gas station owners were less likely to report crimes or assist he police in certain contexts: The noticeable difference in their willingness to report crimes was due to the fear of retaliation from criminal elements in the community. There were no observed differences. There were no observed differences. 117  Gas station owners reported a higher frequency of victimizations than other types of owners. They also reported a greater risk of victimization and were more concerned about the safety of family members. It was expected that such immigrants would be more accepting of a separation between those who hold power in society and make decisions and ordinary persons who have no power. There was absolutely no support for this assumption in that the interview findings were consistent with the survey findings in showing that immigrant business owners do believe in having a voice in society, and have also quickly adopted American ideals about freedoms and rights. Location In regard to differences across locations, business owners in the more violent and disorderly areas, such as the North East and the East Side, viewed police less favorably than their counterparts in the less disorderly and comparatively safe areas, such as Midtown and Indian Village. Business owners in the more violent and disorderly areas, particularly in the North East, were more likely to complain about uncaring or disrespectful police officers than their counterparts in other areas. Although legal cynicism was expressed by participants across a range of locations, business owners in the Midtown and Indian Village areas were less cynical about the law and public agencies. In regard to victimizations, business owners in the more violent and disorderly locations were more concerned about the risk of victimization and were more fearful of victimization than those in less violent and disorderly locations. This was also applicable to the likelihood of reporting crimes to police which according to the results was closely associated with the perceived risk of victimization. Businesses on the East aside and the West Side where business owners experienced a higher perceived risk and fear of victimization were more likely to report crimes to the police. It is also noteworthy that there is clearly an overlap between location and 118 type of business. For example, operating a gas station on the East Side attracts a confluence of factors that could generate greater levels of legal cynicism as well as the risk and fear of victimization. Many gas stations in Detroit can be described as targets of crime and they are often disorderly in nature, and the East Side of the city is characterized by violence, disorder and incivilities. It is also noteworthy that gas stations are required to be open 24 hours a day, unlike other businesses. Therefore, if all of these challenging characteristics are combined this would lead to a much more difficult and high-risk situation for business owners to manage. Type of business Regarding police legitimacy perceptions, gas station owners, and liquor store owners to some degree, viewed police less favorably than all of the other types of businesses included in the study. Gas station owners were more likely to believe the police were not treating them with respect or making quality decisions and therefore had more unfavorable procedural justice perceptions. Furthermore, gas station owners were the most likely to possess a cynical view of the law and public agencies and were deeply concerned about apparently unfair business compliance requirements. In terms of victimizations, gas station owners reported a higher frequency of victimizations than other types of business owners, they also reported a greater risk of victimization and were more fearful about the safety of their family members. When it comes to the reporting of crimes and assisting police, as indicated earlier, gas station owners were also less likely to report crimes or assist the police in certain contexts. There was a noticeable difference in their willingness to assist the police due to the fear of retaliation from criminal elements in the 119 community. Furthermore, gas station owners’ interactions with disorderly customers were clearly much more volatile than was the case for other types of businesses in the study. Chapter Summary The interviews with business owners provided a number of interesting findings. Business owners were concerned about violent crime, illegal drugs and property crimes in the areas where their businesses were located. Their views were mixed regarding the police, but most agreed that the performance of police officers and their response time to calls for service needed to be addressed. Many business owners were concerned about disrespectful and unruly customers and most were unsatisfied with the performance of city officials. Location mattered and type of business mattered. Gas station owners throughout the city seemed to share common issues pertaining to crime, policing, interaction with customers and general issues facing the city. While gas station owners were concerned about the risk of being victims of violent crime, they were more concerned about their interactions with a small minority of abrasive and unruly customers. They were also frustrated with issues regarding business regulations and compliance. There were strong sentiments expressed about the performance of city officials and skepticism that the money collected in taxes were producing any tangible benefit for the city. In terms of types of businesses, gas station owners appeared to be the most frustrated about the decline of neighborhoods, and the environment not being conducive for operating successful businesses in the city. Some expressed the desire to leave Detroit, and others indicated that they could do a much better job with less resources than most of the elected officials and city government workers. 120 Attitudes toward the police were complex, as most business owners had respect for the institution of policing but very few had confidence in police performance, and most did not perceive police to be protecting the interests of the business community. Only five business owners, four Arab and one Chaldean, indicated that police neglect and poor treatment had anything to do with discrimination. However, fifteen business owners believed that police officers did not care about business owners. Furthermore, the Arab business owners believed that Detroit police as well as city officials did not care about Arab business owners. Perceptions of procedural justice as well as police legitimacy were very low among this group of participants. Business owners in the Midtown area and in relatively safe neighborhoods such as Indian Village, had more favorable perspectives about their personal dealings with the police. Whereas business owners in areas with more vacant buildings and higher levels of disorder possessed more unfavorable views toward police and city officials, and much more experiences with unruly customers. In regard to race and ethnicity, the Arab business owners were the most frustrated and expressed the most unfavorable perceptions of police. The Chaldeans also expressed unfavorable views with blacks and whites also unfavorable but not as passionate as their Middle Eastern counterparts. There was a noticeable difference between Arab business owners and almost everyone else, and it must be considered whether Arab/immigrant businesses owners were less favorable toward police because of race and cultural reasons, or whether this had more to do with the type of business and location. One can make a strong argument for the latter based on these findings. Although this might be difficult to test given that there might be so few non-Arab gas station owners in Detroit, the responses suggest that high-pressure situations create greater perceived risk of victimization and are likely to shape perceptions of police. The fact that gas stations are 121 also mandated to be open 24 hours a day is a factor that could add to the high stress that they experience. Furthermore, the themes that emerged in many of the Arab business owners’ responses were trust, respect and confidence. Most of them did not trust police. Most did not respect police officers (Although they respected the institution of policing). Most did not have confidence in police performance, and there were frequent complaints about the response time of police officers. Some of these participants were sympathetic to the police because they perceived the police to be short-handed and underpaid, and therefore lacking the necessary motivation. Regarding the research questions, procedural justice and police legitimacy appear to provide valid explanations for small business owners’ perceptions of the police. While distributive fairness did not appear to be influential, legal cynicism and the legitimacy of law seemed to be closely linked with their perceptions of city officials. This will be discussed further in the next chapter. Furthermore, findings from the interviews indicate that procedural justice perceptions were more influential among business owners in the more disorderly and disadvantaged areas of the city. It was particularly influential among business owners who have regular interactions with customers on the street level. On the other hand, the factors that influence the likelihood of calling the police or assisting the police appear to have less to do with perceptions of the police per se, and more to do with the risk and fear of victimization, as well as the type and location of businesses. There is a confluence of location and type of business along with the racial arrangements that exist in the urban business sector. That certain ethnic groups appear to lean toward certain types of business and certain locations, and create ethnic niches is something to be considered. Race and cultural norms appear to play a role but it must be discussed whether this research 122 design was capable of properly unraveling this complex tapestry. While procedural justice and police legitimacy theory does provide a valid explanation for attitudes toward police in this urban context, there is more to the story that is perhaps yet to be explored. All of these issues are worthy of a deeper discussion, thus, the interview findings will be integrated with the survey findings in the next chapter. 