Demographic Disparity in Criminal Justice Involvement: Focusing on Prevalence and Recidivism in the New York State Population

• In Event: Race, Ethnicity, and Sex Disparities at Different Stages of Criminal Justice Processing

Abstract

Blumstein and Graddy (1982), in their study exploring racial disparity in the criminal justice system, argued that the racial disparity in arrest statistics is mostly attributable to a large difference in the prevalence at arrest, but not in the probability of recidivism. This conclusion has not been tested by any other research so far, despite its importance to criminological theory and public policy. The current study contributes to the literature by examining the validity of their argument in an era of deeply entrenched criminal justice contact for young Americans. Using individual level state administrative data, I measure crime prevalence and recidivism as two aspects of criminal careers, separately and by different demographic groups. I estimate for each demographic group what proportion of 1980-1984 birth cohorts in New York Stat has ever been convicted (prevalence) and how many of them are recurring in the criminal justice system after their initial involvement (recidivism). Special attention is given to different ways of estimating the relevant population when using administrative data.

Author

• Jaeok Kim, University at Albany, SUNY