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Advances in Research Using the Criminal Justice Administrative Records System

Fri, Nov 19, 9:30 to 10:50am, Burnham 1, 7th Floor

Abstract

The CJARS data infrastructure is able to support a wide range of research topics due to its wide coverage of criminal justice events and linkage opportunities within the Census Bureau’s Federal Statistical Research Data Center (FSRDC) network. This presentation highlights findings from three research projects being conducted by CJARS, including: inequalities in the justice system, impacts of fines and fees, and labor market outcomes for justice-involved individuals since the Great Recession. Each study makes use of the extensive CJARS records holdings and linkages at the individual-level to numerous other sources of data available through the FSRDC network (e.g., IRS tax filing information). The major findings across the three studies are that (1) differential exposure to the criminal justice system is a central component in explaining average racial gaps in labor market outcomes between white and black men in the U.S., (2) individuals that received financial sanctions were no more likely to recidivate as compared to those that did not, and (3) justice-involved cohorts experienced significant declines in employment and earnings during and immediately after the Great Recession.

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