123 CHAPTER SIX: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Integration of Findings Procedural justice and legitimacy perceptions Findings from a survey and interviews with members of Detroit’s small business community provide strong support that procedural justice was closely associated with police legitimacy. Furthermore, there was reasonable support for the assumption that procedural justice perceptions are a stronger predictor of legitimacy perceptions than distributive fairness. This is a key component in the conceptual framework used in this research (See Figure 8), and there is some support for the assumption made by Cao (2011), Tyler (2002) and others that the relationship between procedural and legitimacy perceptions are consistent regardless of race, class and community context. When business owners perceived that police were treating them with respect and making quality decisions, they were more inclined to trust and respect the police. This supports the process-based models presented in prior research that suggest that individuals are more inclined to comply with the institutions that they trust (Jost & Major, 2001; Tyler, 2006; Tyler & Fagan, 2008). Legal cynicism may also play a role in attitudes toward city authorities in general, given that many business owners did not believe the law, or the agencies that exercise legal power were seeking their best interest. It was suggested that individuals are more inclined to obey the law if law enforcement agencies are viewed as legitimate (Tyler & Fagan, 2008), however, persons who are not inclined to obey certain laws may grudgingly obey for fear of the 124 consequences of disobedience. Interviews were a much more effective approach than questionnaires in unearthing this highly individualized conflict. Figure 8: Conceptual framework: Findings on business owners’ attitudes toward the police   Police Legitimacy Perceptions Procedural Justice Perceptions   Distributive Fairness Legal cynicism a Power-distance Willingness to Call the Police Willingness to Assist the Police     Type of business Race and ethnic origin Perceived risk of victimization Fear of victimization *The solid lines reflect the hypothesized relationships that were supported by the findings. The broken lines reflect weak or inconclusive relationships. a Legal cynicism emerged as an important concept in the qualitative analysis as it relates to attitudes toward public officials as well as police. 125 The findings indicate that obeying the law is not necessarily a sign of true compliance, as many of the business owners in the study found the business compliance regulations and inspections to be onerous and excessive. Yet, they complied mainly because they did not want to risk paying heavy fines and losing their businesses. Their obedience was therefore not an indication of respect but rather appeared to be driven by a rational calculation of costs and benefits. In addition, although legal cynicism perceptions toward public officials and police were salient in the qualitative findings, there was no support in the quantitative findings for the influence of legal cynicism on attitudes toward the police. This apparent disjuncture could possibly be explained by the limitations to the survey and the size of the sample which is discussed further in a subsequent section. Evidently, business owners’ perceptions of city officials were less favorable than their perceptions toward police. This was particularly the case with Middle Eastern gas station owners who had to contend with more compliance issues than other business owners due in large part to City Hall’s concerns about the notoriously ‘dirty’ and non-compliant gas stations. For these business owners in particular it seemed that the quality of treatment and the quality of police performance were of equal importance. Some participants voiced concerns about disrespectful city officials and police officers, which influenced overall attitudes to law enforcement in the city. The findings from the survey indicated that procedural justice perceptions were more salient than recent encounters with police. However, the interview findings indicated that the way respondents were treated by police mattered just as much as the outcomes of police work. This is in contrast to the assumption that police treatment of community members has a stronger effect on legitimacy than the actual outcomes of police work and the quality of police performance (Bradford, Jackson & Stanko, 2009; Sunshine & Tyler, 2003). Furthermore, the results of the 126 interviews showed that the outcomes of police work mattered a lot more than previously indicated by researchers. Although participants showed concern about the manner in which police and city authorities treated other community members, their main reference point was their personal interactions with these agencies. This explains to some degree the results of the survey which showed that when controlling for distributive fairness and contextual factors such as race and age, procedural justice perceptions remained a strong predictor of legitimacy perceptions. This was consistent with the findings from prior research that personalized perceptions of procedure would have a much stronger impact on shaping perceptions of encounters with police than distributive fairness perceptions (Tyler & Fagan, 2008). Furthermore, the results of the analysis indicate that despite cultural norms (In terms of power-distance beliefs), and despite cynical perceptions of the law and experiences of victimization, procedural justice perceptions play an important role in business owners’ attitudes. This says a great deal about the applicability of procedural justice and police legitimacy theory to the small business community in Detroit. It is also noteworthy that although attitudes toward police were the focus of this research, the results of the interviews made it clear that business owners’ perceptions of the police in Detroit cannot be properly understood without also examining attitudes toward city authorities. In other words, unfavorable attitudes toward police appear to be part of a general frame of disillusionment toward public officials. Location and types of businesses The location and type of business mattered a great deal. Business owners in the Midtown and Indian Village areas did not have to contend with the risk and fear of victimization to the 127 same degree as those in other parts of the city. These business owners also generally had more favorable perspectives about their personal dealings with the police. Furthermore, it was assumed that location would have an impact on perceptions of the police in circumstances where police were short-handed or busy with increasing rates of violent crime. The findings also suggest that location and type of business cannot be considered separately. It appears that a combination of these factors impacts the seriousness of the crime-related challenges that business owners must face on a daily basis. Gas station owners in particular seem to experience a combination of issues pertaining to crime, policing, interaction with customers and general issues facing the city. The gas station owners in the Eastern areas had many stories to tell regarding their experiences with the selling of drugs around their businesses, disorderly customers, dilapidated and desolate surroundings and a shrinking customer base due to declining residential communities. While gas station owners were concerned about the risk of being victims of violent crime, they were more concerned about their interactions with some abrasive and unruly customers. There were strong sentiments expressed about the performance of city officials and skepticism that the money collected through taxes was producing any tangible benefit for the city. However, there is no doubt that their frustrations went beyond regulations and compliance issues. They had the inherent challenge of being required by law to stay open 24 hours a day in high-risk locations, and this requirement was not applicable to any of the other