Differences in the Background and Criminal Justice Characteristics of Young Black, White, and Hispanic Male Federal Prison Inmates

Abstract

Research reviews reveal two dominant explanations of race as a factor in disparate imprisonment rates and treatment in the criminal justice system: (a) disparate imprisonment rates are the result of race making a difference and (b) Blacks (people of color) commit not only more crime but also more serious crimes than other groups. In most instances, the hypothesis that race is a significant factor in the existing disproportionate imprisonment rates was either suggested or undeniably supported (Blalock

Accounting for Anglo-Hispanic Differences in School Misbehavior

“…Indeed, recent federal statistics show that Hispanic males are more likely than Anglo males to be confined in detention and residential placement facilities (Roscoe & Morton, 1994). Similar patterns hold true for adults (Jackson, 1994). By virtue of living in low-income and high-crime areas, a higher involvement in gangs and violent crimes than Anglos, and an overrepresentation in the juvenile and criminal justice systems, Hispanic males are more likely than Anglo males to be exposed to same-sexed "negative" role models either in the form of a friend, relative, or person in the neighborhood who has been incarcerated and/or involved in either the juvenile or criminal justice system.…”

Skin Color and the Criminal Justice System: Beyond Black‐White Disparities in Sentencing

“…Socioeconomic status tends to influence a defendant's chance of conviction; whites tend to have access to greater educational, occupational, and financial resources than blacks and are thus advantaged in the criminal justice process (Dietz & Byrnes ; Green ). At the sentencing stage, judges often consider prior offense records when determining sentence type and length; blacks might be more likely to have longer criminal histories than whites, leading to more and longer prison terms (Peterson & Hagan ; Jackson ). Those same criminal histories, as well as behavior during the prison term, might also influence the propensity of blacks to be released on parole.…”

The Old Jim Crow: Racial Residential Segregation and Neighborhood Imprisonment

“…Socioeconomic status tends to influence a defendant's chance of conviction; whites tend to have access to greater educational, occupational, and financial resources than blacks and are thus advantaged in the criminal justice process (Green ). At the sentencing stage, judges often consider prior offense records when determining sentence type and length; blacks might be more likely to have longer criminal histories than whites, leading to more and longer prison terms (Jackson ; Peterson and Hagan ). Those same criminal histories, as well as behavior during the prison term, might also influence the propensity of blacks to be released on parole.…”