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Cumulative Disadvantage, Trust, and Criminal Justice: A Conceptual Framework and agenda for the IST Project

Thu, September 4, 9:30 to 10:45am, Deree | Classrooms, DC 606

Abstract

Across Europe and North America, concerns over ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in criminal justice outcomes continue to mount. Research highlights how case processing disadvantages - shaped by migration background, class, and neighborhood contexts - can accumulate at each stage of the justice system, exacerbating social inequality. Similarly, trust in legal institutions varies significantly along these same lines, with marginalized groups displaying higher levels of distrust toward police, prosecutors, and courts. These twin challenges-cumulative disadvantage and trust deficits-are deeply intertwined, yet are rarely examined together in a comprehensive framework.
This presentation introduces the conceptual foundation of the In Search of Trust (IST) Project, a large-scale Dutch research initiative funded by the Dutch Research Council and supported by key justice institutions. IST systematically examines the mechanisms that produce disparities in sanctioning outcomes and their implications for trust in the criminal justice system. The project employs a mixed-methods approach, including quantitative analyses of sanctioning trajectories, systematic reviews of trust-enhancing interventions, and qualitative studies to inform the development of a Judicial Equality Monitor - a tool designed to assess and mitigate disparities.
By presenting the theoretical backbone of the IST project, this talk sets the stage for the panel’s subsequent empirical contributions. It argues for a more integrated, interdisciplinary approach to criminal justice reform-one that not only documents cumulative disadvantage but actively seeks solutions to rebuild trust and promote fairness.

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