types of businesses in the study. Most business owners, regardless of location and type of business, claimed to have a good overall relationship with members of their respective communities. They were also concerned about the physical environment surrounding their businesses. In fact, they used this as a reference point when arguing against business compliance regulations. Many participants 128 found it unfair that the authorities would force them to follow strict rules about their business premises while the physical area surrounding them was so deplorable. Through-out the city, businesses operate in environments that bear the signs of neglect such as abandoned buildings, and incivilities such as vandalism and prostitution. The findings suggest that these factors related to physical and social decay do matter when it comes to explaining observed racial differences in legitimacy perceptions and in perceptions of the performance of police. Researchers have suggested that people living in the same area, who happen to belong to the same racial group tend to have similar experiences and attitudes toward police (Taylor & Lawton, 2012). It is therefore no surprise that people of similar ethnicity operating similar businesses in similar locations would also have similar legitimacy perceptions. Risk and Fear of Victimization The interviews confirmed the findings of the survey regarding the risk and fear of victimization. Most business owners had serious concerns about the possibility of being victimized. The participants who had regular interactions with the public in disorderly neighborhoods had the greatest concerns. The gas station owners in particular were concerned about the threat of violence. The risk and fear of victimization were also associated with police legitimacy perceptions and levels of confidence in the police. Although procedural justice perceptions were by far the strongest predictor of legitimacy perceptions, there was some evidence to suggest that the degree to which business owners feel unsafe would influence their perceptions of interactions with police and their attitudes toward policing and police performance. 129 Business owners were also concerned about the risk of personal victimization and the safety of their family members. With many business owners functioning daily in high-risk situations and under the constant threat of violence, it is not surprising that there is a high rate of business closures. The findings of this study confirm the descriptions provided by urban commentators regarding concerns about crime victimizations and general public safety, less than adequate police response time to life-threatening emergencies, high business taxes, and the aggressive enforcement of business codes and regulations (Dalmia, 2013; Dudar, 2013). These issues were highlighted to a much greater extent in the interviews than the survey. Race and Culture Regarding race, prior research indicates that the black community members who live in depressed urban neighborhoods are more likely than their white counterparts to question the legitimacy of the police (Huq, Tyler & Schulhofer, 2012; MacDonald et al., 2007; Taylor & Lawton, 2012). However, the results of this study suggest that their perceptions may be more complex, particularly in regard to black business owners. While African Americans and whites generally expressed similar views in this study, white business owners in some cases were more frustrated about crime and policing in the city than their black counterparts. It is also interesting that some of the black respondents were more sympathetic toward the police than business owners of other racial and ethnic groups. The results indicate that race and culture do play a role in attitudes toward the police. However, it is not clear to what degree they impact legitimacy perceptions and there is still a need for more research on these issues. These findings may be contextual, in that, all urban black communities may not respond in the same way to similar policing approaches. Furthermore, black business owners may be 130 more empowered than disadvantaged black residents, and this difference will inevitably play a role in the way police are perceived. Although this question was outside the scope of this study, it is possible that the views of the successful black business owner can be contrasted with the perceptions of the typical black resident who comprise a majority of the population in the city. Furthermore, the fact that many of the police officers in the city are black may not have a positive impact on legitimacy perceptions among black residents, given the findings of prior research that black police officers were perceived to be tougher on black residents (Dulaney, 1996; Weitzer, 2000). These issues can be addressed much more extensively in future research. The Arab and Chaldean business owners in the study possessed less favorable perceptions toward the police and the city authorities than their black and white counterparts. However, this may have much more to do with location and type of business than race per se. A closer look at the Arab business owners indicates that many of them originated in Lebanon and Iraq, and many indicated that they arrived in the US as young children. They were generally not inclined to talk about their countries of origin during the interviews, and most respondents on the survey did not respond to the specific questions on perceptions of police in their native country. Thus, there was not much to work with regarding the influence of prior perceptions of policing. However, observations during the interviews revealed that for some participants communicating in English was challenging. This may partially explain why the survey response rate was so low when it comes to the gas stations and liquor stores which were targeted. Fourteen of the sixteen Arab participants in the interviews referred to the experiences of friends and family members who also operated gas stations, and many of them actually bought or inherited their businesses from family members. This indicates that there is an ethnic niche in the gas station business in Detroit. The findings were similar for the Chaldean grocery store owners, 131 as they appeared to have a thriving ethnic niche in the grocery business through-out the city. It is reasonable to assume that the main reason the Arab-Americans expressed more frustration about the city, and more stories of victimization than their Chaldean counterparts, was the fact that operating a gas station in Detroit brings a greater risk of victimization. It may be that simple. In regard to the cultural concepts examined in this study, the survey findings indicated that power-distance beliefs were associated with legal cynicism and confidence in the performance of police. However, this was not a reliable measure of power-distance as individual items were incorporated into the model to replace the composite measure. It was expected that individuals with higher levels of power-distance would not expect to have a voice in public decision-making and less inclined to scrutinize police performance. These individuals would be more accepting of the legitimacy of police and public officials. This latter point simply means that if people are not inclined to scrutinize public policy then they will not have any reason to view public officials unfavorably. However, across the survey and interview samples, respondents generally believed in communicating their dissatisfaction to the researcher. Whether this means that they all possess low levels of power-distance needs to be examined further. Still, it is reasonable to assume that as far as the immigrants are concerned, when they establish their businesses in the US they fully embrace America’s freedoms as well as its basic expectations about rights. They also do not want to be taken advantage of by governmental authorities. There may also be some differences in those who have been in the US for many years in comparison to those who have just arrived. However, no such differences were observed in this study. Prior research has not examined power-distance as it relates to business owners, however, it can be assumed that immigrant business owners are a more empowered community of immigrants than the ones typically sampled in previous studies. It is also likely that data 132 collected from a larger sample of business owners will bring clarity to this issue in terms of immigrants’ responses to authority and also in regard to the measurement of power-distance beliefs. What was also evident in the findings was that some immigrant business owners experienced racial stereotypes in their dealings with some customers and city officials. These stereotypes depict Middle Eastern business owners as opportunists who took advantage of the African American working class by establishing their businesses in disadvantaged areas, not paying taxes and raising their prices. This supports the findings in Gold (2010) regarding the perception that immigrants quickly establish their businesses and overtake the American born residents in the mobility race. The prevailing perception that they don’t re-invest in the community could explain some of the hostility between Arab-American business owners and some of their black customers. Regarding attenuated values, it was clear that many business owners were intolerant of crime yet still maintained an unfavorable disposition toward the police. As indicated in prior research the normative values of support for police seemed to be replaced by legal cynicism (Carr, Napolitano & Keating, 2007; Sampson & Bartusch, 1998). However, this was not a racial or a cultural issue per se. Furthermore, there is no evidence that minority business owners process fairness judgments any differently than their counterparts of other ethnicities. It can be argued that a cognitive landscape that is greatly influenced by crime and the perception that police are ineffective would produce cynical attitudes toward police in the minds of those who face the most difficult challenges in operating their businesses. However, it should be noted that while many business owners appeared to have lost faith in the police, and did not expect things to change anytime soon, most of them still valued the institution of policing. 