NCJ Number
137714
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 20 Issue: 3 Dated: (1992) Pages: 181-200
Date Published
1992
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This analysis examined whether black and Hispanic defendants were sentenced to incarceration more often than white defendants following arrest for misdemeanor or felony crimes in New York State.
Abstract
This study modeled incarceration following arrest. It combined all case processing decisions that occurred between arrest and final disposition into an incarceration outcome variable. Defendants who were sentenced to jail or to prison were classified as incarcerated. Defendants whose cases were dismissed or adjourned or who were sentenced to probation, conditional discharge, or time served were classified as not incarcerated. The study was limited to the first arrest for each defendant arrested between January 1, 1985, and December 31, 1986. Only cases that were disposed by July 1987 are included in this report. Arrest and case processing data were obtained from the Computerized Criminal History/Offender-Based Transaction Statistics data system maintained by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. Disparity was defined as a significant difference in how often minorities and whites were incarcerated, independent of differences attributable to variation in arrest charges, prior criminal record, and county of processing. The research indicates that minorities were incarcerated more often than comparably situated whites; disparity varied by county; disparity could not be estimated from statewide totals; disparity could not be estimated by discrimination function analysis; and removing disparity in postarrest case processing would do little to reduce the concentration of minorities in jails and prisons, since most of the disproportionate rate of minority incarceration is due to arrest charge and prior criminal history. 9 tables, 13 notes, and 16 references (Author abstract modified)