NCJ Number
58761
Journal
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 70 Issue: 2 Dated: (SUMMER 1979) Pages: 164-171
Date Published
1979
Length
8 pages
Annotation
DATA ON WHICH A 1973 STUDY BASED ITS CONCLUSION THAT OFFENDER SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS INFLUENCED SEVERITY OF DISPOSITIONS IN THE PHILADELPHIA, PA., JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM ARE REANALYZED.
Abstract
THE 1973 STUDY USED A RELATIVELY UNSOPHISTICATED STATISTICAL TECHNIQUE TO ASSESS THE INFLUENCE OF RACE, SOCIOENCONOMIC CLASS, SERIOUSNESS OF OFFENSE, AND NUMBER OF PREVIOUS OFFENSES ON OUTCOMES FOR 9,601 CASES INVOLVING MALE JUVENILES. THE STUDY FOUND THAT WHEN TWO LEGAL VARIABLES WERE HELD CONSTANT, BLACKS AND MEMBERS OF LOWER SOCIOECONOMIC CLASSES WERE ACCORDED MORE SEVERE TREATMENT THAN THEIR COUNTERPARTS, IN TERMS OF BOTH POLICE REFERRALS TO JUVENILE COURT AND JUVENILE COURT SENTENCES. LOG-LINEAR ANALYSIS, A MORE SOPHISTICATED, MULTIVARIATE TECHNIQUE DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR QUALITATIVE DATA, IS USED TO ANALYZE THE SAME DATA. AGAIN, WHEN THE LEGAL VARIABLES ARE HELD CONSTANT, RACE AND TO A LESSER EXTENT SOCIOECONOMIC CLASS ARE RELATED TO SEVERITY OF DISPOSITION. LOG-LINEAR ANALYSIS OF DATA FROM ANOTHER JURISDICTION (REPORTED ELSEWHERE) FOUND NO ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SEVERITY OF DISPOSITION AND RACE OR SOCIOECONOMIC CLASS. IT SEEMS APPARENT THAT SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS AFFECT SENTENCE SEVERITY IN SOME JURISDICTIONS BUT NOT IN OTHERS, THE IMPLICATION BEING THAT FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD CONCENTRATE ON INTERJURISDICTIONAL COMPARISONS TO UNCOVER STRUCTURAL VARIABLES THAT MAY ACCOUNT FOR THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF SENTENCING DISPARITY. DETAILS OF THE ANALYSIS AND SUPPORTING DATA ARE PROVIDED. (LKM)