Minority threat and police strength: an examination of the Golden State

This cross‐sectional study examined the relationships between indicators of law enforcement spending, police strength, and minority threat in California in 2004. Controlling for economic conditions, crime, and indicators of social disruption we find that counties with higher populations of American Indians, Asians, or blacks and non‐English speakers employ a greater number of sworn officers, or have increased spending on law enforcement. Further, this study also revealed that counties with less ‘white flight’ were likely to have a greater number of sworn officers. Implications for the study of formal social control, conflict theories, and policing are outlined.