Police Discretion and the Racial Disparities in Arrests of NY PL 265.01 and PL 265.02

• In Event: Inequalities in Policing

Abstract

Recidivism, or the reoffending of those with prior records, is a well-known element of criminology and criminal justice. Further, the influence of prior record on criminal justice decision-making is well established, and even codified into sentencing or other guidelines. Racial disparities in arrest and specifically the arrest for weapons possession have also been well established. What is not as well established, however, is the influence of prior record on charge increases within laws. For example, New York state’s weapons possession law, PL 265, has a charge increase from an A misdemeanor to a D felony for individuals who have any kind of prior record. This specific charge increase has been the focus of various news stories but has not been subject to the same scrutiny by academics. This paper explores these charge increases using NY State data, specifically addressing temporal and jurisdictional differences in racial disparities at arrest under the two statues PL 265.01 (no priors) and PL 265.02 (priors present).

Authors

• Maureen C. Darby, University at Albany, SUNY

• Theodore Wilson, University at Albany, SUNY