Expanding the scope of sentencing research: The influence of socio-demographic characteristics in juvenile and adult punishment in the Netherlands

• In Event: The Influence of Gender, Race, and Age on Sentencing Disparity

Abstract

Research on extralegal disparity in criminal sentencing has been conducted primarily in the United States, and to a lesser extent, select European nations. Largely separate research literatures have developed around juvenile and adult sentencing decisions, and few studies examine both prosecutorial and judicial punishment outcomes. This study examines the effects of diverse socio-demographic characteristics on both prosecutorial and judicial punishments, for both juveniles and adults. It assesses the broad generalizability of prior research and theorizing, analyzing punishment outcomes for all criminal suspects registered by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the Netherlands in 2007. Results indicate that there are direct effects of age, gender and nationality on both prosecutorial and sentencing decisions, for both juvenile and adult offenders in the Dutch justice system. These findings are discussed in relation to the broad discretion exercised by Dutch court actors and the paper concludes with recommendations for future sentencing research in international contexts.

Authors

• Hilde Wermink, Leiden University

• Brian D. Johnson, University of Maryland

• Paul Nieuwbeerta, Leiden University

• Jan de Keijser, Leiden University