Racially Determined Case Characteristics: Precursors of Ethnic Disparities in Sentencing Outcomes?

• In Event: Sentencing 1. Race, Ethnicity and Sentencing

Abstract

There is now well documented evidence of ethnic disparities in sentencing outcomes in England and Wales, however, we still do not understand how these disparities come to be, and consequently, how to address them. In this paper, we argue that disparities in sentence outcomes could stem from how cases are constructed. Specifically, we hypothesise that case characteristics determined through a high degree of judicial discretion and an assessment of the offender, have a high risk of being racially determined, and therefore, operate as precursors of ethnic disparities in sentencing. To test this, we use data from the Crown Court Sentencing Survey combined with data on offenders’ ethnicity from the Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings database. We identify three sentencing factors (remorse, good character and ability to rehabilitate) that are clearly imbalanced in favour of White offenders. We contextualise the operation of each factor using existing literature and argue that all three should be classified as racially determined and likely sources of ethnic disparities in sentencing. We conclude by setting out targeted policy approaches to address ethnic disparities stemming from each factor.

Authors

• Eoin Guilfoyle, Brunel University

• Jose Pina-Sánchez, University of Leeds