133 Warner (2003) has suggested that the normative values that sustain supportive dispositions toward police can be attenuated and replaced by legal cynicism. However, the findings from this study suggest that even the most disillusioned among the business community have not yet reached the point where cynicism leads them to fully reject the moral authority of the Detroit police. Reporting Crimes to police and assisting police On the final research question regarding the factors that influence business owners’ willingness to report crimes to the police, and their willingness to assist the police, there were a number of salient factors. Firstly, the perceived risk of victimization was closely associated with the likelihood of reporting crimes to the police and the likelihood of assisting police in finding someone suspected of a crime. The risk of victimization was a much stronger predictor of reporting behavior than police legitimacy perceptions, and this held up in the interview findings. Even in cases where business owners had unfavorable opinions of the police they were still inclined to call police. As indicated earlier, the type and location of businesses do impact the degree to which the risk of victimization is perceived. In addition, the fear of victimization, and concern for family members, were emerging themes from the interviews, and it is possible that these also influence the willingness to call and assist the police. This supports the argument that the decision to assist police and report crimes to police can be a function of helplessness and the fear of reprisal from criminal elements in the community (Davis & Henderson, 2008). Furthermore, there was no evidence that negative experiences of police in immigrant business owners’ countries of origin had any influence on their willingness to assist the police. 134 Limitations and directions for future research There were several limitations to this research. Regarding the use of concurrent triangulation designs, there is a potential for bias in the interpretation of findings. With approaches that involve the recruitment of interview participants while survey data are concurrently collected and analyzed, researchers can inadvertently highlight the research subjects that best confirm the quantitative results. In this study, multiple informants in different parts of the city were used in the recruitment process in order to minimize the likelihood of such bias occurring. This of course would not eliminate the possibility of bias, however, it is believed that the strengths of this design outweigh the weaknesses. Furthermore, the snowball sampling approach provided an opportunity for meaningful exploration of this topic, as the qualitative portion of this research was intentionally used to address some of the gaps that the survey findings could not fill. In addition, the results of the qualitative analysis helped in the development of the conceptual framework. During the process of the recruitment of interview participants it became clear that the experiences of gas station owners were noticeably different from the owners of other types of businesses. It therefore became necessary to properly account for this difference in the analysis of the survey data. There may be room for bias in the feeding of knowledge between methods, but there is also an opportunity to advance knowledge given the flexibility afforded by concurrent data collection and analysis. Therefore, each method can enhance the other within a concurrent triangulation design. Another concern was the size and composition of the survey sample which may have affected the robustness of the comparisons made. A larger survey sample could potentially 135 provide stronger comparisons and more statistical power for the multivariate analysis which would impact the reliability of the conclusions. Furthermore, this may have affected the ability to robustly test assumptions such as the role of disorder and incivilities and perceptions of the neighborhood in shaping perceptions of the police. Although these relationships were not statistically significant in the analysis of the survey results, there was some evidence in the qualitative analysis that these relationships are worthy of further examination. It is also possible that there was potential bias in the survey sample due to the low response rate on the initial mailing of surveys. It is likely that the business owners who responded to the survey before follow-up procedures were implemented had more favorable attitudes toward research, and they may have been more familiar with attitudinal surveys than their counterparts who did not respond. It is also possible that the business owners who did not respond to the invitation were operating under more stressful and disorderly conditions, and would be less inclined to view the task of completing a survey as a priority. On the other hand, participants in disorderly areas were recruited with the use of informants and the completed surveys that resulted from these efforts may have compensated for some of the shortcomings of the initial survey effort. There was another limitation related to the racial distribution of business owners across different types of businesses. Given that Middle Easterners own so many of the gas stations and liquor stores in Detroit, which could be deemed as high-risk businesses, it would be difficult to make a meaningful comparison across racial groups for gas station owners or liquor store owners in Detroit. Such comparisons, could lead to a more reliable conclusion on whether Arab business owners process procedural justice and legitimacy perceptions differently than their counterparts 136 of other racial and ethnic groups. However, due to the racial arrangements of business types in the city, this may always be a challenge for researchers to overcome. One way to tackle this issue is to identify types of businesses owned by diverse racial groups that share some of the characteristics of gas stations, and then extrapolate the findings across similar businesses. For example, there may be racial diversity among fast food business owners in high crime areas that could facilitate meaningful comparisons across racial groups. The perceptions of Arab fast food operators can be compared to the perceptions of white, black, Latino and Asian fast food operators. Granted, fast food outlets may not be as high risk as gas stations, however, Arab fast food operators can be compared to Arab gas station owners to determine whether there are any similarities or common experiences between these types of businesses. This can contribute to a larger discussion on the race-related experiences of owners across different types of businesses. This of course will not ameliorate all of the challenges researchers face in studying attitudes among racial groups in urban business communities, however, it could provide some interesting comparisons across groups and types of businesses. In addition, this study presents the issue of culture as a factor to consider in the assessment of attitudes toward the police, particularly in areas where there is a significant immigrant presence. Clearly, culture is a challenging concept to measure, and there are measurement issues regarding power-distance beliefs in this study. One way in which this can be overcome is to adopt an ethnographic approach that will involve ongoing conversations and observations of business owners and their families. Observations of participants’ interactions with police and city officials will also be useful. This type of assessment will also help to uncover additional culture-related concepts that may be much more salient than power-distance beliefs, which had no noticeable significance in this study. With an ethnographic approach the 137 researcher may be able to observe cultural phenomena that participants may not have been able to properly articulate during interviews. The fact that there were so little data on participants’ prior experiences with police in their countries of origin is also a shortcoming to be considered. This impacted the types of conclusions that could be made about prior