Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System

RACIAL DISPARITIES IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Relative Rate Index (RRI)

Minority RateWhite Rate

= 1 No Disparities> 1 Disparities< 1 Disparities

Source: 22nd Judicial Circuit of Missouri

The System Overview

Youth Population

Referral to Juvenile Court

Cases Petitioned(Charges Filed)

Delinquent Finding (Adjudicated))

InformalAdjustment

DetentionTransferred to Adult Criminal

Court

ProbationSupervision

Out of HomePlacement

DYS Commitment

Source: 22nd Judicial Circuit of Missouri

Referral

Informal

Adjustment

Detention

Petitioned Cases

Transfe

r to Adult C

ourt

Adjudicated Case

s

Probation Su

pervisio

n

Out of H

ome Placement

DYS Commitm

ent0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

87.6

0.91 1.08

1.98

0.621.04 0.99

0.73

1.81

Relative Rate Index concerning African Americans throughout the Juvenile Justice System

St. Louis

National [2009]

Source: National Center for Juvenile JusticeSource: 22nd Judicial Circuit of Missouri

Theories of Disparity OriginDifferential Involvement

Minorities commit more crimesSpecifically, crimes that lead further into the system

CauseSocial

SupportBoth official data and self-reports demonstrate African Americans and some Hispanics disproportionately committing serious violent crimes

Differential Selection and Processing

Police behavior and discrimination within the courts and corrections lead to disparities

CauseBiasHistorical patterns of inequalityCrime policiesDiscretion

SupportA study by Irving Piliavin and Scott Briar determined that (1) an officer's discretion, (2) the juvenile's prior record, and (3) an African American's tendency towards a negative demeanor characterized juvenile-police street interactionMixed Method

Differential involvement, important earlier on, causes initial contact with police, and thus influences differential selection later on

Source: Disproportionate Minority Contact

Disparity Index

Demographic Disparity Index

White 0.95 (-0.05)

Black 1.62 (+0.62)

Hispanic 0.81 (-0.19)

Asian 0.55 (-0.45)

American Indian 0.17 (-0.83)

Other 0.54 (-0.46)

Source: Missouri Vehicle Stops Report

2009 Vehicle Stops (Disparity Index)

Source: Missouri Vehicle Stops Report

Arrests in St. Louis

Neighborhood with highest amount of crimes in September 2012: Downtown with 1015 crimes

Crime committed the most: larceny with 697 reports

2 murders

5 rapes

70 robberies

109 aggravated assault

2 arsons

Data Provided by St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department

Murder: The willful killing of one human being by another.

Manslaughter by negligence: The killing of another person through gross negligence. Negligence: A failure to

exercise the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in a similar circumstance.

Forcible Rape: The carnal knowledge of a female body forcibly and against her will.

Data Provided by Metropolitan Police DepartmentCity of Saint Louis

Robbery: The taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care ,custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.

Aggravated assault: An unlawful attack by one person on another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated, bodily injury.


Burglary: The unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft.

Larceny-theft: The unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession of another.


Arson: Any willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn, with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, personal property of another, and the like.


Offenses concerning drug and alcohol violation include the possession, use, and sale of these substances. Some drugs are outlawed

or can only be used when prescribed by a physician.


Prostitution: The participation, or offering to participate, in sexual activity for a fee.


Officers by Race and Gender

Race White Black Other Total

Male 55.22% 27.04% 2.22% 84.48%

Female 9.23% 6.15% 0.14% 15.52%

Total 64.45% 33.19% 2.36% 100%


Convictions: What the Data Shows

African Americans are about 11 times more likely to be convicted of murder in Missouri than other races.

Data Provided by the Missouri Sentencing Advisory Commission

Conviction Data for Other Crimes In Missouri

Sentencing Differences Between Courts (2009)

Prison sentences as a percentage of all sentences: The range is from 48.8% for circuit 18 (Cooper and Pettis counties) down to

10.8% for circuit 2 (Adair, Knox, and Lewis). The average percentage is 25.6.

Shock and Treatment as a percentage of Prison and Shock and Treatment Sentences: The range is from 58.8% for circuit 2 (Adair, Knox, and Lewis) down to 10.6%

for circuit 44 (Douglas, Ozark, and Wright counties). The average percentage is 29.0.

Average Prison Sentences: St. Louis City has the highest average prison sentence with 9.0 years. Circuit 41 (Macon and Shelby), Circuit 1 (Clark, Schuyler, and Scotland),

Circuit 39 (Barry, Lawrence, and Stone), Circuit 37 (Carter, Howell, Oregon, and Shannon), and Circuit 30 (Benton, Dallas, Hickory, Polk, and Webster) have the lowest average sentence with 4.5 years.

Data Provided by Missouri Sentencing Advisory Commission

Sentencing Disparity by Race (2009) A significant indicator of sentencing disparity by race is the incarceration

rate in relation to the respective populations of Blacks, Hispanics, and other races.

The MO incarceration rate for Blacks is over 5.5 times that of other races.

Nationally, the Black rate is over 6.5 times the White incarceration rate.

The incarceration rate for Hispanics in MO is lower than for other races and is only half the national rate for Hispanics.

Blacks have the highest average prison sentence, 7.9 years compared to an average 5.9 years for Whites.

Hispanics have the highest percentage of prison sentences (34.8%) and Whites have the highest percentage of probation sentences (64.5%).

Data Provided by Missouri Sentencing Advisory Commission

Documents

Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System