Studies have been conducted to examine how crime rates are affected by a wide variety of factors. Some of these factors look at place, time, season, and climate. Other studies focus on co-offending, gender, race, and age.Nate Smith is a 23-year-old African American man who has been arrested for selling stolen goods. He claims he "was doing nothing wrong, just selling a gift someone gave him to a buddy of his." He lives in an inner-city area that has a high crime rate and a transient population. He has not been employed for the past six months and spends a lot of time hanging out on the street. This is not his first arrest. He was detained when he was 14 years old for trying to steal another kid’s iPod. He was fined and given a stern lecture by the juvenile judge. He has not been in trouble since that time.Let’s review two concepts before you make a decision about this scene.Nate Smith lives in a neighborhood that is aggressively patrolled by the police. As the neighborhood has become more populated with minorities, the arrests have increased. This situation presents an example of ___________.the assimilation dysfunctioncultural relativityrelative deprivationthe racial threat hypothesis

Sagot :

This situation clearly presents an example of the racial threat hypothesis.

The racial threat hypothesis as developed by H.M. Blalock, a sociologist:

  • argues that the police authorities perceive the black Americans as a threat to the white Americans.  
  • suggests that those who buy into this hypothesis believe that blacks must be controlled, otherwise, the whites might lose their power, wealth, and security.
  • enables the police to arrest Nate as a result of ethnic profiling.

The arrest of Nate Smith is not as a result of:

  1. the assimilation dysfunction, which enables learning the environment.
  2. the cultural relativity hypothesis, which discusses the different cultures of different societies.
  3. the relative deprivation hypothesis, which is a comparative standard for seeking similar treatment.

Thus, this scene can be explained by the racial threat hypothesis which explains one of the factors that affect crime rates.

Read more about factors affecting crime rates at https://brainly.com/question/13772436