experiences with police, and also about the role of culture in shaping perceptions of the police. Most survey participants who identified as immigrants did not respond to questions related to their native countries. Many of the interview participants also declined to discuss their countries of origin, and as suggested earlier, an ethnographic approach that involves the building of trust with research subjects overtime could be a more successful strategy for learning about prior experiences and culture. Another apparent limitation is the conceptualization issue regarding the definition of procedural justice. The findings from the interviews indicate that there is a difficulty in trying to separate out the quality of police treatment from the quality of police performance. For instance, the interview participants who were frustrated about police response times were also not satisfied with the way they were treated by the police. For many of them, the non-responsiveness of police was an indicator of mistreatment or disrespect as opposed to a performance measure. Thus, confidence in police performance and police treatment were in effect the same concept from the respondents’ standpoint. Furthermore, it is possible that the survey question which serves as Item #1 in the procedural justice scale – Detroit police officers treat people with dignity and respect, could better reflect confidence in police than procedural justice. Future research can benefit from the use of confirmatory factor analysis to explore the suitability of procedural justice measures, as well as measures for the other concepts in the study with low alpha scores such as distributive fairness and legal cynicism. Gau (2014) seeks to address some of the inconsistencies in the 138 measurement of procedural justice and police legitimacy, and confirms that there is a need for more research along these lines. A survey project that uses more aggressive follow-up procedures could also facilitate additional comparisons across businesses in terms of earnings and the number of employees. Latino and Asian business owners can also be included, and it is worth pursuing the possibility of comparisons at the neighborhood-level with crime data included. Such comparisons that incorporate available crime data may be able to indicate more directly the impact of crime on business owners’ attitudes and their willingness to call the police. In addition, there are opportunities for more research on the factors that influence business owners’ willingness to report crimes to the police. One of the main findings of this study was that the perceived risk of victimization was more influential than legitimacy perceptions in terms of its impact on business owners’ willingness to call the police. However, there is still a gap in the literature when it comes to the assessment of risk and how individuals determine what incidents should be reported to the police, what incidents can be handled by the community as a form of community justice, and what incidents are not worth reporting. This may be a highly individualized process when it comes to business owners who operate in challenging locales and there is potential for a great deal of research in this area. Broader Implications According to a growing body of research, the theory of procedural justice and police legitimacy presents a fairly stable explanation for attitudes toward the police across diverse groups and this is supported by the findings of this research. This study demonstrates that procedural justice models can account for experiential and contextual factors that impact 139 business owners in high crime areas. Although there are constraints to the generalizability of these findings, the study presents a conceptual framework that can be utilized in other urban settings across the US and abroad. This research also presents a case for examining the role of cultural norms and prior experiences in shaping attitudes toward the police as well as attitudes toward public officials. The findings from this study could serve as a guide to the Detroit Police Department in their efforts to improve public perceptions of the police. If business owners are losing faith in the police, the appropriate response can be to evaluate the delivery of services to the most at-risk communities and implement a plan involving business owners in community safety strategies. Furthermore, if there are systematic problems in the DPD that impact their ability to distribute resources effectively, then this must be carefully addressed by a team of police leaders, public officials and system evaluators. It would be a promising change if police were to see the importance of small businesses in urban neighborhoods, and apart from focusing on homicides and gang related violence, it would help greatly if they were to also focus on delinquency and disorder in and around small businesses. Moreover, understanding the perspectives of first and second generation immigrants in the business community may be crucial if police are to have any hope of creating partnerships with the owners of high risk businesses through-out the city. Given that most of the gas stations in the city are owned by Arab Americans, it would serve the public interest if police leaders made a concerted effort to reach out to the gas station owners in their precincts. This could be a step in the right direction when it comes to the building of meaningful police-community partnerships. 140 Such initiatives can begin with the business community and be delineated to the residential communities as well. Recent efforts by the DPD in partnering with gas station owners to prevent carjacking incidents, are an example that such partnerships are possible and this is a positive sign regarding future efforts to mobilize small business owners in general (Williams, 2014). These types of initiatives have the potential to influence levels of crime and disorder, but they can also result in more favorable perceptions of police. Furthermore, it is in the city’s best interest that crime plans elicit partners from the business community who have their eyes on the street and are also strategically located to make a difference in the city. Business owners will also feel much safer if they believe that the local police, as well as city officials, are engaged with the community and concerned about business safety. As with prior studies on community-oriented policing, there is a need to increase officer courtesy and their willingness to listen in their encounters with members of the public. Studies in this area have also reflected the ongoing dilemma that the neighborhoods most in need of enhanced community policing strategies often have the least resources as well as the most significant challenges (Skogan, 1992). In these communities, it is often difficult to mobilize community members in the most crime-ridden and disorderly neighborhoods to take ownership of their living spaces, and it is unclear whether police in partnership with business owners can make a difference in community mobilization. However, based on suggestions made by Bursik and Grasmick (1993), it is important to build on the few existing institutions and resources rather than focusing on attempts to create new ones. Existing small businesses are indeed a largely untapped resource for the amelioration and development of problem neighborhoods. It is also clear that targeted delinquency reduction strategies to enhance legitimacy perceptions must be addressed simultaneously. 141 Directed police patrol in high crime areas is another approach to be considered. Studies have found that such patrols that include an emphasis on courteous and respectful policing, were associated with increased citizen support and reduced violence (Chermak, McGarrell & Weiss, 2001; McGarrell, Chermak, Weiss & Wilson, 2001; Sherman & Rogan, 1995). Police leaders should also be mindful that aggressive policing measures will have a more positive impact on business owners than regular community members. In fact, they may have a negative effect on residents. Therefore, police should ensure that targeted approaches that keep lines of communication open with community members are used. It can make a difference in public perception if residents are regularly updated by the police themselves on what they aim to accomplish and the ways in which they plan to minimize harmful encounters with citizens (Uchida & Swatt, 2013). City officials can be a part of these efforts, and may consider organizing community meetings with small business owners, and other groups, to hear their concerns and build trust and confidence in city authorities. The question of advertising a career in policing to potential recruits form the Arab and Chaldean communities could also be something worth exploring. Furthermore, it would be helpful if local officials are transparent about the availability of resources for implementing programs to support business activity and creating incentives for new entrepreneurs. The police could also be encouraged to be transparent about limited police resources, the inefficiencies of the past and the reasons for their lack of effectiveness in preventing crime. It is possible that the willingness to be transparent and to have a frank and open dialogue with the business community could go a long way in creating future partnerships for the benefit of the city. The Detroit Future City initiative, moreover, which comprises a partnership that is 142 geared toward the revival of the city has targeted a number of employment districts throughout the city (Sivakumar, 2014), and can also consider incorporating small businesses in their development plans. These initiatives can involve police leaders at every stage in order to properly address safety concerns particularly in the most high-risk communities. Purposeful interactions between police and small business owners are crucial to the survival of business activity and the development of urban neighborhoods. If small business owners of all ethnic groups have a stake in their communities and believe that police officers are making quality decisions, this bodes well for the efficacy of future crime prevention plans. 