NCJ Number
177900
Journal
Journal of Crime and Delinquency Volume: 36 Issue: 2 Dated: May 1999 Pages: 175-193
Date Published
1999
Length
19 pages
Annotation
Using Israeli data, this article explores the differences between Arabs and Jews regarding the decision to close juvenile criminal files rather than to prosecute.
Abstract
Three hypotheses were tested. The first argues that differential outcomes are the result of group differences in social background characteristics. The second argues that differential outcomes are the result of group differences in crime seriousness and the degree of previous crime involvement. The third hypothesis examines whether different criteria are applied to different ethnic groups in the decision to dismiss a case. Data included all the juvenile files that were opened in 1995 in Israel. A total of 5,735 files were opened, including 3,030 property offenses, 1,992 offenses against the person, and 723 offenses against public order. A number of explanatory variables were used in the study: age, nationality, occupation, family criminality, and prior convictions. The findings show that Arab youths faced a greater chance of standing trial than Jews, even after some sociodemographic and some legal variables were controlled. The less serious the offense, the more likely were law enforcement officers to use particularistic criteria to apply to one group only. This resulted in disparities in file closure. In the case of property crimes and to some extent crimes against the person and public order, different, particularistic criteria, such as age and school attendance, were applied only to Jewish juveniles, which increased the probability their files would be closed. 6 tables, 3 notes, and 25 references