Racial Bias in Bail Decisions*

Arnold, David H.; Dobbie, Will; Yang, Crystal

doi:10.1093/qje/qjy012

Cited by 260 publications

(102 citation statements)

References 62 publications

(87 reference statements)

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“…Recent increased interest in the effects of incarceration on children has undoubtedly been influenced by studies indicating rapid growth in the use of incarceration within the United States, the large size of the prison population, and disproportionate effects on poor and minority individuals and families (Wildeman, 2009). The PI literature thus fits well in many respects with other basic criminological studies that have produced results revealing biases in sentencing decisions (Kutateladze, Andiloro, Johnson, & Spohn, 2014), inequitable practices associated with bail and other pretrial decisions (Arnold, Dobbie, & Yang, 2018), and deleterious consequences of system involvement, particularly for minority individuals (Pager, 2003). Yet even the findings from studies that have focused primarily on justice system disparities (e.g., by race/ethnicity and gender) indicate that prior offenses and current offense seriousness are robust predictors of the odds of incarceration and of sentence length (Steffensmeier, Ulmer, & Kramer, 1998).…”

Section: Prior Research Linking Crime and Incarcerationsupporting

confidence: 70%

Linking parental incarceration and family dynamics associated with intergenerational transmission: A life‐course perspective*

Giordano¹,

Copp

Manning³

et al. 2019

Criminology

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Children experiencing parental incarceration face numerous additional disadvantages, but researchers have often relied on these other co‐occurring factors primarily as controls. In this article, we focus on the intimate links between crime and incarceration, as well as on the broader family context within which parental incarceration often unfolds. Thus, parents’ drug use and criminal behavior that precedes and may follow incarceration periods may be ongoing stressors that directly affect child well‐being. We also use our analyses to foreground mechanisms associated with social learning theories, including observations and communications that increase the child's risk for criminal involvement and other problem outcomes. These related family experiences often channel the child's own developing network ties (peers, romantic partners) that then serve as proximal influences. We explore these processes by drawing on qualitative and quantitative data from a study of the lives of a sample of respondents followed from adolescence to young adulthood, as well as on records searches of parents’ incarceration histories. Through our analyses, we find evidence that 1) some effects attributed to parental incarceration likely connect to unmeasured features of the broader family context, and b) together parental incarceration and the broader climate often constitute a tightly coupled package of family‐related risks linked to intergenerational continuities in criminal behavior and other forms of social disadvantage.

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Section: Prior Research Linking Crime and Incarcerationsupporting

confidence: 70%

Linking parental incarceration and family dynamics associated with intergenerational transmission: A life‐course perspective*

Giordano¹,

Copp

Manning³

et al. 2019

Criminology

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show abstract

“…This research tends to show that controlling for variables such as occupation, education, and experience yield smaller estimates of wage gaps than simple raw comparisons, although race and gender differences on these covariates could themselves result from various forms and sources of discrimination. 5 Much of the economic research on discrimination attempts to disentangle racial animus from statistical discrimination (e.g., Anwar & Fang, 2015;Arnold, Dobbie, & Yang, 2018;Fang & Moro, 2010). Each could exist in student discipline.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disparities and Discrimination in Student Discipline by Race and Family Income

et al. 2019

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Black and poor students are suspended from U.S. schools at higher rates than white and non-poor students. While the existence of these disparities has been clear, the causes of the disparities have not. We use a novel dataset to examine how and where discipline disparities arise. By comparing the punishments given to black and white (or poor and non-poor) students who fight one another, we address a selection challenge that has kept prior studies from identifying discrimination in student discipline. We find that black and poor students are, in fact, punished more harshly than the students with whom they fight.

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“…In a policy simulation, they suggest that jail rate reductions of 41% can be achieved with no increase in crime rates. Another study by Arnold, Dobbie, and Yang (2017) finds that judges are engaging in racially biased prediction errors resulting largely from inexperienced, part-time judges.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of bail and pretrial detention in the reproduction of racial inequalities

Menefee

2018

Sociology Compass

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The role of bail systems in the United States has been understudied within the sociology of punishment. The use of monetary bail is pervasive in the United States, contributing to a rising number of pretrial detainees and, consequently, jail populations. Since 2000, 95% of the growth in jail populations has been the result of the growing number of people held in jail pretrial. Moreover, racial and ethnic minorities account for a disproportionate number of pretrial detainees. In this review, I first summarize the empirical literature on racial and economic disparities in the use of bail and pretrial detention, arguing that race and social class are important determinants of who is ultimately detained. I also highlight the literature on the downstream outcomes associated with pretrial detention, and several recent studies which suggest that pretrial detention has a causal effect on conviction. Second, I consider how inequalities in policing and arrests, in combination with pretrial processes, lead to cumulative disadvantages. Lastly, I highlight recent debates surrounding the use of pretrial risk assessment tools and whether they serve as panacea or pariah for mitigating discrimination in criminal processing.

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Racial Bias in Bail Decisions*

Cited by 260 publications

References 62 publications

Linking parental incarceration and family dynamics associated with intergenerational transmission: A life‐course perspective*

Linking parental incarceration and family dynamics associated with intergenerational transmission: A life‐course perspective*

Disparities and Discrimination in Student Discipline by Race and Family Income

The role of bail and pretrial detention in the reproduction of racial inequalities

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