ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book explores Latino homicides in six cities, rather different venues than those studied by pioneering social scientists but ones that reflect where Latinos now reside, and the cumulative effects reveal that Latino homicides declined and did so sharply since start of this century. In a country where Latinos are now a prominent racial or ethnic group and where population shifts have encouraged new urban spirit, Latinos have established new communities, revitalized older ones and in the process reconfigured local conditions by creating presence where none existed. Relative deprivation, both to similarly situated ethnic minority groups and to conditions in the home country, also accounts for Latino homicide patterns. The notion that Latino immigrants or Latinos in general are consistently crime-prone deserves reconsideration and correction. The evidence presented in the book argues against this common assumption, with both social and criminal justice policy implications.
