A University professor is spearheading a project designed to evaluate a controversial immigration policy in northern Virginia.
Sociology Prof. Tom Guterbock, founding director of the University of Virginia Center for Survey Research, is leading an investigation into the impact of a Prince William County policy requiring police officers to inquire about a detained suspect's citizenship or immigration status if they have "probable cause to believe such person is in violation of federal immigration law," according to the published resolution of the policy.
Guterbock is conducting the project in conjunction with a team of sociologists, the Police Executive Research Forum and a criminologist from James Madison University. The interdisciplinary research group focusing on the policy, which went into effect March 3, also includes Assoc. Sociology Prof. Milton Vickerman, who specializes in immigration issues, and Psychology Research Prof. Karen Walker.
County Supervisor Martin Nohe said the resolution was drafted in response to public outcry about the high proportion of illegal aliens in Prince William County jails.
The Prince William County Police Department hopes to enforce the new policy in what the resolution suggests to be a "fair, lawful, and reasonable manner."
Nohe, who helped author the final resolution, however, acknowledged that the police department and Board of County Supervisors did not address all possible outcomes of the resolution before it was passed last July. Of particular concern, Nohe said, is the issue of possible racial profiling.
"We need to engage with PERF and public research institutions to look at the sociological components of the policy, determine desirable community outcomes and to make sure that we are staying on task," Nohe said.
For this reason, Guterbock, PERF and Center for Survey Research associates, who specialize in survey studies for local and state government agencies, have been called on to evaluate the impact of the immigration policy over the next 2.5 years, according to Guterbock. He and his team will investigate how the new procedures affect various aspects of crime, policy and community perceptions.
"The police department understood from the beginning that this was an important change with many potential implications," Guterbock said. "It might affect their community policing, it could affect things like recruiting minority officers and the number of reports that come in from minority groups."
Guterbock said he and his colleagues will employ a variety of investigative methods to evaluate the policy, including the surveying of police officers and county citizens, police data analysis, discussions with Hispanic focus groups and interviews with government officials.
According to Guterbock, the greatest challenge of carrying out these plans is the lack of a control group.
"There are a number of factors; it will be hard to know what are the results of this one policy," Guterbock said.
County Chief of Police Charlie Dean, meanwhile, said he anticipates the results will be telling of the policy's fairness and effectiveness.
"We want to know what we can do to improve," Dean noted. "We'll certainly look forward to what the impacts are and what the evaluation reveals"
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