143 APPENDICES 144 APPENDIX A: TABLES Table 32: OLS Regression models on police legitimacy with interaction term – Middle Eastern x Type of Business (n = 63) Model 1 Model 2 Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients b β SE T Sig. 24.311 .151 Constant 2.409 .099 Middle Eastern -.225 .157 -.188 -1.432 .000 Type of Business -.261 .206 -.167 -1.269 .988 Constant 2.345 .094 -24.911 .144 Middle Eastern -.051 .156 -.042 -.326 .207 Type of Business .855 .394 -.546 -2.170 .624 Interaction term -1.460 .451 -.860 -3.241 .362 *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001 a Individual level measures were used. 145 Table 33: OLS Regression on police legitimacy with interaction term along with theoretical variables, and controls (n = 63) Unstandardized Coefficients b SE Constant .740 .452 Procedural justice .788 .116 Distributive fairness a .028 Legal cynicism a Standardized Coefficients β T Sig. 1.638 .108 .799 6.782 .000 .076 .031 .365 .716 .124 .080 .129 1.541 .130 Power-distance a -.140 .084 -.189 -1.664 .102 Risk of victimization -.040 .097 -.039 -.409 .684 Fear of victimization -.067 .075 -.086 -.896 .375 Middle Eastern .037 .122 .031 -.163 .761 Num. years business .002 .005 .032 .305 .722 Ever been robbed .016 .104 -.014 .155 .877 Type of business .455 .286 .292 1.592 .118 Interaction term -.523 .360 -.310 -1.454 .152 R2 *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001 .704 a Individual level measures were used. 146 Table 34: OLS Regression on police legitimacy with controls including Neighborhood ID and Disorder & Incivilities (n = 63) Unstandardized Coefficients b SE Constant .222 .527 Procedural justice .774 .113 Distributive fairness a .020 Legal cynicism a Standardized Coefficients β T Sig. .422 .675 .816 6.851 .000 .075 .023 .261 .795 .074 .082 .129 .897 .374 Power-distance a -.140 .083 -.189 -1.693 .097 Risk of victimization -.098 .095 -.039 -1.025 .311 Fear of victimization -.058 .074 -.086 -.787 .435 Middle Eastern -.003 .118 .031 -.021 .983 .002 .004 .032 .501 .619 Ever been robbed -.067 .104 -.014 -.644 .523 Type of business -.091 .169 .292 -.538 .593 Neighborhood ID .201 .129 -.310 1.554 .127 Disorder & Incivilities .110 .069 .144 1.601 .116 Num. years business R2 *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001 .715 a Individual level measures were used. 147 Table 35: OLS Regression models on willingness to report crime to the police with the interaction term – Middle Eastern x Type of Business (n = 63) Model 1 Model 2 Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients b β SE T Sig. 20.560 .000 Constant 4.079 .198 Middle Eastern -.689 .315 -.289 -2.189 .033 Type of Business .122 .412 .039 .295 .769 Constant 4.030 .202 19.919 .000 Middle Eastern -.557 .335 -.234 -1.663 .102 Type of Business .970 .846 .311 1.146 .257 Interaction term -1.110 .968 -.328 -1.146 .256 *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001 a Individual level measures were used. 148 Table 36: OLS Regression models on willingness to assist the police with the interaction term – Middle Eastern x Type of Business (n = 63) Model 1 Model 2 Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients b β SE T Sig. 22.639 .000 Constant 4.141 .183 Middle Eastern -.650 .290 -.295 -2.238 .029 Type of Business .027 .380 -.009 .071 .944 Constant 4.091 .186 21.994 .000 Middle Eastern -.512 .308 -.232 -1.664 .101 Type of Business .909 .778 .315 1.168 .247 Interaction term -1.155 .890 -.369 -1.297 .200 *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001 a. individual level measures were used. 149 APPENDIX B: SURVEY INSTRUMENT AND CONSENT FORM Dear Participant, I am inviting small business owners to participate in a survey conducted by researchers from the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University that seeks to increase knowledge about attitudes towards the local police and violent crime. This survey is part of a research study that will evaluate the attitudes and experiences of small business owners and police officers, with the goal of increasing knowledge of police-community interactions and reducing victimizations. The study will help us to identify strategies for supporting and encouraging business activity in the city and your participation will make the results of the study much more valuable. Because you will be asked about your personal experiences with crime and your encounters with police, we are making the survey anonymous. Please be assured that we are not interested in linking answers to a person’s identity, and we are not targeting you specifically to participate in this research project. You have been chosen due to the location of your business in a district that is of interest to the researchers. Participation in this study is completely voluntary. In order to maintain anonymity, we ask that you do not write your name anywhere on this questionnaire. There are no foreseeable risks or discomforts from participating in this research study. Your answers will provide us with valuable insight into the relationship between the police and small business owners. You will not directly benefit from your participation in this study, but we believe the results will help to improve police-community relations and encourage the development of community partnerships for future crime prevention. The questionnaire will take approximately 20 minutes to complete if you decide to participate. Most questions can be answered by a simple checkmark. Participation is voluntary, you may choose not to participate at all, or you may refuse to answer certain questions or discontinue your participation at any time without consequence. The completed questionnaires will be kept for a minimum of three years after the project closes. They will be locked securely in a filing cabinet in the office of the principal investigator. Only the researchers and the Institutional Review Board (IRB) will have access to the original data records. Regarding the results of the study, the IRB along with several social science-related agencies that publish this type of research will have access to the documented results of our analysis. Your confidentiality will be protected to the maximum extent allowable by law, and it will not be compromised by the published results of our study. If you have concerns or questions about this study, such as scientific issues, how to do any part of it, or to report an injury (i.e. physical, psychological, social, financial, or otherwise), please contact the researchers: EDMUND F. MCGARRELL, Ph.D 560 Baker Hall, Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824 150 Email: mcgarrel@msu.edu Phone: 517-355-2192 OR VAUGHN J. CRICHLOW School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University 655 Auditorium Road, Room 140 Baker Hall, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824 Email: crichlow@msu.edu Phone: 517.353.5011 If you have questions or concerns about your role and rights as a research participant, would like to obtain information or offer input, or would like to register a complaint about this study you may contact, anonymously if you wish, the Michigan State University’s Human Research Protection Program at408 W. Circle Drive, 207 Olds Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824, 517-3552180, or irb@msu.edu. If you wish to participate, you can indicate your voluntary agreement to participate by beginning this questionnaire. I thank you in advance for your consideration. Sincerely, Vaughn J. Crichlow 151 SECTION I. ATTITUDES ABOUT THE POLICE. How accurately do these statements reflect your personal attitudes toward Detroit police officers? Because there are no correct answers we want you to evaluate yourself as honestly as possible. Please mark your response with an X. 001. Overall, the Detroit Police Department is a legitimate authority and people should obey the decisions that Detroit police officers make.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 012. I should accept the decisions made by police, even if I think they are wrong.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 013. I should do what the police tell me to do even when I don’t understand the reasons for their decisions.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 014. I trust the leaders of the DPD to make decisions that are good for everyone in the city.