NCJ Number
180348
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 27 Issue: 6 Dated: November/December 1999 Pages: 549-557
Editor(s)
Kent B. Joscelyn
Date Published
1999
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article examines the nature and extent of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system.
Abstract
Blacks in the United States are arrested, prosecuted, convicted and incarcerated in numbers disproportionate to their percentage of the population. One explanation is that racial discrimination against blacks pervades the American criminal justice system. This study evaluated five propositions, using data from the literature: (1) Police discretion is racially biased, resulting in higher black arrest rates; (2) The arrest setting is an example of the practice of racial bias; (3) Incarceration rate differentials indicate racial bias; (4) If racial bias does occur, racial victimization rates should not be commensurate with racial arrest rates; and (5) The "war on drugs" is biased against blacks. It found little evidence to support the allegation that the criminal justice system routinely and deliberately discriminates against blacks. Notes, references