Prison Disproportion in Democracies: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

This article demonstrates a method to measure the extent and variation of ethnoracial disproportion in world prison populations. Using a novel data set covering eighteen democracies for the year 2016, this method shows that conspicuous ethnoracial disproportion in prisons is pervasive in democracies for which data is available. Socioeconomically marginalized ethnic and racial groups are overrepresented in the prisons of every case. Further, this pattern extends to countries known for penal progressivism, which otherwise are regarded as models of fair and rational criminal justice implementation. Correlation between prison disproportion and national socioeconomic and criminal justice characteristics suggests the complexity of the issue. A selection of single-case analyses drawn from the sample describe prison disproportion emerging under significantly varied national conditions. I discuss causal hypotheses for why ethnoracial disproportion would occur in such differing places.

Disparate incarceration rates of foreign citizens in Europe compared to Anglo‐Saxon countries

“…Davis and Gibson‐Light (2020, p. 8) proposed that a “historical legacy of historical ethnic‐based political exclusion” may be linked to inequality in incarceration. Other scholars also emphasized the marginalization and social exclusion of non‐citizens as a factor contributing to their over‐representation in prison (see, e.g., Anderson, 2022). Cultural and institutional factors, particularly overall social views of ethnic and racial minorities in the countries under study, may also have an impact (Coccia, 2019b).…”

“…First, the nature of cross‐national research increases the difficulty of studying ethno‐racial prison disparities. Different countries have different definitions and there are “differences in the extent to which national statistics include data on prisoners' ethnic and racial identities” (Anderson, 2022). Even the ways in which race and ethnicity are defined may vary across country.…”

“…However, researchers have found that socially marginalized groups are overrepresented in the criminal justice system, including prisons (see e.g., Karstedt, 2021). Anderson (2022, p.1) argues that overrepresentation of ethnic and racial groups in prisons “suggests the possibility of widespread bias in law enforcement and/or a pattern of socioeconomic exclusion”. Tonry (1997) observed that due to its uniquely punitive features, the United States is considered to have a disproportionate representation of minorities and ethnicities in prison.…”