RACE, CRIME, ECONOMICS AND PUNISHMENT: A CROSS- SECTIONAL ANALYSIS OF STATE LEVEL DATA (FROM ACADEMICALLY SPEAKING: CRIMINAL JUSTICE RELATED RESEARCH BY FLORIDA'S DOCTORAL CANDIDATES, 1992, P 13-18, 1993, DIANE L ZAHM AND BARBARA FRENCH, EDS., - SEE NCJ-146927)

• NCJ Number: 146929
• Author(s): W W Johnson
• Date Published: 1993
• Length: 6 pages
• Sale Source: Florida Department of Law Enforcement; National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

State-level data regarding punishment and the race of offenders were examined for 1983, a year of economic recession, and 1987, a period of relative economic recovery, to determine whether the relationship between race and punishment is affected by changes in economic conditions and whether race relates to punishment once Hispanics as well as blacks and whites are included as a distinct category.

Abstract

Results suggested that the percentage of nonwhites has an independent effect on both jail and prison populations, controlling for crime and economic influences, and that differences exist between the effects that young Hispanic males and young black males have on the various control decisions. In addition, the use of probation is influenced by the availability of employment. Findings suggest that prison and jail admissions are not the sole product of crime but are strongly influenced by social structural influences. Tables, figure, and 20 references