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 015. People’s basic rights are well protected by the police in Detroit.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 016. Detroit police officers treat people with dignity and respect.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 017. Detroit police officers treat people fairly.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 018. Detroit police officers take the time to listen to people.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 019. Detroit police officers explain their decisions to people they deal with.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 0110. Detroit police officers provide better services to wealthier citizens.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 0111. Detroit police officers give minorities less help because of their race. 152  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 0112. I have confidence in the ability of Detroit police officers to protect me from crime.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 0113. I have confidence in the ability of Detroit police officers to prevent crime.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 0114. The Detroit police do their job well.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 0115. In my most recent encounter with the Detroit police I was treated with respect.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 0116. I am generally pleased with the outcomes of my interactions with the Detroit police.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree SECTION II. ATTITUDES ABOUT THE LAW AND THE AUTHORITIES. How accurately do these statements reflect your own personal attitudes towards the law and people in positions of authority? Please mark your response with an X. 0117. People in power use the law to try to control people like me.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 01 0118. The law does not protect my interests.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 0119. There should be established ranks in society with everyone occupying their rightful place regardless of whether that place is high or low in the ranking.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 0120. Even if a person believes that he/she has been treated unfairly by the police, it would be disrespectful to complain to the authorities.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 0121. People are better off not questioning the decisions of leaders and people in authority. 153  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 0122. Government officials are superior to average citizens.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 01 23. Communications with the authorities should always be done using formally established procedures.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree SECTION III. COOPERATIVE BEHAVIOR. In the neighborhood where your business is located, how likely are you to assist the police in the following situations? Please fill in the blank with the number that best represents your opinion on a scale of ‘1’ to ‘5’. (1 = Not likely at all; 5 = Very likely). 0124. How likely would you be to call the police to report a crime that occurred at your place of business? _____ 0125. How likely would you be to help the police to find someone suspected of a crime if you had some information about the crime? _____ 0126. How likely would you be to report dangerous or suspicious activity in the community where your business is located? _____ SECTION IV. PERCEIVED RISK OF VICTIMIZATION. How likely are the following events? Please mark your response with an X. 0127. How likely do you think it would be for someone to break into your business while you are there?  Very Unlikely  Unlikely  Likely  Very Likely 0128. How likely do you think it is that someone who has a gun or knife would try to rob you in the area where your business is located?  Very Unlikely  Unlikely  Likely  Very Likely 0129. How likely do you think it is that someone will assault you in the area where your business is located?  Very Unlikely  Unlikely  Likely  Very Likely 154 SECTION V. FEAR OF VICTIMIZATION. How afraid are you of the following events? Please mark your response with an X.01 30. How afraid are you of someone breaking into your business while you are there?  Not at all afraid  Not Afraid  Afraid  Very Afraid 0131. How afraid are you of someone robbing you with a gun or a knife in the area where your business is located?  Not at all afraid  Not Afraid  Afraid  Very Afraid 0132. How afraid are you of someone assaulting you in the area where your business is located?  Not at all afraid  Not Afraid  Afraid  Very Afraid SECTION VI. IDENTIFICATION WITH ONE’S NEIGHBORHOOD. How accurately do these statements reflect your attitude towards the community where your business is located? Please mark your response with an X. 0133. I am proud to have a business in the community.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 0134. Things that people stand for in this community are important to me.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 0135. When someone praises the achievements of others in the community, it feels like a personal compliment to me.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 0136. Most of the people in the community respect my values.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 0137. Most of the people in the community value what I contribute to their neighborhood.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 155 SECTION VII. SOCIAL DISORDER/INCIVILITIES. How much of a problem is each of the following in the community where your business is located? Please fill in the blank with the number that best represents your opinion on a scale of ‘1’ (Not a problem at all) to ‘5’ (A serious problem). 38. Groups of unsupervised teenagers _____ 39. Loud or noisy neighbors _____ 40. Drunk driving _____ 41. Traffic congestion _____ 42. Double parking _____ 43. Speeding and reckless driving _____ 44. Public drinking ____ 45. Bad stores _____ 46. Street vending _____ 47. Fights/brawls _____ 48. Loud parties _____ 49. Hearing gunfire _____ 50. Panhandling/begging _____ 51. Prostitution _____ 52. Dumpster divers _____ 53. Public urination _____ 54. Trespassing _____ 55. Car repair on the street _____ 56. Abandoned buildings _____ 57. Abandoned cars _____ 58. Graffiti on sidewalks and walls _____ 59. Littering and illegal dumping _____ 60. Lights out, too dark _____ 61. Gun violence _____ 62. Gang activity _____ 63. Robbery _____ 64. Burglary _____ 65. Illegal drugs _____ 66. Crime in general _____ SECTION VIII. GENERAL INFORMATION. Please fill in the blank. 0167. You are years old. 0168. Your race/ethnicity is ___________________ 0169. What is your country of origin? ________________ 0170. What is your native language? _________________ 156 0171. For how many years have you been operating a business in Detroit? _______ 72. How many businesses do you operate? _______ 0173. What type(s) of business is it? (e.g. restaurant, grocery store, automotive shop) __________________________________________ 0174. How many employees do you have? ___________________ 0175. What should the city authorities do to better meet the needs of your businesses? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 0176. How many encounters have you had with local police officers in the past 12 months? _______ 0177. Has your business ever been robbed or burglarized? (Y/N) _______ 0178. How many times has your business been robbed or burglarized in the past 12 months? _______ 0179. Have you ever been the victim of an armed robbery? _______ Please mark your response with an X: 0180. Do you live in the city of Detroit? 0181. You are:  Yes  No  Male  Female 0182. What is your highest level of educational attainment?  High school  Some college credits  Completed college degree  Graduate degree 0183. Are you a citizen of the United States?  Yes  No 0184. Were your parents born in a foreign country? 0185. Were you born in a foreign country?  Yes  No  Yes  No 0186. Have you lived for more than 5 years in a foreign country? 157  Yes  No IF YOUR ANSWER FOR EITHER QUESTION #85 OR #86 IS ‘YES’, PLEASE GO ON TO QUESTION #87. IF YOUR ANSWER IS ‘NO’, THEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE SURVEY. THANK YOU. Please fill in the blanks: 0187. How old were you when you first migrated to the United States? _________ 0188. For how many years have you been residing in the United States? _________ How accurately do the following statements reflect your attitude toward police in your country of origin? Please mark your response with an X. 89. Police officers treat people with dignity and respect in my country of origin.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 0190. Police officers treat people fairly in my country of origin.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 0191. Police officers take the time to listen to people in my country of origin.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 0192. Police officers explain their decisions to people they deal with in my country of origin.