Cumulative (Dis)advantage, (Dis)trust, and Sanctioning Disparities 2: Ecological Dimensions in European and American Contexts

Session Submission Type: Pre-arranged Panel

Abstract

While individual and systemic biases play a crucial role in criminal justice disparities, spatial and ecological factors also contribute significantly. Disadvantaged neighborhoods often see higher policing intensity, harsher prosecutorial decisions, and increased reoffending rates, leading to geographically concentrated cycles of cumulative disadvantage. Moreover, regional disparities in justice outcomes suggest that ethnic and socioeconomic inequalities intersect with local political, cultural, and economic contexts in complex ways.
This panel builds on the themes of sanctioning and trust disparities in panel Cumulative (Dis)advantage, (Dis)trust, and Sanctioning Disparities 1: Insights from Europe and the United States, but shifts focus to spatial and ecological dimensions.
Presentations will explore:
• A US study mapping spatial patterns of prosecutorial and sentencing outcomes, analyzing how neighborhood conditions shape justice decisions and trajectories.
• A Dutch study examining how urbanization, neighborhood disadvantage, and ethnic heterogeneity influence sanctioning disparities.
• A longitudinal study in the U.S. assessing how historical patterns of neighborhood disadvantage predict contemporary homicide rates.
• A Spanish study investigating regional sanctioning disparities, considering how socio-political factors may mediate or amplify cumulative disadvantage.
By integrating research from the Netherlands, the United States, and Spain, this panel highlights how justice system disparities are embedded in broader spatial and structural inequalities. It also considers potential interventions—ranging from place-based policy reforms to data-driven judicial monitoring tools—to address regional and neighborhood-level disparities.

Subtopic

• Topic 5: Social Control and Criminal Justice / Courts and Sentencing and Penal Decision Making (Sentencing and Penal Decisionmaking WG)

Chair

• Arjen Leerkes, Erasmus University Rotterdam and Maastricht University

Individual Presentations

• Mapping Justice: Exploring the Spatial Patterns of Prosecutorial Processing and Sentencing Outcomes in Montgomery County, Maryland - Carol Xuanying Chen, Susquehanna University; Brian Johnson, University of Maryland

• The Role of Neighborhoods Within the Criminal Justice System: Structural Inequities and Sentencing Disparities - Victoria Wozniak-Cole, KU Leuven; Petra de Jong, Erasmus University Rotterdam

• Inter- and Intra- Court Disparities in Protection Orders for Cases of Gender-Based Violence in Catalonia - Steven Kemp, University of Girona; Cristina Vasilescu, University of Girona; Daniel Varona, University of Girona