Racial Inequalities in Arrest: Can the School-to-Prison Pipeline Inform Policy?

• In Event: Theorizing Racial Injustice

Abstract

Although racial inequalities in arrest are well documented, few studies have been able to advance policy discussions directed at reducing those inequalities. However, recent developments in mediation analysis afford scholars the opportunity to analyze racial inequalities in a way that 1) helps scholars understand their etiology and 2) provides an empirical framework for identifying potential intervention points. By drawing on longitudinal and nationally representative data, we utilize this approach to facilitate a better understanding of the processes that lead to racial inequalities in adulthood arrest. Specifically, given the recent accumulation of research on the school-to-prison pipeline, we analyze whether racial inequalities in school-based punishment explain racial inequalities in arrest in adulthood. To the extent that our analysis finds support for this pathway, we can hypothesize about the degree to which the racial inequality in arrests might be reduced if racial inequalities in school-based discipline were equalized by policy. In other words, we seek to present an estimate of the reduction in the racial inequality in arrest that might be expected if it were possible to intervene upon and equalize the risk of school-based punishment between Black and White school children.

Authors

• Ryan T. Motz, University of Cincinnati

• J.C. Barnes, University of Cincinnati