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 0193. I have confidence that the police in my country of origin can do their job well.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree 0194. I trust those in authority in my country of origin to make decisions that are good for everyone in the country.  Strongly Agree  Agree  Disagree  Strongly Disagree *** THANK YOU – END OF SURVEY *** 158 APPENDIX C: INTERVIEW INSTRUMENT AND CONSENT FORM Interview consent form: The purpose of this interview is to increase knowledge on the attitudes and experiences of small business owners in crime prone areas. This interview is part of a research study that will evaluate the attitudes and experiences of small business owners and police officers, with the goal of increasing knowledge of police-community interactions and reducing victimizations. The study will help us to identify strategies for supporting and encouraging business activity in the city, and your participation will make the results of the study much more valuable. There are no known risks associated with participation in this study. I will ask you about your attitudes towards police officers and your experiences with violent crime in the city. I will ask whether your experiences with crime have impacted your daily business routines and your approach to security. I will ask about your ethnicity, cultural background and your experiences with police officers in other cities and/or countries. If you were not born in the United States, I will ask about social norms in your country of origin. Your perspective on these issues will help us to understand what policy changes are needed for law enforcement agencies to better serve the needs of business owners and residents in the city. Although you will not directly benefit from your participation in this study, your participation may contribute to the understanding of the unique experiences of small business owners and the urban policy issues that must be addressed. Before we begin, I would like to request your permission to record this interview. I want to remind you that nothing you tell me will be traced back to you, and I will use a pseudonym for you (Such as business owner #101) when I write up the results of this study. The interview will take approximately 30 minutes to complete if you decide to participate. Participation is voluntary, you may choose not to participate at all, or you may refuse to answer certain questions or discontinue your participation at any time without consequence. The records of this interview will be kept for a minimum of three years after the project closes. They will be locked securely in a filing cabinet in the office of the principal investigator. Only the researchers and the Institutional Review Board (IRB) will have access to the interview records. Regarding the results of the study, the IRB along with several social science-related agencies that publish this type of research will have access to the documented results of our analysis. Your confidentiality will be protected to the maximum extent allowable by law, and it will not be compromised by the published results of our study. If you have concerns or questions about this study, such as scientific issues, how to do any part of it, or to report an injury (i.e. physical, psychological, social, financial, or otherwise), please contact the researcher: EDMUND F. MCGARRELL, Ph.D 560 Baker Hall, Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824 159 Email: mcgarrel@msu.edu Phone: 517-355-2192 OR VAUGHN J. CRICHLOW School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University 655 Auditorium Road, Room 140 Baker Hall, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824 Email: crichlow@msu.edu Phone: 517.353.5011 If you have questions or concerns about your role and rights as a research participant, would like to obtain information or offer input, or would like to register a complaint about this study you may contact, anonymously if you wish, the Michigan State University’s Human Research Protection Program at408 W. Circle Drive, 207 Olds Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824, 517-3552180, or irb@msu.edu. If you wish to participate, you can indicate your voluntary agreement to participate by beginning this interview. I thank you in advance for your consideration. Interview questions: 1. First, tell me a little bit about yourself: What is your background? Do you live in Detroit or the Metro area (Please do not tell me your specific address)? Which of the following age-groups do you belong to? – (a) 21-30, (b) 31-40, (c) 41-50, (d) 51-60? You can choose not to respond to the following question about race/ethnicity if you have any concerns about the risk to confidentiality: Which of the following best describes your race/ethnicity? (1) Black Hispanic; (2) White Hispanic; (3) European White; (4) African American; (5) Indian; (6) Southeastern Asian; (7) Arab; (8) Pacific Islander; (9) Chaldean; (10) None of the above. If none of these categories applies to you, can you specify your race/ethnicity? (Demographics/Contextual Characteristics) What can you tell me about your family and your culture? What type of business do you operate? (Demographics/Contextual Characteristics) 2. Now that I know a little about your background can you tell me how you first started your business? Did you have the support of friends or family members? What specific advice would you give to someone who wants to start a business in Detroit? What types of businesses will have the greatest chance of success? (General business characteristics/interpersonal support). 160 3. Is there a crime problem in the area where your business is located? How would you describe the criminal activity in the community? How would you describe the perpetrators? (Perceptions of crime in the community) 4. Are you concerned about crime in the city? Have you or your family ever been the victims of crime? How concerned are you about the safety of your family and friends? Do you think racial discrimination or prejudice was involved? (Fear of crime/Victimization) 5. Tell me about your experiences with crime at your business specifically. Has your business ever been robbed or burglarized? Describe the incident(s). (Prior victimizations) 6. Tell me about your crime prevention concerns. Would you describe violent crime as a serious problem facing small businesses in the city? Have you made any changes or improvements to the security arrangements of your business in the last 12 months? For instance, have you implemented store-operating procedures such as a two-clerk policy, cash-handling etc? Have you incorporated any target hardening procedures such as maintaining access to a minimum amount of cash, silent alarms, video surveillance or armed security guards? Can you suggest any changes in environmental design such as internal and external visibility that might reduce the number of victimizations against small businesses? (Situational crime prevention) 7. In your experience, what are the most effective security measures and crime prevention approaches for small businesses in Detroit? What can police do to assist small business owners with their crime prevention needs? (Security approaches and police support) 8. Describe your interactions with your customers. Do you have a loyal customer base? Have you ever had a negative experience with members of the community where your business is located? (Business owner-community interactions) 9. Have you ever experienced racism or discrimination in your community? If yes, please describe your experiences. (Racial conflict) 10. Describe the physical area where your business is located. Is the area comprised of the following signs of disorder? – abandoned buildings, graffiti, littering and illegal dumping? What about neighborhood incivilities and signs of law-breaking? – such as reckless driving, fights and brawls? (Social disorder/Incivilities) 11. Have you ever reported crimes to the police? Were you satisfied with the outcome of the report or investigation? How would you rate the performance of the police in Detroit? How frequently do you speak to the police? Tell me about your encounters with the police in the last 12 months. Were these encounters positive or negative? Are you 161 confident in the ability of the police to reduce crime? (Satisfaction with police performance/Confidence in the police) 12. Do you trust the local police? Are you confident that the local police are serving your best interest? Do the police treat you with respect? Do the police treat everyone in the community with the same respect? Do the police treat everyone with fairness? How would you define fairness? (Procedural justice/Distributive fairness) 13. Tell me about your attitudes towards the police during childhood. What did you learn about policing from your parents, family members and friends during your childhood? If you are not a native of the United States, describe your experiences with police in your country of origin? (Pre-existing attitudes towards the police) 162 APPENDIX D: IRB APPROVAL 163 REFERENCES 164 REFERENCES M. P. Allen (1997). Understanding regression analysis. Springer. Bachman, R., & Paternoster, R. (2009). 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