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Between Public Service and Social Control

Policing Dilemmas in the Era of Immigration Enforcement

Bibliographic Data

ID2245100
AuthorsAmada Armenta (0000-0001-9878-0954, California University of Pennsylvania, corresponding author)
Year2016
Volume63
Issue1
Pages111-126
Publication date2016-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Problems (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0037-7791 • E-ISSN: 1533-8533
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/socpro/spv024
OpenAlexW2252733292
LanguageEN
Citations received55
References cited70

While research provides numerous insights about the fear and insecurity that Latino immigrants experience at the hands of the police, much less is known about the experiences and practices of local police vis- a ` -vis Latino immigrant residents. This article contributes to research on street-level bureaucracies and immigrant incorporation by examining police practices in a new immigrant destination. Drawing on two years of fieldwork with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, it offers an extended ethnographic look at policing dilemmas in the era of immigration control. As the findings reveal, police bureaucracies respond to immigrant residents in contradictory ways. On one hand, the department has an official community policing program to increase trust and communication with Latino immigrant residents. On the other hand, street-level patrol officers undermine these efforts by citing and arresting Latino residents who lack state-issued ID. Thus, alongside ostensibly sincere efforts to incorporate immigrant residents, ultimately, police produce a form of social control and urban discipline through their discretionary decisions.

Business · Control (management) · Criminology · Enforcement · Immigration · Law enforcement · Management · Political science · Public relations · Public service · Service (business) · Social control · Sociology · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Law · Policing Practices and Perceptions · Public Administration · Social Work

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Unique citing works55
Citations per year5,5
Citation span2016 - 2026 (11)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 53
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