NCJ Number
145553
Date Published
Unknown
Length
29 pages
Annotation
Using State and Federal criminal justice and census data, this study analyzes the sentencing and incarceration of minorities in Oklahoma from 1988 through 1992.
Abstract
Results revealed that minorities total 17.87 percent of Oklahoma's general population, yet account for 28.52 percent of Oklahoma arrests, 41.45 percent of incarcerations, and 32.46 percent of those listed in probation and parole data sets. Blacks account for the majority of those minorities that are proportionally overrepresented in the criminal justice system. Black female inmates account for an even greater disproportional amount of crime than their male counterparts. Black males and females receive statistically fewer years of suspended sentences than other races in 17 or 28 crime categories listed. Demographic factors such as rural and urban living patterns do not explain all these differences. Therefore, the reasons for the higher incarceration rate of blacks should be analyzed. Tables and appended tables and figures