racial disparities in the criminal justice system
DESCRIPTION
Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System. Relative Rate Index (RRI). Minority Rate White Rate = 1No Disparities > 1 Disparities < 1 Disparities. Source: 22 nd Judicial Circuit of Missouri. The System Overview. Youth Population Referral to Juvenile Court - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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.
Data Provided by Metropolitan Police DepartmentCity of Saint Louis
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.
Data Provided by Metropolitan Police DepartmentCity of Saint Louis
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.
Data Provided by Metropolitan Police DepartmentCity of Saint Louis
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.
Data Provided by Metropolitan Police DepartmentCity of Saint Louis
Prostitution: The participation, or offering to participate, in sexual activity for a fee.
Data Provided by Metropolitan Police DepartmentCity of Saint Louis
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%
Data Provided by Metropolitan Police DepartmentCity of Saint Louis
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