Racial Disparity in Juvenile Diversion

Ericson, Rebecca D; Eckberg, Deborah A.

doi:10.1177/2153368715594848

Cited by 13 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 36 publications

(106 reference statements)

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“…that improve the quality of interventions by misdemeanor systems, or expand intervention alternatives that do not rely on the tools of the criminal law. Into the future, it is also important to integrate this conceptual focus on system decisionmaking contexts with the literature on 'focal concerns' (Bishop et al, 2010;Ericson & Eckberg, 2015;Ishoy & Dabney, 2018), including the socio-legal contexts shaping decision-making (Lynch, 2019) as well as the principles and normative orientations guiding decisions at different stages of the criminal legal system. To this end, an article (Pope et al, 2023) reports on additional qualitative data collected from the 4 sites examined here that engage with the focal concerns framework and illustrate the 'competing concerns' that different decision-makers bring to bear across their loosely coupled systems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contexts shaping misdemeanor system interventions among people with mental illnesses: qualitative findings from a multi-site system mapping exercise

et al. 2023

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Background People with mental illnesses are disproportionately entangled in the criminal legal system. Historically, this involvement has resulted from minor offending, often accompanied by misdemeanor charges. In recent years, policymakers have worked to reduce the footprint of the criminal legal system. This paper seeks to better understand how misdemeanor systems intervene in the lives of people with mental illnesses. Methods System mapping exercises were conducted with misdemeanor system stakeholders from the jurisdictions of Atlanta, Chicago, Manhattan, and Philadelphia. Narrative detail on decision-making and case processing, both generally and in relation to specific types of behavior, including trespassing, retail theft/shoplifting, and simple assault, were coded and analyzed for thematic patterns. Based on the qualitative analysis, this paper offers a conceptual diagram of contexts shaping misdemeanor system interventions among people with mental illnesses. Results All four sites have been engaged in efforts to reduce the use of misdemeanor charges both generally and in relation to people with mental illnesses. Decision-makers across all sites experience contexts that shape how, when, and where they intervene, which are: (1) law and policy environments; (2) location of the behavior; (3) expectations of stakeholders; (4) knowledge of mental illnesses; and (5) access to community resources. Law and policy environments expand or constrain opportunities for diversion. The location of offending is relevant to who has a stake in the behavior, and what demands they have. Clinical, experiential, and system-level knowledge of mental illnesses inform a chain of decisions about what to do. The capacity to address mental health needs is contingent on access to social services, including housing. Conclusion People making decisions along the criminal legal continuum are critical to illuminating the dynamic, inter-related contexts that facilitate and frustrate attempts to address defendants’ mental health needs while balancing considerations of public safety. Multi-sector, scenario-based or case study exercises could help identify concrete ways of improving each of the contexts that surround whole-of-system decisions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contexts shaping misdemeanor system interventions among people with mental illnesses: qualitative findings from a multi-site system mapping exercise

et al. 2023

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“…In subsequent court appearances, this puts them at greater risk of bail refusal and imprisonment. Ericson and Eckberg (2016) found evidence of this effect in the US.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…As elsewhere, police in Australia enjoy considerable discretion in how they choose to proceed against juvenile offenders. Not surprisingly, research has consistently shown that race effects are most likely to be found in the early stages of the formal juvenile process (Ericson & Eckberg, 2016). In New South Wales, for example, police can choose to warn or caution a young offender, refer the offender to a youth justice conference or charge the young offender and refer him or her to court.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of Indigenous status on the issue of police cautions

Weatherburn

Thomas²

2022

Journal of Criminology

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Background: Over the last 20 years a body of research has emerged in the United States (US) revealing that the country’s sentencing courts to treat young male African American (and Hispanic) offenders more harshly than white offenders, even after adjusting for relevant legal and contextual factors. Similar research in Australia has generally found that the effect of Indigenous status on adult bail/sentencing outcomes is either non-significant, or significant but very small. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of race, age, and gender on police decisions to prosecute rather than caution to a juvenile offender. Methods: We employ a multilevel model with random intercepts to explore the impact of race, age, and gender on police decisions to prosecute rather than caution to a juvenile offender. The first level controls for offender/offence factors a police officer may legally consider when deciding whether or not to caution a young offender. The second level controls for the police patrol to which the police officer is attached. Results: After adjusting for the effects of legally relevant factors, we find Indigenous juvenile offenders (regardless of sex) are more likely to be prosecuted than cautioned, compared with their non-Indigenous counterparts. There is also wide variation across local area commands in willingness to caution juvenile offenders. Conclusion: Further research is needed to obtain a better understanding of the factors responsible for racial disparity in the use of police cautions.

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“…Findings for other stages of processing have been less consistent, however. Although some research has found that non-White youth are significantly more likely to be petitioned than White youth (see, e.g., Ericson & Eckberg, 2016;MacDonald & Chesney-Lind, 2001), other research has found no significant relationship (Freiburger & Jordan, 2011;Leiber et al, 2009). Studies have also consistently found that adjudication of delinquency-the juvenile court equivalent of criminal conviction-occurs less for minority youth than White youth (Leiber & Peck, 2015;Peck & Jennings, 2016;Secret & Johnson, 1997;Thomas et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Universal Is Disproportionate Minority Contact? An Examination of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Juvenile Justice Processing across Four States

Zane,

Mears,

Welsh

2020

CrimRxiv

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The extent to which disproportionate minority contact (DMC) in the juvenile justice system varies across states remains largely unknown. Using a multijurisdictional sample of 146 counties across four states, the present study utilizes multilevel modeling with cross-level interactions to explore whether there is variation in the influence of race and ethnicity among states across four major juvenile justice processing decisionspreadjudication detention, petition of delinquency, adjudication of delinquency, and judicial disposition. The results highlight the existence of some variation in DMC across the four states, with the variation most pronounced at detention and least pronounced at disposition. The possibility of state variation in DMC underscores the need for state-specific analysis of DMC, what contributes to it, and what can be done to reduce it.

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Racial Disparity in Juvenile Diversion

Cited by 13 publications

References 36 publications

Contexts shaping misdemeanor system interventions among people with mental illnesses: qualitative findings from a multi-site system mapping exercise

Contexts shaping misdemeanor system interventions among people with mental illnesses: qualitative findings from a multi-site system mapping exercise

The influence of Indigenous status on the issue of police cautions

How Universal Is Disproportionate Minority Contact? An Examination of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Juvenile Justice Processing across Four States

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