A Study of the Relation of Ethnic Background to Arrests for Inebriety

Abstract

A study was made of the arrests of all male New Haven residents booked by the City Police Department during the months of January and July 1951. The study was limited to New Haven residents in order to facilitate population comparisons of the involvement of inebriety in the arrests. These comparisons, in the form of ratios and rates, are based upon the population distributed of New Haven by ethnic background and by social class. In particular, the Irish and Old American groups were compared with Italian and Jewish groups, and negroes with whites. Broadly, the results indicate a disproportionately high rate of arrests involving inebriety among Irish and Old Americans and a disproportionately low rate among Italian and Jews. At the same time, the Irish show a disproportionately low rate of arrests not involving inebriety, while the Italian group shows a disproportionately high rate. The negro-white comparison indicates a disproportionately high rate of negro arrests both for inebriety and on other charges. However, when controls for ecological social class areas are instituted, the negro rates in both categories of arrests drop considerably. The data suggest that factors from at least two different settings[long dash]subcultural ethnic groups and social stratification groups[long dash]operate to determine differences in arrest rates.