Walking ATMs and the immigration spillover effect: The link between Latino immigration and robbery victimization

Raymond E Barranco; Edward S Shihadeh

doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2015.03.003

Walking ATMs and the immigration spillover effect: The link between Latino immigration and robbery victimization

Soc Sci Res. 2015 Jul:52:440-50. doi: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2015.03.003. Epub 2015 Mar 21.

Authors

Raymond E Barranco¹, Edward S Shihadeh²

Affiliations

¹ Mississippi State University, United States. Electronic address: rbarranco@soc.msstate.edu.
² Louisiana State University, United States.

PMID: 26004472
DOI: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2015.03.003

Abstract

Media reports and prior research suggest that undocumented Latino migrants are disproportionately robbed because they rely on a cash-only economy and they are reluctant to report crimes to law-enforcement (the Walking ATM phenomenon). From this we generate two specific research questions. First, we probe for an immigration spillover effect - defined as increased native and documented Latino robbery victimization due to offenders' inability to distinguish between the statuses of potential victims. Second, we examine the oft-repeated claim that Blacks robbers disproportionately target Latino victims. Using National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data from 282 counties, results show (1) support for an immigration spillover effect but, (2) no support for the claim that Latinos are disproportionately singled out by Black robbers. We discuss the implications of our findings.

Keywords: Immigration; Latinos; Race/ethnicity; Robbery; Victimization.

MeSH terms

Banking, Personal
Black or African American
Cognition
Crime
Crime Victims*
Criminals
Disclosure
Emigrants and Immigrants*
Emigration and Immigration*
Hispanic or Latino*
Humans
Jurisprudence
Law Enforcement
Social Behavior
Theft*
Transients and Migrants
United States
Walking