NCJ Number
100223
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 2 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1985) Pages: 473-490
Date Published
1985
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study examines the effects of determinate and mandatory sentencing on inmate racial composition and incarceration rates for 1970-80 in 38 States, some of which introduced sentencing reforms in the 1970's.
Abstract
A multivariate design was used to compare the States' experiences, and incarceration rates were disaggregated by race to identify the determinants of black and white rates separately. Results indicated that neither determinate nor mandatory sentencing had any discernable effect on increases in incarceration rates. Incarceration rates were not influenced by the percentage of blacks in a State's population. However, there was a strong national trend toward increased incarceration of whites during the decade. The increase in the incarceration of blacks was largely a continuation of past patterns. States most likely to have racially disproportional inmate populations during the decade had a high black incarceration rate in 1970, a high percentage of blacks in a small population, a high rate of violent crime in 1970, a large percentage aged 18 to 29, a low rate of white incarceration in 1970, and a substantial decline in the property crime rate. Tabular data and 36 references.