Perpetuating Disadvantage: An Investigation of Racial Bias Embedded within Criminal History Measurement

• In Event: Social Unrest, Anti-Black Racism, and Bias in Sentencing

Abstract

An individual’s criminal record is a key component of the decision-making calculus at various stages within the American criminal justice system. Specifically, criminal history is seen as an unbiased, race-neutral indicator of dangerousness and risk, and informs arrest, prosecution, and sentencing decisions, among others. However, the neutrality of criminal history records is uncertain, considering evidence of racial disparities throughout the criminal justice system. Rather than being unbiased, criminal history measures may instead be a source of systemic racism, as the accumulation of a criminal record is partially dependent on decisions made by criminal justice actors, net of actual criminal activity. To the extent that these decisions are influenced by racial bias, so too will be the measurement of criminal history, calling into question its efficacy as a key driver of criminal punishment severity. Quantitative results regarding evidence of bias in criminal history records, its contribution to cumulative disadvantages across racial groups, as well as policy implications of such bias will be discussed.

Author

• Sean Houlihan, University of Maryland, College Park