In American society, Blacks are strongly associated with criminality.  This association influences how both ordinary citizens and police officers will perceive and analyze the stimuli they encounter.  Face stimuli, in particular, play a critical role in the association of Blacks with criminality.  Not only are Black faces thought to look more criminal than White faces, highly stereotypical Black faces are thought to look most criminal of all.  Furthermore, the association of Blacks with criminality may inform decisions about where and how to look.  For example, thinking about crime may alert perceivers to Black faces more so than thinking about other matters.  The mere presence of a Black face may enhance perceivers’ ability to detect degraded images of crime-relevant objects.  In this talk I will present studies using multiple methods that focus on the relationship between race, crime, and visual processing.  I argue that the perception of faces is an important means through which the association of Blacks with criminality is evident and maintained.