Loading…

The Biased Enforcement of Rarely Followed Rules

We examined whether the enforcement of phantom rules-frequently broken and rarely enforced codified rules-varies by the race of the rule breaker. First, we analyzed whether race affects when 311 calls, a nonemergency service, end in arrest in New York City. Across 10 years, we found that calls from...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Personality & social psychology bulletin 2024-06, p.1461672241252853
Main Authors: Wylie, Jordan, Milless, Katlyn Lee, Sciarappo, John, Gantman, Ana
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We examined whether the enforcement of phantom rules-frequently broken and rarely enforced codified rules-varies by the race of the rule breaker. First, we analyzed whether race affects when 311 calls, a nonemergency service, end in arrest in New York City. Across 10 years, we found that calls from census blocks of neighborhoods consisting of mostly White individuals were 65% less likely to escalate to arrest than those where White people were the numerical minority. Next, we experimentally manipulated transgressor race and found that participants ( = 393) who were high in social dominance orientation were more likely to route 311 calls to 911 when the transgressor was Black (vs. White). We also explored the subjective experience of phantom rule enforcement; People of color report they are more likely to be punished for violating phantom rules compared to White people. Overall, we find evidence of racism in the enforcement of phantom rules.
ISSN:0146-1672
1552-7433
1552-7433
DOI:10.1177/01461672241252853